网络安全检测|网络安全服务|网络安全扫描-香港墨客投资移动版

China Institute of Contemporary International Relations

Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

Jointly Released by

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Tsinghua University

Fudan University

Nanjing University

University of International Business and Economics

Cybersecurity Association of China

Throughout the history of world civilization, the meaning of national sovereignty has changed and been enriched over time. Humanity has successively undergone agricultural, industrial, and information revolutions, which have had enormous and profound impacts on the connotation and denotation of national sovereignty. In the agricultural age, human activity was mainly confined to land, so the focus of national sovereignty was on protecting territorial integrity. In the industrial age, human activity extended from land to the sea and sky. The scope of national sovereignty expanded accordingly. Highly integrated with the physical space of human activity in the information age, cyberspace has become a new frontier for modern states and a new domain of global governance. It is from this that sovereignty in cyberspace has emerged.

Sovereign states are key actors in carrying out activities and maintaining order in cyberspace. The principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations is a basic norm governing contemporary international relations. Covering all aspects of state-to-state relations, its principle and spirit also apply to cyberspace. In practice, all countries have extended national sovereignty to cyberspace, but different understandings exist around the ideas and practices for exercising it. To facilitate more just and equitable global Internet governance and build a community with a shared future in cyberspace, the international community should, with the common well-being of humanity in mind, follow and practice the notion of sovereignty in cyberspace in line with the principles of equal consultation and seeking common ground while setting aside differences.

The Concept of Sovereignty in Cyberspace

I. Rights

Sovereignty in cyberspace is the extension of national sovereignty to cyberspace. It is the supremacy and independence that a state enjoys, on the basis of its national sovereignty, over cyber infrastructure, entities, behavior as well as relevant data and information in its territory. Specifically speaking, it primarily includes the following rights.

•Independence. A sovereign state has the right to independently choose its own path of cyber development, model of cyber governance, and Internet public policies, free from any external interference.

•Equality. In line with the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the UN Charter, a sovereign state has the right to participate in global governance in cyberspace on an equal footing and jointly formulate international rules.

•Jurisdiction

·Legislative Jurisdiction. A sovereign state has the right to enact legislation to regulate cyber infrastructure, entities, behavior as well as relevant data and information in its territory, in order to protect its national security, public interests, and the legal rights and interests of its citizens, legal persons, and other organizations.

·Administrative Jurisdiction. A sovereign state has the right to administer cyber infrastructure, entities, behavior as well as relevant data and information in its territory according to law, so as to maintain good order in cyberspace.

·Judicial Jurisdiction. A sovereign state has the right to exercise judicial jurisdiction over cyber infrastructure, entities, behavior as well as relevant data and information in its territory according to law.

A sovereign state has the right to exercise, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, necessary and reasonable personal, protective and universal jurisdiction over specific cyber activities outside its territory that have genuine and substantial connection with it. For smooth enforcement of such jurisdiction, it may seek assistance from relevant countries and regions in the spirit of self-restraint, comity and reciprocity.

•Cyber-defense

A sovereign state has the right to conduct capacity building on cyber security and adopt lawful and reasonable measures under the framework of the UN Charter to protect its legitimate rights and interests in cyberspace from external infringement.

II. Obligations

Whether in the physical world or cyberspace, sovereignty incorporates both rights and obligations. The connectivity and interdependence among countries in cyberspace all the more requires countries to respect the basic norms and general rules of international law and earnestly fulfill their due obligations specified in international law while enjoying the rights derived from sovereignty in cyberspace.