Digital migration and state sovereignty: a theoretical and legal analysis

In the context of economic digitalization, platform-based employment, and the growth of cross-border remote work, digital migration has become an important legal phenomenon affecting both employment regulation and the limits of state sovereignty. The study aims to provide a theoretical and legal analysis of the impact of digital migration on the transformation of employment, jurisdiction, and state regulatory mechanisms. The main research directions include examining the gap between territory and jurisdiction, analyzing the hybrid legal status of platform workers, assessing changes in migration and tax policy, and identifying the growing role of algorithmic management. The scientific significance of the article lies in advancing the concepts of functional jurisdiction and the digital transformation of sovereignty. Its practical significance is linked to the possibility of using the findings to improve Kazakhstan’s legislation on employment, migration, and social protection. The methodology combines doctrinal, comparative legal, and systemic analysis of national legislation, ILO and OECD standards, and comparative foreign practice. The study shows that digital migration deepens jurisdictional gaps, fragments workers’ legal status, and strengthens non-state regulatory mechanisms. The value of the research lies in substantiating Lex Digitalis as a promising model for regulating digital labor.

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