Regulating unlawful behavior in the global business environment: The functional integration of sovereignty and multilateralism

This article uses the Convention on Cybercrime as a case study to illustrate the functional integration of international law into diverse national legal systems through the paradigm of treaty harmonization. Nations control the impact of international regulation on domestic business interests by implementing legislation to preserve fundamental rights. Thus, the sovereignty-based legal harmonization model better explains the baseline characteristics of national sovereignty while recognizing that global cooperation in business is a necessary and positive feature of multilateralism. Critics dismiss sovereignty as irrelevant, claiming instead that a "new world order" has emerged in its place. That kind of deconstructionist talk typically injects fear of multilateralism into the global business community. However, the premise is flawed because it ignores the actual mechanics of treaty accession and the synergy between international law and commerce in the global legal environment.