Sovereignty

Legal Issues

International treaties and conventions are, or should be, based on the presumption that all sovereign states are equal. This presumption forms the basis for the operation of the rules of conflict of laws.5 No country can directly enforce its domestic law within the territory of another sovereign state, although many domestic laws have extra-territorial operation (which, in brief, means that a law may be enforced by a domestic court within the territory of its own country against a contravening act committed outside the territory). Sovereignty in international law also explains why there is territorial limitation on the operation of a domestic law. The concept of territory is essential. A country has territorial sovereignty (which, in general, means that a state has an exclusive jurisdiction over any person and property, subject to diplomatic immunities, within its territory, and that the integrity of its territory cannot be violated) because it is a sovereign state. By the same token, a sovereign state must have its distinct territory in which its sovereignty can exist and in which its law can be enforced.(1)

The Proposed Constitution Leaves State-sovereignty Intact

Lassa Oppenheim, in the book entitled The Future of International Law, about The Proposed Constitution Leaves State-sovereignty Intact, wrote in 1921: 27. It must be particularly remarked that such a constitution can in no way infringe on the full sovereignty of individual states. Apart from the fact that the idea of sovereignty indicates an absolute independence of any higher earthly power, that idea has never acquired a rigid and uniformly recognized content. Times and circumstances have influenced and shaped it in different states and in the mouths of different authorities. This development of the idea, an idea which has won a place for itself and the retention of which seems desirable despite all opposition, may go further still in the future.

Does the International Prize Court Restrict the Sovereignty of the Several States?

Lassa Oppenheim, in the book entitled The Future of International Law, about Does the International Prize Court Restrict the Sovereignty of the Several States?, wrote in 1921: 54. The International Prize Court violates the sovereignty of states just as little as it violates the principle of equality. No state submitting itself to an international tribunal submits itself thereby to the power of any other earthly sovereign so long as no other power is entrusted with the execution of the awards of the international tribunal, that is to say, so long as submission to any such award rests always and entirely on the voluntary submission of the state concerned. If this be not correct, then there would also be an invasion of sovereignty whenever–as indeed happens everywhere more or less–a state submits itself to the decrees of its own courts, and allows its subjects an appeal to its courts against the measures of the government. In the latter, as in the former case, what we have is merely the demission to the determination of the court of the question whether certain acts and claims are consistent with law. He who at the present day conceives sovereignty as an unlimited arbitrariness of conduct is guilty of an anachronism which is everywhere contradicted by the mere fact that there are such things as international law and constitutional law.

The Powers of the International Prize Court do Not Curtail State-sovereignty

Lassa Oppenheim, in the book entitled The Future of International Law, about The Powers of the International Prize Court do Not Curtail State-sovereignty, wrote in 1921: 56. It is imagined that a trump card is played when it is asserted that Article 7 of the Convention, entered into at the second Peace Conference, respecting the Prize Court, curtails state-sovereignty when it provides that, in default of definite agreement and of generally recognized rules of the law of nations, the Prize Court is to give its decisions in accordance with the principles of justice and equity, and that therefore (so the assertion continues) on certain points the Prize Court can make international law by itself. Whilst up to the present time custom and convention have been the two sources of the law of nations, the Prize Court–so it is said–is now to be added as a third, and the law made by it is to become international law without requiring the assent of the several states. All this argument rests on a false assumption.

The article in question endues the Prize Court in certain points with a law-making power which is simply a delegated power. The states which are concerned with the Prize Court desire, in the interests of legal security, that the tribunal should not declare itself incompetent by reason of want of existing rules on any given matter. They accordingly delegate to this tribunal the power which lies in them collectively of making rules of international law, and they prospectively declare themselves at one with regard to the rules which the tribunal shall declare to be binding in the name of justice and equity. Now the Prize Court is not hereby made a special and independent source of international law by the side of convention, but the law which it declares is law resting on an agreement between states. Even in the inner life of states we meet with delegation of legislative power to a limited degree, and yet this does not mean that the authorities in question are raised into special and independent sources of law side by side with the government of the state. And just as in the inner life of a state a delegation of legislative power does not involve an infringement of sovereignty, so also the delegation of legislative power to the Prize Court involves no infringement of the sovereignty of the members of the international community of states.

Doctrina of Sovereignty of States over Territory

Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political authority over a defined territory
(land, airspace and certain maritime areas such as the territorial sea) and the people within that
territory. No other State can have formal political authority within that State. Learn more about the doctrine of Sovereignty of States over Territory here.

Sovereignty, States, Bigamy

From the book The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law, about Sovereignty, States, Bigamy (1): The courts have held that this provision applies to Congress only, and can not be construed to interfere with the sovereignty of the several States; that the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom was not intended to prohibit legislation against polygamy; and that section 5352 of the United States Revised Statutes against bigamy, is constitutional. Also, that on a trial for bigamy in Utah, a man who was living in polygamy was not competent to serve as a juror.64

Introduction to Sovereignty

Sovereignty, autonomous, absolute political and military power embodied in a ruler or governmental body. The concept of sovereignty originated when Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries were looking for a secular basis for the authority of the emerging nation-states. In international relations, a sovereign state is equal to other states; it can govern its own territory, declare war, and so on. Contemporary international law, however, as well as the treaties that bind nations together, have modified the freewheeling absolute sovereignty conceived of four centuries ago. The United Nations is the main legal body today that acts as a check on sovereignty.

In terms of the authority a nation exercises over its own citizens, sovereignty stands in direct opposition to political expression. A prime function of a state is to survive; in principle, one way to improve chances of survival is to eliminate internal dissension. Such dissension, however, is the normal result of the policies of governments that represent diverse political factions and viewpoints. In modern democracies, therefore, the exercise of sovereignty is restricted to times when survival is at stake, as in wartime.” (1)

Sovereignty in Constitutional Law

From the Comparative Constitutions Project: Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region or group of people, such as a nation or a tribe. Sovereignty is generally vested in a government or other political agency, though there are cases where it is held by an individual.

The Legal History of State Sovereignty

This section provides an overview of State Sovereignty history.

Concept of Sovereignty

An introductory definition of Sovereignty is provided here: means a government has the right, at least in principle, to do whatever it liks in its own territory (also see state)

Concept of Sovereignty

Sovereignty may be defined as: Sovereignty refers to the fact that each Indigenous tribe has the inherent right to govern itself. Tribal sovereignty in colonized nations was violated with the arrival of various European powers that claimed dominion over the lands that they “discovered,” yet exists in a limited way in the U.S. and other European-colonized nations today.(1)

Concept of Sovereignty

Note: explore also the meaning of this legal term in the American Ecyclopedia of Law.

Status Issues

In relation to the international law practice and status issues in this world legal Encyclopedia, please see the following section:

Diplomatic Relations, Succession, Continuity of States, and Other Statehood Issues

About this subject:

Nagorno-Karabakh

Note: there is detailed information and resources under these topics during the year 2013, covered by this entry on status issues in this law Encyclopedia.

Sovereignty

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on sovereignty explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.See territorial sovereignty.

Sovereignty Over Pedra Branca/pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on sovereignty over pedra branca/pulau batu puteh, middle rocks and south ledge explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Sovereignty Over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan Case

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on sovereignty over pulau ligitan and pulau sipadan case explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Sovereignty Over Various Red Sea Islands Arbitration

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on sovereignty over various red sea islands arbitration explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Sovereignty and Europe

There is an entry on sovereignty in the European legal encyclopedia.

Maintaining Sovereignty and Policy Space

This section provides an overview of maintaining sovereignty and policy space within the legal context of Foundational Concepts in international economic law.

Sovereignty

This section provides an overview of sovereignty within the legal context of Historical Perspective in international economic law. See more related entries to Sovereignty in this legal encyclopedia.

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See Also

• Foregin Policy
• Foreign Affairs

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See Also

• Constitution
• Federalism

Resources

Further Reading

• Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer, “Maintaining Sovereignty and Policy Space,” Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law, Cheltenham Glos (United Kingdom), Northampton, MA (United States)

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See Also

Further Reading

• Entry “Sovereignty” in the work “A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein”, by Rodney Leach (Profile Books; London)

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “sovereignty over various red sea islands arbitration” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “sovereignty over pulau ligitan and pulau sipadan case” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “sovereignty over pedra branca/pulau batu puteh, middle rocks and south ledge” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “sovereignty” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

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Notes

1. From “Tribal sovereignty.” West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. (2008). .

Resources

Notes and References

1. Charles M. Scanlan, The Clergyman’s Hand-book of Law. The Law of Church and Grave (1909), Benziger Brothers, New York, Cincinnati, Chicago
2. Information about Sovereignty in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
3. John Mo, International Commercial Law

See Also

• Religion
• Church
• Legal Biography
• Legal Traditions
• Historical Laws
• History of Law

Guide to Sovereignty

Further Reading

• A concise encyclopedia of the United Nations (including Sovereignty , H Volger, KA Annan -2010)
• The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (TG Weiss – 2007)
• International Law: A Dictionary (including Sovereignty , Boczek, Boleslaw Adam -2005)
• State Sovereignty in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• State Sovereignty in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly