The Shift Towards Increased Autonomy in Special Jurisdictions: Legal and Regulatory Implications for Governance, Sovereignty, and the Innovation Economy
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Keywords
Autonomy, Sovereignty, Dispute Resolution, Regulation, Law
Abstract
This paper examines the global shift towards greater autonomy in special jurisdictions and its implications for governance, sovereignty, and economic innovation. It conceptualises autonomy along four interdependent dimensions: legal-regulatory, fiscal, judicial, and economic. The paper argues that their combined configuration, rather than any one element, determines how Special Jurisdictions function and how they interact with the host-state. Drawing on theories of polycentric governance and case studies such as Hong Kong SAR and the Dubai International Financial Centre, the paper shows how carefully bounded autonomy can attract investment and foster regulatory experimentation while the state retains ultimate authority. It concludes that Special Jurisdictions work best as laboratories of evolving bounded autonomy, where meaningful discretion is coupled with clear reference mechanisms back to the sovereign, allowing experimentation to reinforce rather than erode state sovereignty.
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Dr. Andreas Baumgartner, The Metis Institute
This paper examines the global shift towards greater autonomy in special jurisdictions and its implications for governance, sovereignty, and economic innovation. It conceptualises autonomy along four interdependent dimensions: legal-regulatory, fiscal, judicial, and economic. The paper argues that their combined configuration, rather than any one element, determines how Special Jurisdictions function and how they interact with the host-state. Drawing on theories of polycentric governance and case studies such as Hong Kong SAR and the Dubai International Financial Centre, the paper shows how carefully bounded autonomy can attract investment and foster regulatory experimentation while the state retains ultimate authority. It concludes that Special Jurisdictions work best as laboratories of evolving bounded autonomy, where meaningful discretion is coupled with clear reference mechanisms back to the sovereign, allowing experimentation to reinforce rather than erode state sovereignty.