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The Internet In Light Of Traditional Public And Private International Law Principles And Rules Applied In Canada, Jean-Gabriel Castel

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In general, the jurisdiction of a state to prescribe, to adjudicate, and to enforce' is related to physical location. Yet, physical location is foreign to the Internet, which can be defined as the electronic medium of worldwide computer networks within which online communication takes place. The absence of physical location calls into question the applicability of the traditional public and private international law principles and rules that are based primarily on territoriality, in order to delineate the jurisdiction of states and their courts over the Internet and its users.