The Concept of State Sovereignty

Overview
1. what is sovereignty
2. Types of sovereignty
3. Characteristics
4. Challenges
5. Limits on state sovereignty
6. Convention on Rights and Duties of States, 1933
 Sovereignty
• “The distinguishing characteristic of the state. Sovereignty is the
right to have absolute and unlimited power, either legal or political,
within the territory of a state”.
 The Concept of Sovereignty

• ’Sovereignty’ - supreme power or authority within a territory.

• the political institution in which sovereignty is embodied is the state

• ‘sovereignty’ is derived from Latin word ‘Supernus’ meaning supreme.

• The supreme power of the state is its sovereign power.

 Sovereignty
• The supreme/ absolute/ and uncontrollable power by which any
independent state is governed;

• The power to do everything in a state without accountability, to

other countries, to execute and to apply them, to impose and
collect taxes and levy contributions, to make war or peace, to form
treaties of alliance or of commerce with foreign nations
 Sovereignty
1. Internal sovereignty
‘legal’ and ‘practical’ sovereignty (state to be the only law-making body
for the population inhabiting a given territory)
means that the state is powerful internally.
the power of a sate over individuals, citizens, subjects and
associations.

2. external sovereignty
the freedom of a state from foreign control.
Creating the independence of the state.
 external sovereignty

• states have legal equality in international society

• for a state to achieve full external sovereignty it must be
recognized as a fellow sovereign state by ‘enough’ of the other
members of the international system, especially the most powerful
states
Sovereign equality of States means that a
State

1. Enjoys exclusive jurisdiction over a territory and population

2. May not intervene in jurisdiction of other States
3. Must heed obligations arising from international law and treaties
 Characteristics
• sovereignty is a permanent concept of the state. So long as a state
lasts, its sovereignty also lasts. Changes in government do not
affect its continuity and permanence.
• It is exclusive. It is the only power of the state. It means that there
can be only one sovereign in a state. This feature is identical with
indivisibility of sovereignty.
• Sovereign powers can’t be divided equally. Sovereignty, it is said, is
indivisible and cannot be divided into parts.
 Characteristics
• It is inalienable. It can’t be transferred from one to another.
• Sovereignty is defined as absolute, supreme and unlimited power.
There is no other power higher than the state that can issue
commands to it. The sovereign is the source of all laws and rights. It
is above law.
• The sovereign has jurisdiction over all persons, things, associations
and groups within the state territory. No person or association can
claim exemption from its laws. Its laws are universal.
• It controls the external behavior of each person and association
and thereby brings about social order.
 Theory of State Sovereignty.
The political doctrine of J. Bodin

• Jean Bodin (1530-1596) is a French politician, philosopher,

economist, lawyer, member of the Paris parliament and professor
of law
Sovereignty, according to Boden, has the
following properties
1. Sovereignty is one and indivisible - it can not be divided between
the king and the people, several different organizations and can not
be alternately implemented by them.
2. The sovereign power is constant - it can not be transferred for a
while or on other terms to any person.
3. Sovereign power is unlimited - no human law can limit sovereignty.
4. Sovereignty is subject only to divine and natural laws, but not to
religious dogmas.
5. Sovereignty can belong either to one person, or to a minority of
the population of the country, or to all able-bodied people..
Sovereignty, according to Boden, has the
following properties
Boden singled out five signs of state sovereignty:
• 1) the right of the supreme authority to issue and repeal laws;
• 2) declare war and conclude peace;
• 3) appoint senior officials;
• 4) exercise the supreme court and the right of pardon;
• 5) the right to coin money, establish measures and weights, to
collect taxes.
Challenges to state sovereignty
• The structure of international society;
• The impact of globalization;
• the spread of weapons of mass
destruction;
• the growth of informal ties;
• the rise of new international actors;
Montevideo Convention on Rights and
Duties of States, 1933
• article 1 of which provides: “The State as a person of international
law should possess the following qualifications:
• (a) a permanent population;
• (b) a defined territory;
• (c) government; and
• d) capacity to enter into relations with other States.”
Limitations on State sovereignty

• (a) a number of attempts in the international community to

restrain State sovereignty in favour of international co-operation
between and among sovereign States and for universal values
such as human rights and the environment, and
• (b) the conservative tendency among some States to retain their
sovereignty in the face of allegedly unfavourable circumstances in
the world.
 limitations/ restrictions

• (i) in the field of international organisations, States accept that

the organisations (e.g. the United Nations or the African Union) can
take decisions on which they no longer have a decisive influence;
• (ii) in the field of regional and international (quasi-)judicial
institutions, States accept that individuals can turn to these
international bodies that have jurisdiction on human rights issues;
and
• (iii) in the field of conflict and foreign intervention, States tend
to accept infringement on their sovereignty for the protection of
individuals from grave human rights violations.
 Tutorial
• Discuss the relationship between international law and state
sovereignty
 References
• Grinin, L. E. (2012). New foundations of international system or why do states
lose their sovereignty in the age of globalization. Journal of Globalization
Studies, 3(1), 3-38. Retrieved from https
://www.socionauki.ru/journal/articles/142627/

• Bartelson, J. (2006). The concept of sovereignty revisited. European Journal of

International Law, 17(2), 463-474.

• Andrew, E. (2011). Jean Bodin on Sovereignty. Republics of Letters: A Journal

for the Study of Knowledge, Politics, and the Arts, 2(2), 80.