Sovereignty

• Cardinal feature of modern state
• Life blood of state
• Supreme authority
• Principle of abs & supreme power of state
• Aristotle spoken of supreme power
• Latin word 'superanum' - supreme /permanent
• Internal - in territory - have right to govern its citizen in its own way
• External - total freedom in international field , R to take independent decision in external affairs , declare war/peace ; sign treaty

• Characteristics - EU PAII
• Exclusiveness -  no indiv or org can compete it , only 1 sovereign in state
• Universality -comprehensive , pervasive , extend to all indiv, grps within state
Permanence - govt forms & dissolve but state & sovereignty remains
• Absoluteness - no limitation , restraints , or auth above him
• Indivisibility - can’t be divided
• Inalienability  - doesn't lapse with time by non -exercise of power

• In every state their supreme & final auth against which there is no appeal
• Synonymous with final , absolute & unlimited power
• Classification
• Legal , political & popular
• Monistic & pluralistic
• Nominal & real
• Bodin/austin -collective state - Hegel- abs Idea, Laski - Distributive State 

Jean Bodin

• Six essay concerning Republic , 1576
• Supreme power of state over citizen
• Unrestrained by law, laws are formed by sovereign himself.
• His command is the essence of law undelegated , perpetual, definite
• Legal th of sovereignty , define in legal term 
• Rejects claim of Pope & feudal lords
• Take command from none of his equals or subordinates
• Always found in state irrespective of form of govt
• Permanent - can't be transferred to agent


• Limitation identified by Bodin
• Divine / Natural laws
• Fundamental laws of society
• Family, property rights
• Law of succession
• Can't be misused otherwise revolt
• Constitutional law / leges imperi



• Criticism - concept is Floating in air
• Logically inconsistent , supreme but impose restriction , limitation
• Sovereignty is related to law of nature , difficult to define or interpret law of nature
• Who will punish sovereign for violation of divine law
• Bodin say sovereign interpret these laws. He may interpret according to s - interest . No effective machinery to control the sovereign
• No tax can be imposed and property can be taken from indiv



Austin

• Lecture on jurisprudence , 1832
• Supreme auth , removed restriction imposed by bodin
• Classical /legal / monistic th of sovereignty
• If a deterministic human superior , not in habit of obedience to alike superior , receives habitual obedience from bulk of a given society , that determinate superior is sovereign in that society, and the society (including the superior) is a society political and independence .
• 3 fold implication
• State is legal order in which there is a definite auth acting as ult source of power
• His auth is unlimited - may act wisely or unwisely , honestly or dishonestly , ethically or unethically 
• Command is essence of sovereignty - sovereign is absolute , all comprehensive , permanent

• Political & independent society -> ruled by deterministic sovereign
• Law ->  Command of sovereign, by superior to inferior, law is command obliging the subj/citizen to do or refrain from doing certain acts, failure to which invite punishment & penalty; Sovereign not limited by +ve law , he himself is creator of +ve law (direct or indirect law- ex customary law continuation -- will of sovereign, can be revoked)
• Determinate Human superior - 1 concrete indiv or grp within whom Sovereignty can be identified
• Individual have no Rights (criticism)


• Criticism - Doesn't suit to modern democratic state , ruled by const. & political auth is decentralised - difficult to find the determinate human superior
• Henry Maine - doesn’t apply to a developing & eastern  country where laws are based on custom & tradition
• Every state is bound by political & social limitation
• Globalization etc have limited state sovereignty
• Limited only to +ve law
• No +ve morality
• Will, not force is …
• Power corrupts , absolute power corrupt absolutely - Lord Acton
• Significance - Most systemic th , removed limitation imposed by bodin , logically most consistent th , absence of Sovereignty leads to anarchy - (Matsya Nyaya), Every dualistic or pluralistic theory require some kind of singular ult auth to explain relation between 2 independent bodies
• Descartes - God - Mind -body dualism
• Leibnitz - PEH - monads harmony - monas monadam
• Samkhya - contact btn Pu & PR unexplained

Joseph Laski

• Grammar of politics , 1893- 1950
• Pluralistic th of sovereignty
• Criticize abs Sovereignty
• Historic analysis - nothing like abs S - custom /tradition impact - Henry Maine
• Abs State incompatible with interest of Humanity
• The of abs S fails as th of law
• As divine kingship vanished this notion will also vanish
• Unquestioned allegiance - not ethically justified - stunned moral personality
• Abs state - Sovereignty externally - lead to wars 

• Laski's conception
• State can justify its existence only as public service corporation
• One among many forms of human association
• State play role of coordinator
• Moral ground of allegiance - State have no R to demand allegiance from individual , it is voluntary
• Democratization of power - favour transferring decision making power in the hands of working class
• Significance - Highlight danger of Sovereignty , make it clear that sovereignty can't be understood purely from legal point of view, imp to promote world peace, recognize value of grp , political Sovereignty not ..

• Criticism -
• State is needed to control various inst , existing in society
• Sovereign state can bring unity & regulate all association
• Division will lead to destruction of S , anarchy & chaos
• These association will be powerful & can't be controlled

Kautilya

• Arthashastra
• Hierarchichal structure of sovereignty
• Sam , daam , dand , Bhed
• Saptang Th