The article is dedicated to the question of generic and specific concepts of sovereignty. It considers the notions of sovereignty existing in the law literature. The article regards the main factors and the contents of sovereignty as a phenomenon studied through the prism of the «power», «will», «interest» categories. It offers approaches to the definition of generic and specific concepts of sovereignty. The author bases the determination of the sovereignty generic concept on the characteristics of the common properties of subjects­bearers of sovereignty being reproduced in different specific concepts: state, people’s and national sovereignty. From this point of view, the approaches to the determination of specific concepts of sovereignty are offered. The content of state sovereignty as a specific phenomenon is defined by the essence and place of the state in the society life. Specific notion of people’s sovereignty characterizes the property of the people to rule their power. The understanding of national sovereignty as a specific phenomenon of sovereignty generic concept is organically linked to the notion of the nation as the particular form of the society life organization.

The distinguishing of generic and specific sovereignty concepts allows understand better the role of different subjects­bearers of sovereignty in the implementation of the sovereignty idea.