On the Concept of Sovereignty

On the Concept of Sovereignty Presented by: Prof. Dr. Zoltán Date: 10 November 2023 Ideological History - Les Six Livres de la République (1576) Conceptual Issues - Starting point: Georg Jellinek, three elements - sovereignty: a supreme authority (power) over a specific territory and a permanent population - state: entity with a government performing authority over a territory and a permanent population - [der Staat ist ein „ursprünglicher Herrschaftsmacht ausgerüstete Körperschaft eines sesshaften Volkes (Gebietskörperschaft)"] - [later: Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States three elements plus "capacity to enter into relations with other states", 1933] - see later Supreme Authority (Supreme Power) – Normative And Sociological View - Ernesto Thälmann Island (Ernst-Thälmann-Insel / Cayo Ernesto Thaelmann) Nature Of The Concept Of Sovereignty: - Legal Sovereignty - Political Sovereignty Classification Of Types Of Sovereignty As To Who The Sovereign Is - 1) Sovereignty Of Monarchs - 2) Parliamentary Sovereignty - 3) Popular Sovereignty - 4) State Sovereignty - 5) National Sovereignty. - Politische Theologie: 'Sovereign is he who decides on the exception.' - So, he defined the sovereign as an entity who 'decides on the [state of] exception' (Ausnahmezustand) legal order on the state (status) without - Sovereign can be: monarch, the people/etc.... - in Germany: Sovereign 1/2/3/4 Sovereignty Of Monarchs (Rulers) - Jean Bodin: sovereignty is the most high, absolute and perpetual power over the citizens and subjects in a Commonwealth Characteristics Of The Sovereignty - Power of legislation - Declaration of war and peace - Appointment of senior officials - Supreme judicial forum - Giving pardon - Receiving homage (today: receiving ambassadors...) - Issuing money - Determination of weights and measures - Levying taxes - Protagonist of absolute monarchy the monarch rules on behalf and in the name of God • "If the enforcement of the ruler's will is contingent upon the consent of someone 'greater than them', then such ruler is nothing more than a subject (e.g., a governor or regent); if it is contingent upon the consent of someone equal, then such ruler is not more than a partner; and if it is contingent upon the consent of something 'lesser' (e.g., the senate or the people), then such ruler is not sovereign." - Limits of absolute power: norms outside positive law, rules from international obligations Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651): - natural state: bellum omnium contra omnes social contract - political state (personal safety) - 'This done, the multitude so united in one person is called a COMMONWEALTH, in Latin CIVITAS. This is the … great LEVIATHAN, ... the immortal God, our peace and defense.' Parliamentary Sovereignty - English Civil Revolution - Constitutional monarchy (King-in-Parliament) - Parliamentary monarchy - Denial of the division of power In England (UK But Penal Law Cases In Scotland) - Courts were integrated into the parliament: • Any judge could be (legally) removed on the joint initiative of the lower and upper house • House of Lords was the ultimate appeal forum (until 2005, when the Supreme Court was established) - The government is not independent from the parliament, either: • Secretaries of state are MPs • Answerability to the Parliament Principle Of Representation - The quality of parliamentarism basically depends on who can elect the representatives - Universal suffrage / lack thereof - Distinction between parliamentary sovereignty and popular sovereignty Popular Sovereignty - French Enlightenment - Popular sovereignty in a broader sense - Popular sovereignty in a narrower sense - Laws should be made by and apply to the people as a whole - Volonté générale - Two requirements State Sovereignty - State sovereignty - popular sovereignty - State sovereignty - sovereignty of monarchs / parliamentary sovereignty - Division of power National Sovereignty - Political nation / cultural nation - Two meanings of national sovereignty: • A synonym of popular sovereignty • Identity based concept (national sovereignty is an orthogonal dimension)