 School of thought on sovereignty: The political

framework and the structure of the legal systems

anywhere across the world depend on the concept of
sovereignty. The idea owes its roots to the 16th and 17th
century Europe and has existed since then and is ever
expanding. Sovereignty is associated with authority
which are embodied in organizations like nations and
states which in turn are responsible for the territory
under them and the people who live in these territories.
The idea of sovereignty was created not for academic
discourses or philosophical purpose but for real world
potent challenges. As mentioned earlier the idea owes
its genesis to the political upheavals in Europe of the 16th
and 17th century. The increasing power of the pope who
was the theocratic head of the Christian world led the
rulers of Europe to assert their sovereignty over their
land and people to escape papal authority. This coupled
with the later democratic movements have had a
significant impact on how discourse around the concept
of sovereignty has evolved over centuries. There are 2
schools of thoughts for sovereignty:
a. Monist or Absolute view on sovereignty:
Legal sovereignty concept comes under this.
The philosophers that popularized this view
were:
I. Jean Bodin (In favor of monarchy absolute
legal sovereignty)
II. Thomas Hobbes (In favor of monarchy
absolute legal sovereignty)
 III.
John Austin (In favor of parliamentary
absolute sovereignty)
IV. Rosseau (In favor of parliamentary
absolute legal sovereignty)
V. Hans Kelson (In favor of parliamentary
absolute legal sovereignty)
Monist view asserts that the state is the supreme social
institution and has a unique place in comparison to other
institutes and organizations. The spear-head of this view was
Jean Bodin, a French philosopher and a jurist also a member
of the Parliament of Paris. The France in which Bodin lived
and worked was struggling from the aftermath of protestant
reformation and religious conflicts. Though a catholic himself,
Bodin criticized the papal authority of the government and
favored the unrestrained authority of the emperor calling him
the supreme law maker. Thomas Hobbes of England echoed
similar views. Legal sovereignty is the authority of the sate
which has the legal power to issue final commands. It is the
authority of the state to whose directions the law of the state
attributes final legal force. In every independent and ordered
state that are some laws which must be obeyed by the people
and there must be a power to issue and enforce these laws.
The power which has the legal authority to issue and enforce
these laws is legal sovereignty. The authority of the legal
sovereign is absolute and law is simply the will of the
sovereign. Since the authority of the sovereign is
unrestrained, he reserves the legal right to do whatever he
desires. It is the legal sovereign who grants and enforces all
the rights enjoyed by the citizens and therefore, there cannot
be any right against him. The legal sovereign is thus always
definite and determinate. Only the legal sovereign has the
power to declare in legal terms the will of the state. The
authority of the sovereign is absolute and supreme. This
authority may reside either in the monarch in an absolute
monarchy or may reside in a parliament in a constitutional
system. The characteristics of monist legal sovereignty are:
I.Absoluteness: No limitation on power of the state
II.Universality: Applies to all in the given political territory
III.Exclusiveness: There can only be one sovereign in the
state.
IV. Permanence: Change of government/ruler doesn’t end
sovereignty.
V. Inalienability: State and sovereignty cannot be
separated.