52. What does “popular sovereignty” mean? All state authority emanates from the …

Answer options

1. the people.
2. the Bundestag.
3. the Prussian king.
4. the Federal Constitutional Court.

Explanation

Under Article 20(2) of the Basic Law, popular sovereignty means that all state authority emanates from the people and is exercised through elections, referendums, and the constitutionally established organs of legislation, the executive, and the judiciary. It stands in contrast to parliamentary sovereignty and to the monarchical principle of old Prussia, drawing instead on the traditions of 1848/49 and the Weimar Constitution. The Federal Constitutional Court is the guardian of the Constitution, not an original source of sovereignty; its authority is derivative. Popular sovereignty is legally bounded by human dignity (Article 1) and the eternity clause of Article 79(3).