Cyberspace: Fertile ground for unofficial regulation

Cyberspace invites the jurist in the countries of the Romano-Germanic family to rethink the theory of the sources of law. The theory of formal sources which derives the validity of a norm from its official mode of formation appears to be completely out of step with the actual modes regulation of the Internet, among which standards coming from atypical sources (private self-regulation, co-regulation, soft law processes) occupy a determining place. . This study situates the reality and importance of the regulatory activity of cyberspace actors by evaluating its impact on the effectiveness of formal state standards. The text attempts to demonstrate how the product of the self-regulatory activity of cyberspace, embodied by informal norms, could constitute the normative complement of formal norms. Only a renewed, even Americanized, approach to source theory makes it possible to account for the phenomenon of normative production in the field of cyberspace.