Reconstructing the Rule of Law Paradigm in the Digital Era: Challenges and Implications for the Supremacy of Law
The digital era has brought fundamental changes to the fabric of society, directly impacting the system and paradigm of the rule of law. This article aims to critically examine the challenges facing the concept of the rule of law (rechtsstaat) in the face of digital disruption, while simultaneously formulating implications for the rule of law as a key pillar of democratic statecraft. Using normative legal research methods with conceptual, historical, and comparative approaches, this study analyzes the tension between fundamental legal values and the reality of a fast-moving, decentralized digital ecosystem that often transcends state territorial jurisdiction. The results show that the conventional rule of law paradigm, which relies on written codification, normative hierarchy, and territorial jurisdiction, faces serious challenges from the phenomenon of algorithms as regulators of behavior, cross-border digital platforms, and artificial intelligence that obscures legal subjects. Reconstructing the rule of law paradigm in the digital era requires recognizing technical norms as regulatory instruments, extending the principle of the rule of law to the digital domain, and strengthening accountability mechanisms based on algorithmic transparency. This article offers a conceptual framework called the Digital Rechtsstaat as a new foundation for the rule of law capable of guaranteeing legal certainty, justice, and utility in the digital landscape
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