I

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS STRUCTURE

1. Sovereignty and local government

IN our present-day, sovereignty-conscious world there are essen-

tially four types of government. These are the supra-sovereign,
the sovereign national, the quasi-sovereign (federated-)state, and
the infra-sovereign local governments. Supra-sovereign govern-
ments, such as the European Coal and Steel Community, are
still very few and relatively undeveloped; but they may be
helping to make the term "sovereignty" obsolete. Today it is the
sovereign national governments which exercise most authority
and power, have the most fully developed bureaucracies, and
upon which most public opinion is focused.
A quasi-sovereignl (federated-)state is a part of a federal form
of government, either in constitutional theory or in practice
or both. The essential principle of a federal form of government
is that the sovereignty, that is, the supreme political authority
and power, is in principle divided between the national govern-
ment of the country as a whole and the federated-state govern-
ments of the major constituent geographical parts, so that each of
them within its own sphere is supreme and independent of the
other.2 One of the spheres which is in principle reserved to the
1 According to The Shorter Oxford Dictionary, "quasi" is defined as "(a) kind
of; resembling or simulating, but not really the same."
I For a fuller description of "the federal principle" and the distinction be-
tween "a federal government" and "a federal constitution" see K. C. Wheare,
Federal Government (London 1953), especially the first two chapters. Professor
Wheare maintains that although many countries have a federal or quasi-federal
constitution, only four countries, the United States, Switzerland, Australia and
Canada, have a federal form of government in actual practice.
In determining, though, which countries in this survey have quasi-sovereign

S. Humes, The Structure of Local Governments Throughout the World

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1959
2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ITS STRUCTURE

federated-state government is local government. Thus the laws

establishing and controlling local government are generally state
laws, and the administrative controls over local government in
countries with federal constitutions are usually exercised by
state officials. From a local government viewpoint, then, both
the state as well as the national governments are considered
"central governments" ; the states are quasi-sovereign and are not,
therefore, considered to be local governments.
Local governments are infra-sovereignl geographic units con-
tained within a sovereign nation or quasi-sovereign state. They
include provinces and other intermediate units as well as muni-
cipalities and other basic units. Like. all units of government,
local government units have a defined area, a population, a
continuing organization, and the authority to undertake and
the power to carry out public activities. Many of them are legal
persons, which means that they can sue and be sued and enter
into contracts. Some may levy taxes and most have independent
budgets. The main distinguishing characteristic of local govern-
ments is that they are infra-sovereign, that is, they do not have
any aspects of sovereignty. 2

constituent parts, I have deliberately included Brazil, West Germany, India, the
Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia, which according to Wheare have a federal or
quasi-federal constitution but do not operate as federal countries. I have also
included Malaya and Austria whose constitutions were adopted after Wheare
wrote his book. Partially I used this broader interpretation in order to avoid
unnecessary controversy on a point which I do not consider crucial to this
presentation. Moreover, whether or not a form of government in these countries
is federal in practice, the major constituent parts appear and are considered by
those in the countries concerned, to have some aspects of sovereignty, therefore
they are in this survey defined as quasi-sovereign and are not considered to be
local government. In fact I am doubtful ifthere are any fields in which the major
constituent parts of any of these so-called federal countries, including the United
States, are in fact sovereign, that is supreme and completely independent of the
actions ofthe other.
1 According to The Shorter Oxford Dictionary, "infra" is defined as "Denoting
'below' or 'beneath' (i.e. 'lower down than') in respect of status or conditions."
It is also defined as "Denoting 'within' (as in medieval Latin), as infra-territorial
etc."
• The local units may possess "inherent competence," however, which closely
resembles the authority of some of the quasi-sovereign states. See page 38 in
Chapter 3.