ABSTRACT
Under any constitution – whether written or unwritten – there must be a source of ultimate authority: one supreme power over and above all other power in the state. Under a written constitution the highest source of power is the constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court. Political sovereignty refers to the supreme political authority within a state. Legal sovereignty – from the standpoint of sovereignty within the state as opposed to sovereignty as understood in international law – refers to the supreme legal authority within a state. The classical definition of sovereignty, offered from a constitutional law rather than a jurisprudential perspective, is that of AV Dicey. Dicey insisted that it was essential to separate the political from the legal and to recognise that, as matters stand, legal sovereignty remains with the United Kingdom Parliament, although there may be political restraints which effectively inhibit the exercise of those powers.
