New horizons of law: from electronic jurisdiction to the model criminal code of the Metaverse

The Scientific and Technical Revolution 5.0 and Web 3.0 technologies create conditions for the renovation of various forms of social relations with the use of virtual and augmented reality technologies in the Metaverse. According to the proposed theory, legal regulation of social relations in the Metaverse requires the development of a comprehensive electronic jurisdiction based on the latest basic legislation. The formation of legal regulation of the Metaverse is a prerequisite for the need to form an electronic jurisdiction of the Metaverse, which will include sectoral Metaverse Codes. The Metaverse, as the electronic society of the future, does not yet have clear legal boundaries, and the task of scholars is to predict and outline with sufficient certainty the future contours of legal authority for virtual environments. Today, discussions in the scientific community about the feasibility and necessity of legal regulation of the Metaverse often revolve around several key issues. First, there is the question of what legal framework should be applied in the Metaverse and how to resolve conflicts between different legal systems. Second, there is a debate about whether current regulatory bodies in the physical world have the capacity to effectively regulate the Metaverse through existing laws and regulations. Third, there is the question of how to deal with offenses that occur in the virtual environment, and whether they should be regulated by existing tort or criminal law, or whether a separate cross-border electronic jurisdiction should be created. The regulation of social relations within the Metaverse should focus on one central goal: to clearly define the status of electronic entities, subjects, objects, establish their rights, duties and responsibilities, and define the different types of relations between virtual entities, subjects and objects within a particular Metaverse, as well as between different Metaverse within an electronic jurisdiction and in a cross-border context. A crucial component of Metaverse electronic jurisdiction is a Metaverse Model Criminal Code that will outline the norms and offenses applicable to analogue, mixed and electronic jurisdictions. This code will define the types of socially harmful acts or crimes, as well as the corresponding criminal penalties that will be applied within the Metaverse. The formation of the electronic jurisdiction of the Metaverse and the development of a Metaverse Model Criminal Code is a topical scientific and legal issue.