INTRODUCTION:

Since the seventeenth century, the legal framework of the sovereign state has served as the exemplary arena
for political governance and economic exchange.1 The institution of sovereignty has been constitutionalized
on both national and international levels.2 Domestically, it is usually channeled through a prominent legal
fiction, the national constitution, which gives formal notice that a people had legally and legitimately self-
determined their form of self-rule.3 Constitutions of different countries are meant to have final authority
within their territorial jurisdiction but does it really have that uninfluenced authority?
Globalization represents the reality that we live in a time when the walls of sovereignty are no protection
against the movements of capital, labor, information and ideasnor can they provide effective protection
against harm and damage.4 This declaration by Judge Rosalyn Higgins, the former President of the
International Court of Justice, represents the conventional wisdom about the future of global governance.
Many view globalization as a reality that will erode or even eliminate the sovereignty of nation-states.
Globalization as a process is as old as the civilization itself but gained lot of prominence only during the
last two decades. It has major impact on the administrative systems of all the countries in the world
especially the developing nations. It has affected sovereignty in three ways. First, the rise of international
trade and capital markets has interfered with the ability of nation-states to control their domestic economies.
Second, nation-states have responded by delegating authority to international organizations. Third, a new
international law, generated in part by these organizations, has placed limitations on the independent
conduct of domestic policies.
Sovereignty is meant to be the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any interference
from outside sources or bodies. In political theory, sovereignty is a substantive term designating supreme
authority over some state. It is a basic principle underlying the dominant Westphalian model of state
foundation.5 Sovereignty allows nations to protect their democratic decision-making and individual
liberties. But should respect for sovereignty demand the rejection of globalization or international
cooperation? Certainly not! A popular saying Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others can
easily be converted to nation-states do not thrive when isolated from others. In a situation in which no
nation-state interacted with the others the Westphalian version of sovereignty would be perfect but in our
present world there are issues that cannot be handled by one nation but by a group of nations. Over the
years global barriers have been shattered, intensification of human interactions and the diffusion of
normative structures on a global scale which has caused a flow of different types of trade.
This paper argues that the actual impact of globalization on the constitutional sovereignty is positive
contrary to the belief of the supporters of the Westphalian model of constitutional sovereignty. Global
forces are likely to influence state law; however, state law has a remarkable capacity to adapt to different
environments and to constrain the actions of transnational entities.

1
Marclio T. Franca, Westphalia: A Paradigm? A Dialogue between Law, Art and Philosophy of Science, 8 German
L. J. 955, 956 (2007).
2
Michael J. Warning, Transnational Public Governance: Networks, Law, and Legitimacy 11 (2009).
3
Douglas Howland & Luise White, Introduction: Sovereignty and the Study of States, in The State of Sovereignty:
Territories, Laws, Populations 10 (Douglas Howland & Luise White, eds., 2009).
4
1. Roslyn Higgins, International Law in a Changing International System, 58CAMBRIDGE L. J.78, 82 (1999).
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty