Constitutional oversight of digital legislation: Towards a framework for protecting fundamental rights in cyberspace

Abstract

The contemporary world is witnessing profound transformations in the field of digital legislation, where cyberspace has become a parallel arena to real life and a vast domain for the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms. This new reality has generated unprecedented challenges for constitutional systems, which now find themselves obliged to establish effective mechanisms of judicial and constitutional review capable of maintaining the balance between the legal regulation of the digital environment and the preservation of constitutional rights of individuals. Constitutional review of digital legislation is no longer a mere option; it has become an existential necessity to ensure that lawmakers do not deviate in enacting rules that might undermine constitutional legality or infringe upon the core of fundamental freedoms. In light of the growing dominance of technology, there emerges an urgent need for a coherent constitutional framework that protects human values against the unrestrained expansion of digital legislation, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, data protection, cybersecurity, and freedom of expression on digital platforms. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analytical examination of constitutional review over digital legislation from two perspectives: the first relates to its theoretical and conceptual foundations, while the second addresses its practical applications in safeguarding fundamental rights within cyberspace. The study emphasizes that the success of any legal system in this field depends on its ability to reconcile the imperatives of rapid technological development with constitutional principles, thereby ensuring the rule of law, preserving the resilience of democratic governance, and laying the groundwork for a new era of digital justice.