ABSTRACT
In the seventeenth century, the ‘Peace of Westphalia’ recognised the inviolability of frontiers and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states as principles for the peaceable conduct of international affairs. ‘Sovereignty’ became a dogma, but as more general interactions between nations developed, it was realised that some new technologies were better dealt with by a common approach. States have in measure therefore restricted their rights separately to determine such matters, and international law and global organisations dedicated to the regulation of specific matters have been created. In theory, under the Charter of the United Nations, states remain able separately to regulate the use of any technology. In practice, they have restricted their sovereign independence so as better to share the benefits of particular technologies.
