Legal sovereignty
Topic: State, Government and Governance: Organs, Levels and the Citizen · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Legal sovereignty is the supreme power to make and enforce law. It sits in whatever body the legal system recognises as the highest law-maker. A.V. Dicey separated this legal sovereign from the political sovereign, which stands behind it. In India, legal sovereignty lies in the Constitution, not in Parliament alone. Parliament can make and amend laws only within the limits the Constitution sets.
Example
Parliament passed the 39th Amendment (1975) to put the Prime Minister's election beyond the courts. In Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain (1975), the Supreme Court struck down that part. Judicial review and the basic structure, meaning the core features that no amendment may destroy, show that Parliament is not the final legal authority in India.
Don't confuse with
- Political sovereignty: this is the power behind the legal sovereign, usually the voters. In India it rests with "We, the People". Legal sovereignty is about who makes valid law. Political sovereignty is about whose will finally prevails.