TestZen · Einbürgerungstest · Practice

61. What does 'popular sovereignty' mean?

Official German wording

Was bedeutet „Volkssouveränität“?

  1. Der König / die Königin herrscht über das Volk.
  2. Das Bundesverfassungsgericht steht über der Verfassung.
  3. Die Interessenverbände üben die Souveränität zusammen mit der Regierung aus.
  4. Die Staatsgewalt geht vom Volke aus.

Answer options

  1. The king/queen rules over the people.
  2. The Federal Constitutional Court stands above the Constitution.
  3. Interest groups exercise sovereignty together with the government.
  4. All state authority derives from the people.

Correct answer

All state authority derives from the people.

Explanation

Popular sovereignty is a foundational structural principle of the Basic Law (Art. 20(2) GG): all state authority derives from the people and is exercised through elections and referendums as well as by the organs of legislation, the executive, and the judiciary. The Basic Law thus continues the Weimar tradition while repudiating pre-modern doctrines of monarchical sovereignty; no organ—including the Federal Constitutional Court—stands above the Constitution, and all are bound by it. As an expression of the pouvoir constituant, popular sovereignty is protected against abolition by the eternity clause (Art. 79(3) GG); political parties (Art. 21 GG) and interest groups mediate interests but do not wield original sovereignty.

Official sources

The German questions come from the original BAMF catalog for the Einbürgerungstest and Leben in Deutschland. Translations and explanations are study aids; verify legal details in the official sources.