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What is Sovereignty, Definition, 

Features & Characteristics

What is Sovereignty?

Sovereignt y is one of t he most essent ial and unique feat ures of t he

st at e. It is t he ult imat e and supreme law and policy making aut horit y
of t he st at e. It is t he soul of st at e. It is t hat element of t he st at e,
whit dist inguishes t he st at e from all, ot her associat ions. T he word
‘Sovereignt y’ is derived from Lat in word “Superanaus” which means
supreme. Sovereignt y (of t he st at e) means t he supremacy of t he will
of t he st at e as expressed by it s laws over all t he individuals and
associat ions wit hin it s boundaries and independence against all
foreign cont rol and int ervent ion. No people can form a st at e unless
t hey sovereign. In ot her words t here can be no st at e wit hout
ADVERT ISEMENT
sovereignt y.
Definition of Sovereignty

T here have been a number of definit ions of t he t erm Sovereignt y.

1. Aristot le says it is t he supreme power in t he st at e. According to

Jean Bodin it is t he supreme power over cit izens and subject s
unrest rained by law.
2. Hugo Grot us, t he Fat her of t he Int ernat ional law, says it is t he
supreme polit ical power vest ed in him whose act s are not
subject s to any ot her, whose will cannot be over-ridden.
3. In short , we can say t hat sovereignt y is t he supreme, unlimit ed
and absolut e power of t he st at e.
Related Posts
Feature, Attributes & Characteristics of Sovereignty

Following are t he some import ant feat ures, at t ribut es &

porject Project
charact erist ics of sovereignt y
management
triangle
Absoluteness or Unlimited Management
Triangle, How to
Absolut eness is an import ant at t ribut e of sovereignt y which means
Manage Its …
t hat t here are no limit at ions what so ever on t he sovereignt y of t he
st at e. All associat ions and groups living and funct ioning wit hin t he
st at e are under t he cont rol of t he st at e. T here is no int ernal or
ext ernal cont rol over t he st at e. Some writ ers do not agree to t his
idea. T hey say t hat in t he modern world such as omnipot ent st at e porters-
cannot exist . Besides, such a st at e would be very dangerous for value-
int ernat ional peace and order. chain-
template.png
Porter’s Value
Chain Analy sis
Primary &
Secondary  …

General J ournal
Accounting
Indivisibility De nition,
Entries &
Examples
It means sovereignt y cannot be divided. T here is a famous saying to
divide sovereignt y is to Dest roy it Just as t here cannot be half a
human being or half a t riangle, so t here cannot be half sovereignt y. In
the The
1971 East Pakist an separat ed from East -Pakist an t hat is
president
sovereignt y divided.
of
united
Universality states
of
Universalit y is anot her charact erist ic of sovereignt y; it means t hat america
t he sovereignt y of t he St at e covers every individual, group and President of
associat ion wit hin it s boundary. Nobody can claim exempt ion from U nited States of
sovereignt y of t he st at e. T here is one exempt ion to t his rule. It is said America
t hat t he ambassador of a count ry, his residence and his embassy are
exempt ed from t he sovereignt y of t he st at e. T his is called t he
Principle of Ext rat erritorialit y. Infact t his is a concession and an
exempt ion. Every st at e in t he world wishes to maint ain peace. For
t his purpose t hey believe in t he freedom of t he diplomat s, wit hout
which it would not be possible for any st at e to know what is being
done in anot her st at e. Similarly every st at e want s maximum
concessions to it s diplomat s. So we can say t hat t his principle is
based on underst anding among t he civilized nat ions. It is not an
exempt ion because if a count ry feels t hat t his principle is being
misused, it has every right to wit hdraw it .

Permanence
Since t he st at e is permanent inst it ut ion, so it s sovereignt y is also
permanent . In very rare cases a st at e dies or becomes ext inct . T his
happens in case of defeat or conquest s. Besides, t here is much
difference bet ween t he st at e and t he government . One remains
permanent while t he ot her changes. T here is a very famous English
saying: T he Icing is dead: long live king.

Exclusiveness
It means t hat wit hin one st at e t here can be only one sovereign. Even
if t here more t han one, t here will be a st ruggle and a result of t his one
will exclude t he ot her? T here is very famous saying: even if t here are
t wo riders, t he reins will be in t he hands of one. In Persian t hey say
t here cannot be t wo swords in a sheat h (scabbard). Somebody has
very right ly said t hat t en beggars can sleep in a blanket but t wo kings
cannot live in a kingdom.
Imprescriptibility
In civil law t here is a provision t hat if ownership over a piece of
propert y is not exercised for cert ain period (15 years or 20 years) t he
ownership is lost . But t here is no such t ime period for t he exercise of
sovereignt y of a st at e over a part icular area.

Inalienability
T his means sovereignt y cannot be t ransferred. Just like a person
cannot t ransfer his life wit hout killing himself, so t he st at e cannot
t ransfer. It is sovereignt y wit hout dest roying it self.

Kinds of Sovereignty

Following are five kinds of sovereignty

1. Nominal and Real Sovereignt y

2. Legal Sovereignt y
3. Polit ical Sovereignt y
4. Popular Sovereignt y
5. De Facto and Jure Sovereignt y