The Issue Of National Sovereignty In Cyberspace

With the further development of network technology,more and more social problems and international issues arise, Especially in recent years, network attacks are growing. Western countries start to form network forces. Cyber arms have become a new method of sovereign states who strive for respective interests. Cyberspace sovereignty problem was paid more and more attention,such as sovereignty whether or not state to Cyberspace. Therefore, I think it is necessary to discuss the issue of national sovereignty in Cyberspace.National sovereignty is not started in human civilization, it is the product of a certain historical stage. During the long period of the development of human society, there is not the concept of national sovereignty. National sovereignty concept in the sense of International law was formed in modern times and developed gradually. The appearance and development of the concept of national sovereignty is a historical process. With the constant progress of the times, its connotation is constantly enriched and perfected.The national sovereignty was not exercised by states when international organization had became the main body of national sovereignty. With the rapid development of science and technology, scope of the object of national sovereignty is extended from land to ocean and even to outer space. National sovereignty is changing continuously from connotation to extension, or from the subject to object which provides the necessary theoretical basis for extending to the new space – Cyberspace. In the 1970 s, with the birth of computer, the Internet had became our new activity space, People defined network space from the beginning of the description of illusion to the generalization of the real world. Cyberspace is a new social activity space with development of human science and technology. Its essence is a kind of information exchanging platform which relies on the digital technology. It has changed the human state of traditional living style and thought; it is a new place that combines all constituent elements in the real world. Corresponding with the network space is the traditional physical space. Cyberspace is a unified combination of physical carrier range and virtual space. In this space, compared with the traditional physical space,it has own unique features: such as virtual, openness, diversity and global real-time. The cyberspace as a new range which is exercised by sovereign state, it is significantly different from the traditional sovereignty exercised space in territory, territorial waters and airspace. For example, virtual network space does not have a physical boundary compared with territory or territorial waters; Open network space does not have closed continuity compared with traditional territory.Along with the national territory expanded to cyberspace, the concept of network sovereignty appears gradually. Our country published the White Paper about conditions of China Internet in 2010,it pointed out that Chinese government believes that the Internet is an important national infrastructure, the Internet of Chinese territory belongs to China sovereign jurisdiction, China Internet sovereignty should be respected and maintained. The White Paper clearly defines our network sovereignty of our country. The network sovereignty is the exercise of national sovereignty in cyberspace. The network sovereignty emphasizes the sovereignty scope which the state exercises.All the connotation of the national sovereignty is reflected in the cyberspace, It is in the same level with the territorial sovereignty.The content of network sovereignty should included the right of independence, equality, self-defense and jurisdiction. At the same time,we can determine the boundaries of the network sovereignty from two dimensions: one is based on participants who are active in network space as a coordination; the other one is the confirmation of the width and depth of network space relying on dynamic dissemination of information.It analyzed the source and nature of the national jurisdiction of network, and then put forward the suggestions that construct the legal system to exercise jurisdiction,actively participate in international cooperation and impose sanction against the violation of the network sovereignty.