Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people

The Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people, which challenged the legitimacy of the colonial authorities,[1] was the principle underlying the self-government temporarily in the absence of the legitimate king.

The Seven-Part Code recognized the right of "good and honest" persons to form Juntas in absence of the king.

[2] In Spain, resistant governing juntas were formed, claiming sovereignty in the absence of the legitimate King.

But the Seven-Part Code implied that the territory was still under the sovereignty of the King and that the Juntas were only a temporary fix.

[3] With the kidnapping, Abdications of Bayonne and imprisonment of Ferdinand VII by Napoleon during the Peninsular war and the absence of a legitimate successor, the criterion was used to justify self-government in Spain.