Topic:

Sovereignty
Political Science
Instructor:
Minha Naz
(M.Phil. Political Science)
 SOVEREIGNTY

Meaning

Superanus Supreme

supreme power or authority within a territory.

Introduction

 SOVEREIGNTY is the supremacy of the

will of the state, as expressed by its laws,
over all individuals and associations
within its boundaries.
 SOVEREIGNTY: Power of a governing
body to govern itself without any
interference from outside.
 Supreme law-making power of the
state.
 DEFINITIONS of Sovereignty

 Aristotle
‘supreme power’ in the state.
 Blackstone
“It is the supreme, irresistible, absolute, uncontrolled authority in
the state”.
 Burgess
“original, absolute, unlimited power over individual subjects and
over all association of subjects”
 Relationship b/w Law and sovereignty

SOVEREIGNTY

Legal status on Exercise control

state action through laws and
rules and policies

states, because they are sovereign, can make rules and build institutions in
order to set limits to themselves
 Bodin Concept of Sovereignty

 Bodin’s concept ‘sovereignty’ is

thoroughly examine in Les six Livres de
la Republique published in 1576.
 he defined concepts of ‘République’
(‘Commonwealth’) and ‘citoyen’
(‘citizen’) in Les six Livres de la
Republique
 for Bodin, ‘Majesty or Sovereignty is the
most high, absolute, and perpetual
power over the citizens and subjects in
a Commonwealth’
 In Les six Livres de la Republique

‘Sovereignty is not limited either in power, charge, or

time certain’. Be it called ‘perpetual’, ‘absolute’,
‘unlimited’, ‘greatest’ or ‘total’. the word ‘sovereignty’
concerns the reality of the highest unified power, as
opposed to that of the subordinate decentralised
power. It is thus a question of a ‘pyramid of authority’
 Elements of Sovereignty according to Bodin

‘Power ought to be Perpetual’

 According to Bodin the sovereign prince cannot share his
power with a subject without losing his status of sovereign
Absolute Power
 Bodin also defined it as absolute power. He wrote that
sovereign princes ‘are to give account unto none, but to the
immortal God alone’, and that a ‘sovereign prince next
under God, is not by oath bound unto any’.
The Power to Make Law
 Bodin wrote, principal point of sovereign majesty, and absolute
power, to consist principally in giving laws unto the subjects in
general, without their consent
 ‘law’ is defined as ‘the command of a Sovereign concerning all
his subjects in general.
 ruler would be Legibus Solutus : ‘a king or sovereign prince
cannot be subject to his own laws’.
 Austin View of Sovereignty

 John Austin (1790-1859) was an

eminent English jurist
 He is regarded as the greatest
exponent of the theory of legal
sovereignty.
 He explained this theory in his
famous book, ‘Lectures on
Jurisprudence’, published in 1832.
 His theory is also referred to as the
‘Monistic Theory of Sovereignty’
because he regarded the state as
the only supreme authority.
Austin Theory of Sovereignty

‘if a determinate human superior, not in the habit of obedience to a like

superior, receives habitual obedience from the bulk of a given society, that
determinate human superior is the sovereign in that society, and the society
(including the superior) is a society political and independent.”
 This theory is based upon his view of law.
 In his view, “ Law is a command given by a superior to an inferior.”
 He is not in habit of obedience to any political superior
 He must command the habitual obedience from bulk of his subject.
 Major Points of Theory

 The power of the determinate human superior is sovereignty.

 The determinate human has no rival of equal status in the state
and nor does he obey the order of anyone.
 The determinate human superior is the only law maker.
 His commands are laws and without him the state can have no
laws.
 The bulk of the people obey sovereign’s command as a matter
of habit.
 sovereignty is absolute & unlimited
 A society without sovereignty cannot be called a state.
 Hobbes Concept of Sovereignty
 The Hobbesian doctrine of sovereignty dictates
complete monopoly of power within a given
territory and over all institutions.
 He maintains that the state is a contract
between individuals, the sovereign owes his
authority to the will of those he governs and is
obliged to protect the interests of the governed
by assuring civil peace and security.
 The sovereign is preferably a single person and
can legitimately do what all is required to secure
peace.
 The sovereign is responsible for making as well as
enforcing the law.
 Citizens are compulsorily obligated to obey the
political authority
 Sovereignty, according to Hobbes, is:

 Absolute
 ultimate
 Indivisible
 inalienable
 perpetual.
 non-transferable
 free from all external control
 It is not limited either by the rights of the subjects or by customary and statutory
law
 Immanuel Kant

Kant view about sovereignty in the political sphere, revolves around a doctrine of
absolutist popular sovereignty, according to which the people are the ultimate holders of
sovereignty.

assigning sovereignty exclusively to the

legislative branch, insofar as it represents
'sovereign authority' to reside in the 'person the people’s general will, Kant
of the legislator' insofar as he represents the emphasizes the primacy of the legislative
general will, functions of a state and the rule of law.
'the executive authority' to reside in 'the This sovereign primacy is expressed in
person of the ruler (in conformity to law)', the way that both the executive (who
'the judicial authority' to reside in 'the enforces and administers it) and the
person of the judge judiciary (who interprets it) are
dependent on the laws set by the
legislator
 This separation of powers is required in order to ensure that the ruler’s will is bound by laws.
 Kant consistently defends an account of absolutist popular sovereignty, according to which the
general will of the people, of which each person is a free, equal and independent co-legislator,
is ultimately sovereign.
 This leads Kant to support:
Externally
the gradual and peaceful formation of
internally world republican institutions which can
domestic republican institutions safeguard perpetual peace, secure
which unite and articulate the rights conclusively in all parts of the
people's general will world, and unite and articulate the
people's general will in regard to global
issues
 Kant argues that we should only employ non-coercive means to these important political ends
by pursuing gradual, peaceful and consensual reforms.
Sovereignty in Western Sovereignty in Islamic Point
Point of View: of View
 Sovereignty means the supremacy of  From the Islamic point of view the
the will of the state. concept of sovereignty revolves
 Sovereign also means “above” or around the sovereignty of Allah.
“one who is superior to others”  Sovereignty of God is the permanent
 Aristotle believes Sovereign as a principle of the sovereign power in the
‘supreme power’ of the state. Islamic state.

 In the sixteenth century, the French  The Quran had clearly laid “Obey
political thinker. Jean Bodin argued, Allah and the Apostle and those in
“sovereignty” refers to the source of authority from among you”
the state’s authority, regardless of its  Concept of Vicegerency
form of government.
 The people in an Islamic state exercise
 Sovereignty may be vested in a king only delegated power and that
or in some elite group or even in the power can only be exercised within
corporate citizenry of the society limits prescribed by Allah through the
over time. Holy Quran.
 Aspects of SOVEREIGNTY

 Internal sovereignty External sovereignty

 Supreme and final power to  Independence of the state
command all persons within from any foreign control
the territory of the state. and interference.
 Absolute over all persons and  Will of the state is supreme
associations. as against all foreign wills.
 Issues orders to all men and  Treaties and international
to all associations within the law do not limit the
area of the state and supremacy of the state,
receives orders from none. because they are self-
imposed limitations.
ATTRIBUTES Of SOVEREIGNTY
PERMANENCE
 continuity of the sovereign power of the state,
 unaffected by the governmental change
 lasts as long as an independent state lasts.

ABSOLUTENESS
 Authority of the state is absolutely supreme
 Free from any internal and external restriction
 No sovereignty means no state.
 EXCLUSIVENESS
 only one sovereign power in a state
 if the two sovereigns exist in a state, the unity of that state will
be destroyed.
 Supreme power over all institution
ALL-COMPREHENSIVENESS
 comprehends all persons and associations within its territories.
 No one can exempt from obeying the laws of the state
 Challenge (Extra territorial sovereignity)
Diplomatic officials
embassies of foreign states
INDIVISIBILITY
 Cannot be divided.
 Nor separated either full or in par
 Impossible to have two or more equal supreme powers in the same state.
INALIENABILITY
 Sovereignty is non-transferable.
 sovereign does not remain the sovereign or the sovereign state, if he or
the state
 transfers his or its sovereignty to any other person or any other state
IMPRESCRIPTIBILITY
 It means, if the sovereign does not exercise his sovereignty for a certain
period of time, it does not lead to the destruction of sovereignty. It lasts
as long as the state lasts.
Kinds of sovereignty
Legal and political sovereignty
 Legal power to issue  State of sovereignty which is
command commonly identified by public
 Authority is absolute and opinion
unlimited  In political Sovereignty,
electorate has political
 It is definitely organized,
sovereignty.
precise and known to law.
 Legal sovereignty is the  The legal sovereign is elected
ultimate power of the state by by the political sovereign.
which the state legislates and  The decisions of legal
enforces it sovereign can be influenced
 Violation of commands will be by public opinion and public
punished reaction
 The will of the political
 Recognized by law
sovereign transforms itself into
a legitimate sovereign law