Regulating Technological Innovation through Informal International Law: The Exercise of International Public Authority by Transnational Actors

Ramses A. Wessel

Chapter 4 in Regulating Technological Innovation, 2011, pp 77-94 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The relationship between law, innovation and technology has been studied extensively. Almost by nature a warm relationship, it seems inherently contradictory as more law would imply less innovation. Even if we would point to the advantages of regulation for technological innovation, the institutional setting may be too complex to handle. In the words of Roger Brownsword and Han Somsen: ‘In the best of all worlds, the regulatory environment will support and prioritise technological innovation that promises to strengthen the conditions that are essential for human social existence, and it will guard effectively against the abuse of and inherent risks presented by particular lines of technological development. In the real world, however, regulators have limited control over the priorities set by either market or military and there are severe restrictions on what nation states can individually control beyond their geographical borders.’1 The present contribution purports to add to the existing body of literature by focusing on one specific phenomenon, which may complicate the institutional setting even further: informal international law as a tool to regulate technological innovation.

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Global Governance; Internet Engineer Task Force; International Telecommunication Union; Legal Subject (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-36745-6_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9780230367456

DOI: 10.1057/9780230367456_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().