Limiti e prospettive del diritto internazionale del cyberspazio

The essay deals with the capacity of the traditional categories of public international law to adapt to the changeover from the analogical to the digital world. The paper is based on the premise that the emerging cyberspace domain is a critical question that needs to be understood in the light of a radical rethinking of the dimension in space and time of principles and rules of international law. The essay examines the issue under three different perspectives corresponding to the ways international law affects cyberspace: respectively, the rules applicable to spatial segments, the regulation of functional protocols and the rules of material regimes. For each area, some critical examples are provided and some proposals of solution suggested. Moreover, the essay highlights how in this scenario, along with the traditional sources of law, alternative models of governance apply, like codes of conduct adopted by private companies exercising functions of public interest.