Sovereigns delegated judgment to courts but retained full power to alter sentences.
Evidence
The sovereign was present at the execution not only as the power exacting the vengeance of the law, but as the power that could suspend both law and vengeance. He alone must remain master, he alone could wash away the offences committed on his person; although it is true that he delegated to the courts the task of exercising his power to dispense justice, he had not transferred it; he retained it in its entirety and he could suspend the sentence or increase it at will. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 107
Categorization
- XREF: This definition of sovereignty as retained-but-delegated power is the baseline against which the diffusion of power in prison disciplinary regimes — and Oceania’s Party — must be measured. — connects to: The king’s pardoning power displayed sovereignty more fully than the execution itself. — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 107