The Research Department is hosting a series of events in which a full paper is presented by an affiliated researcher, followed by a Q&A. Immediately afterwards, all participants are invited to a social event with light refreshments (including wine and non-alcoholic beverages) and mingling. The event is held at the Norwegian Nobel Institute. This is the third edition of Academic Refreshments.

 

Speaker & Topic:

Dan Svantesson (Bond University): “Disentangling jurisdiction and sovereignty from territoriality”

 

Abstract: The Internet has the potential to greatly advance fellowship among nations, thereby facilitating one of the criteria Alfred Nobel articulated for the Peace Prize some 130 years ago. However, so far this potential is unfulfilled. In fact, the Internet-driven world of today is further from Nobel’s goal of fellowship among nations than was the pre-Internet era. If we ask why this is so, I suspect the answer is found in that the law has failed to create an environment in which the Internet can reach its potential as a facilitator of fellowship among nations. In this context, the concepts of jurisdiction and sovereignty stand out as two key legal tools that require reform.

 

The seminar expands on a jurisprudential framework for jurisdiction, originally presented ten years ago, as well as a new jurisprudential framework for sovereignty, anchoring sovereignty in the concept of ‘State dignity’. The common feature of these frameworks is that they both represent a move away from territoriality as the core focal point. This is done with the aim of improving how the concepts of jurisdiction and sovereignty work in the online environment,so as to minimise conflicts and friction, and ultimately serve the goal of Cyber peace.