The Constitution declares that the sovereignty lies with the people and the Constitution is the embodiment and solemn expression of the will of the people.

Topic: The Constitution declares that the sovereignty lies with the people and the Constitution is the embodiment and solemn expression of the will of the people.

Table of Contents

Introduction———————————————————————————————          1

Sovereignty Lies with the People——————————————————————–     2

Constitution: Embodiment and Solemn Expression of the Will of the People—————-        3

Conclusion———————————————————————————————-          6

References

Introduction

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.[1] These rules together constitute what the entity is. These doctrines are written down into a single or set of legal documents which is called a written constitution. One of the major statements that are announced in constitution is that sovereignty is held by the people of the state. By definition, sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory.[2] Parliament holds the legal sovereignty which includes enforcing the law of constitutions over people. With bare eyes one might think that sovereignty lies with the government of a state but in reality it lies with the people of the state.

Constitution is the visible form of people’s determination that is why it is called the solemn expression of the will of the people.[3] Constitution has been created for the welfare of the people and it states that rules and regulations have to be followed. Political bodies are the elected people who will run a state according to the constitution by not being the supreme authority rather being the followers of constitution.[4] Nonetheless, Depending on the constitutional order all activities must be done at the same time all laws should be formulated to the consistency with the constitution. As citizens, we must maintain the rules and regulations which are incorporated in constitution.

Sovereignty Lies with the People

From political perspective, absolute power in democratic state belongs to the people, not to the law making body. Nevertheless, legal sovereignty lies to the parliament or constitution.[5] Government in a democratic country is elected by the people of that country by following the laws of existing constitution.[6] Elected government runs the country by taking decisions in the parliament and the constitution is always followed but if needed then modified by the approval of two third of parliamentary members.[7] As the parliament holds the power of implementing and modifying constitution; and this parliamentary members are elected by the people of the state, so the actual power belongs to the people. It means parliament is just the representative of the country people.

Sovereignty of the people is often contrasted with the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, and with individual sovereignty. From the case City of Bisbee v. Cochise County[8], public authority which directs or orders what is to be done by each member associated in relation to the end of the association is the sovereignty in government. It is the supremacy by which any citizen is governed and is the person or body of persons in the state to whom there is politically no superior.

On the other hand, the political standard that the legality of the state is created by the determination or approval of its people is called the popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people. These people are the source of all political influence. It is closely linked with Republicanism and the social contract philosophers, among whom are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Popular dominion expresses a concept and does not essentially reflect or describe a political reality.[9] Benjamin Franklin[10] expressed the concept when he wrote, “In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns.” The term “squatter sovereignty” is used by Jefferson Davis in his book A Short History of the Confederate States of America. This probably derogatory term referred to the influx of new citizens in order to manipulate the ultimate sovereign votes.[11]

In Bangladesh there is Constitutional Supremacy and Article 7 in its unique feature declares the supremacy of the Constitution. So a parliament cannot legislate in any manner actually infringes the supremacy of the Constitution. It also cannot ratify, confirm or validate any act which is unconstitutional and which has destroyed the basic feature of the Constitution. The Martial Law Proclamation is in itself against the nature of Constitution and when through this Proclamation any change is made in the constitution it puts double illegality. So a parliament cannot ratify such acts, it is not within their authority.[12]

We can see the application of the statement that sovereignty lies with the people in context of Bangladesh. The supreme power of the people was seen in 1987 when the protest against Hussain Muhammad Ershad brought him down from the Presidency[13]. In context of USA, according to Chisholm v. Georgia[14], “…at the Revolution, the sovereignty devolved on the people; and they are truly the sovereigns of the country, but they are sovereigns without subjects…with none to govern but themselves; the citizens of America are equal as fellow citizens, and as joint tenants in the sovereignty.”

In a nutshell, legal sovereignty of a country may remain on the parliament but the ultimate sovereignty belongs to the people of the country. It is the people who choose how their future can be better.

Constitution: Embodiment and Solemn Expression of the Will of the People

When a constitution of a country is written, what are the peoples’ desires and for better future of people which things are needed, are kept in mind.[15] Members of the legislature are the agents of the people. They have an inherent right to judge of the acts of their agents, and to censure or grant them as in their purposeful judgment they may consider proper.

According to United States Congress[16], special instructions, covering every point arising in the formation of a constitution, is not allowed in the elections preliminary to a convention; and it is, therefore, appropriate that the action of the convention, necessarily covering new ground, should be submitted to the people for their consideration. The practical right of the people to order and establish governments is found in the significant and beautiful preamble to the Federal Constitution: “We, the people, do ordain and establish this constitution.”

Like an election, constitution is the expression of the will of people. In the elections to form a government, people of the country elect their representatives to run the country. Likewise, constitution is the visual form of peoples’ desires and their determination of getting a better and peaceful life.[17] Even before the constitution was established, the law enforcers used to take people’s view about a peaceful society and then create the laws.[18] Until and unless the written laws are accepted by the people of the state, it will not be accepted as a constitution.[19] Also people have to follow the rules of the constitution and the rights and responsibilities of people are written in the constitution.

The statement has applications in all part of constitution. Participation of woman in national life[20], democracy and human rights[21], provision of basic necessities[22], equality of opportunity[23] etc. talks about the peoples’ desires. These are the laws that actually help people in leading their life. As citizens of a country we always want a better present and future. Constitution contains the laws that are beneficial for the people which will lead people as well as the country towards success. [24]

According to The Daily Sun Editorial[25], the constitution of Bangladesh being the embodiment of the will of the Republic of Bangladesh, is the highest law and all other laws, actions, proceedings must obey the rules and any law or action or proceeding, in whatever form and manner, if made in violation of the Constitution, is null and void.

Conclusion

The concept of constitution is concerned with the role and powers of the institutions within the state and the relationship between the citizen and the state. The parliament holds the authority to enforce the laws of constitution. Nevertheless, the supreme authority is the people who hold the ultimate sovereignty within the country. Citizens of the country elect the government who are the representatives only. If the government is unable to fulfill the requirements of the public then people re-elect the government which shows the supreme authority in the territory.

According to Lutz D. S., [26] to sovereignty refers to the ultimate authority in the people. There are different ways in which sovereignty may be expressed. It may seem instant in the sense that the people make the law themselves, or mediated through representatives who are subject to election and recall. It may be ultimate in the sense that the people have a negative or veto over legislation, or it may be something much less dramatic. In short, popular sovereignty covers a multitude of institutional possibilities.

Constitution is the written document which contains the will of the people. Whatever is required for the betterment of the citizen is present in constitution. Constitution is the voice of people in which rules and responsibilities of both the government and the people are shown. Constitution empowers the citizens but all the citizens of a country have to follow the rules and regulations of constitution and take the responsibility to make the world a better place.

References

Assessing the Constitution of Islamic States, retrieved on 8th June, 2011, available at http://www.islamic-world.net/islamic-state/assessing_consti.htm

Barnett, H., Constitutional and Administrative Law, 7th ed., Part 2, Chapter 6, pp 137

Barnett H. (2010), Understanding Public Law, 1st Ed., Rout ledge-Cavendish: New York

Blanc, J. (2006), Democracy at Large, Rules do Matter, Vol. 2, pp 30, Published by IFES

Britannica Online Encyclopedia, retrieved on 9th June, 2011

Chisholm v. Georgia (US) 2 Dall 419, 454, 1 L Ed 440, 455 @DALL 1793 pp 471-472

City of Bisbee v. Cochise County, 52 Ariz. 1, 78 P.2d 982, 986

Congressional Edition, pp 168-172, Congress, United States

Constitution, retrieved on 10th June, 2011, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Articles 7(2), 10, 11, 15 & 18

Court of Common Pleas, Select cases in equity and at law: argued and determined in the court of common pleas, first judicial district of Pennsylvania, from 1841 to 1850, Volume 2, pp 539-543

Donald S. Lutz, Popular Consent and Popular Control: Whig Political Theory in the Early State Constitutions (Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1980) at p. 38

Gales, J. & Seaton, W., Register of debates in Congress, Volume 3, pp 486

Hayek, F. A., The Constitution of Liberty, pp 63, University of Chicago Press: Chicago

Jackson W. (1835), The American Annual Register, pp 133

Leonard Levy, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Constitution (Nathan Tarcov), “Popular Sovereignty (in Democratic Political Theory), vol 3, p. 1426, 1426 (1986) ISBN 9780028648804

Main Features of Constitution of Bangladesh, retrieved on 10th June, 2011, available at http://bdstudies.webnode.com/constitution/constitution-part-ii-/

New Age, Editorial, 12-05-2011, retrieved on 10th June, 2011, available at http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/editorial/18423.html

Of Chaos, Confusion and Our Constitution, retrieved on 8th June, 2011, available at http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2010/November/chaos.htm

Popular Sovereignty, retrieved on 10th June, 2011, available at http://www.basiclaw.net/Principles/Popular%20sovereignty.htm

SC verdict on 5th Amendment: An analysis (Part I), The Daily Sun, Editorial, 7th October, 2010, retrieved on 9th June, 2011, available at http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=22&cat_id=2&menu_id=5&news_type_id=1&news_id=3551&archiev=yes&arch_date=27-10-2010

Sharma, S. R. (2003), Encyclopedia of Constitutional Law, pp 372, Anmol Publication

Sovereignty of the People, retrieved on 10th June, 2011, available at http://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/sovreign.htm

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Story J. (1833), Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: with a preliminary review of the constitutional history of the colonies and states, before the adoption of the Constitution

S/W ASIA | “Detention of Bangladeshi leader declared illegal”. BBC News. 1998-03-01. Retrieved 2009-01-15

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[1] See The New Oxford American Dictionary, Second ed., Erin McKean (editor), 2051 pages, May 2005, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517077-6.

[2] See “sovereignty (politics)”. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. retrieved on 9th June, 2011.

[3] See Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Article 7(2), “This Constitution is, as the solemn expression of the will of the people, the supreme law of the Republic, and if any other law is inconsistent with this Constitution and other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

[4] See Gales J. & Seaton W., Register of debates in Congress, Volume 3, pp.486, “It is the people’s constitution, the people’s government; made for the people; by the people: and answerable to the people; But the state legislatures, as political bodies, however sovereign, are yet not sovereign over the people.

[5] See Constitutional and Administrative Law, Barnett H. 7th ed., Part 2, Chapter 6, pp 137

[6] Blanc J. (2006), Democracy at Large, Rules do Matter, Vol. 2, pp 30, Published by IFES.

[7] Encyclopedia of Constitutional Law, Edited by Sharma S. R. (2003), pp 372, Anmol Publication pvt. Ltd.

[8] City of Bisbee v. Cochise County, 52 Ariz. 1, 78 P.2d 982, 986.

[9] See Leonard Levy, ed., Encyclopedia of the American Constitution (Nathan Tarcov), “Popular Sovereignty (in Democratic Political Theory), vol 3, p. 1426, 1426 (1986) ISBN 9780028648804 (Noting of the “doctrine” of popular sovereignty that it “relates primarily not to the Constitution’s [actual] operation but to its source of authority and supremacy, ratification, amendment, and possible abolition.”)

[10] See Thomas Jefferson UVa Library, available at http://guides.lib.virginia.edu/TJ, retrieved on 9th June, 2011

[11] Available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_sovereignty, retrieved on 10th June 2011.

[12] Available at

http://www.dailysun.com/index.php?view=details&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=22&cat_id=2&menu_id=5&news_type_id=1&news_id=3551&archiev=yes&arch_date=27-10-2010, retrieved on 10th June, 2011

[13] See S/W ASIA | “Detention of Bangladeshi leader declared illegal”. BBC News. 1998-03-01. Retrieved 2009-01-15.

[14] See CHISHOLM v. GEORGIA (US) 2 Dall 419, 454, 1 L Ed 440, 455 @DALL 1793 pp471-472

[15]Hayek F. A., The Constitution of Liberty, pp 63, University of Chicago Press: Chicago.

[16] See Congressional Edition, pp 168-172, Congress, United States.

[17]See Court of Common Pleas, Select cases in equity and at law: argued and determined in the court of common pleas, first judicial district of Pennsylvania, from 1841 to 1850, Volume 2, pp 539-543.

[18] See Story J. (1833), Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States: with a preliminary review of the constitutional history of the colonies and states, before the adoption of the Constitution

[19] Jackson W. (1835), The American Annual Register, Pp 133

[20] Article 10

[21] Article 11

[22] Article 15

[23] Article 18

[24] New Age, Editorial, 12-05-2011, available at http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/editorial/18423.html, retrieved on 10th June, 2011.

[25] The Daily Sun, Editorial, @7th October, 2010.

[26] Donald S. Lutz, Popular Consent and Popular Control: Whig Political Theory in the Early State Constitutions (Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1980) at p. 38