JOHN HANCOCK SOVEREIGN BOND FUND

                 Establishment and Designation of Class R Shares
                            of Beneficial Interest of
                             John Hancock Bond Fund
                                       and
                            Amendment of Section 5.11


                 Establishment and Designation of Class R Shares
                 -----------------------------------------------

         The undersigned, being a majority of the Trustees of John Hancock
Sovereign Bond Fund, a Massachusetts business Trust (the "Trust"), acting
pursuant to Sections 5.1 and 5.11 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of
Trust dated June 8, 1999, as amended from time to time (the "Declaration of
Trust"), do hereby establish and designate an additional class of shares of John
Hancock Bond Fund (the "Fund"), effective August 1, 2003, as follows:

      1. The additional class of Shares of the Fund established and designated
         hereby is "Class R Shares".

      2. Class R Shares shall be entitled to all of the rights and preferences
         accorded to Shares under the Declaration of Trust.

      3. The purchase price of Class R Shares, the method of determining the net
         asset value of Class R Shares, and the relative dividend rights of
         holders of Class R Shares shall be established by the Trustees of the
         Trust in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration of Trust and
         shall be as set forth in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional
         Information of the Fund included in the Trust's Registration Statement,
         as amended from time to time, under the Securities Act of 1933, as
         amended and/or the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

                            Amendment of Section 5.11
                            -------------------------

         The undersigned, being a majority of the Trustees of John Hancock
Sovereign Bond Fund, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"), acting
pursuant to Section 8.3 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust dated
June 8, 1999, as amended from time to time (the "Declaration of Trust"), do
hereby amend Section 5.11, effective August 1, 2003, as follows:

         1. Section 5.11 (a) shall be deleted and replaced with the following:

            Without limiting the authority of the Trustees set forth in
            Section 5.1 to establish and designate any further Series or
            Classes, the Trustees hereby establish the following Series:
            John Hancock Bond Fund, which consists of Class A Shares,
            Class B Shares, Class C Shares, Class I Shares, and Class R
            Shares (the "Existing Series").




         The Declaration of Trust is hereby amended to the extent necessary to
reflect the establishment of an additional class of Shares and the amendment of
Section 5.11, effective August 1, 2003.

         Capitalized terms not otherwise defined shall have the meaning set
forth in the Declaration of Trust.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have executed this instrument as of
this 23rd day of June 2003.


                                                        /s/Maureen R. Ford
----------------------                                  ------------------
Dennis S. Aronowitz                                     Maureen R. Ford

/s/Richard P. Chapman, Jr.                              /s/William F. Glavin
--------------------------                              --------------------
Richard P. Chapman, Jr.                                 William F. Glavin

/s/William J. Cosgrove                                  /s/John A. Moore
----------------------                                  ----------------
William J. Cosgrove                                     John A. Moore

/s/John M. DeCiccio
-------------------                                     ------------------------
John M. DeCiccio                                        Patti McGill Peterson

/s/Richard A. Farrell                                   /s/John W. Pratt
---------------------                                   ----------------
Richard A. Farrell                                      John W. Pratt




         The Declaration of Trust, a copy of which, together with all amendments
thereto, is on file in the office of the Secretary of State of The Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, provides that no Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the
Trust or any Series thereof shall be subject to any personal liability
whatsoever to any Person, other than to the Trust or its shareholders, in
connection with Trust Property or the affairs of the Trust, save only that
arising from bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or reckless
disregard of his/her duties with respect to such Person; and all such Persons
shall look solely to the Trust Property, or to the Trust Property of one or more
specific Series of the Trust if the claim arises from the conduct of such
Trustee, officer, employee or agent with respect to only such Series, for
satisfaction of claims of any nature arising in connection with the affairs of
the Trust.