Executive Power
The Legal History of Executive Power
This section provides an overview of Executive Power in an historical perspective.
Absence of Any Executive Power
Lassa Oppenheim, in the book entitled The Future of International Law, about Absence of Any Executive Power, wrote in 1921: This constitution, finally, makes no provision for any kind of executive power, and so it avoids the proposal to set up in international society an organization resembling that of a state. All proposals for an international executive authority run counter not only to the idea of sovereignty, but also to the ideal of international peace and of international law. The aim of this development is not the coercion of recalcitrant states, but a condition of things in which there are no recalcitrant states because every state has freely submitted to the obligation to refer disputes to the international tribunals and to abide by their decision. It is just in this respect that the international community of states differs for all time from the community of individuals who are united into a state, the latter requiring as ultima ratio executive compulsion on the part of a central power, while the former consistently with its nature and definition can never possess such a central power. It will, we must confess, call for a long development before such a condition of things is realized, and, until this realization is effected, war will not disappear but will remain an historic necessity.
Executive Power Not Necessary For an International Court
Lassa Oppenheim, in the book entitled The Future of International Law, about Executive Power Not Necessary For an International Court, wrote in 1921: We have neither desire nor need to equip these courts with executive power. In the internal life of states it is necessary for courts to possess executive power because the conditions of human nature demand it. Just as there will always be individual offenders, so there will always be individuals who will only yield to compulsion. But states are a different kind of person from individual men; their present-day constitution on the generally prevalent type has made them, so to say, more moral than in the times of absolutism. The personal interests and ambition of sovereigns, and their passion for an increase of their might, have finished playing their part in the life of peoples. The real and true interests of states and the welfare of the inhabitants of the state have taken the place thereof. Machiavellian principles are no longer prevalent everywhere. The mutual intercourse of states is carried on in reliance on the sacredness of treaties. Peaceable adjustment of state disputes is in the interests of the states themselves, for war is nowadays an immense moral and economic evil even for the victor state. It may be that a state will decline to submit its cause to the international tribunal because it thinks that its vital interests do not allow such submission; but when, after weighing its interests, it has once declared itself ready to appear before the court, it will also accept the court’s award. All other motives apart, the strong state will do this, because its strength allows it to make voluntary submission to the award, and the weak state will also do so because war would be hopeless for it.
Introduction
Executive Power
This entry provides an overview of the legal framework of executive power, with a description of the most significant features of executive power at international level.
Related Work and Conclusions
Resources
See Also
References (Papers)
- Internal Administrative Law, Gillian E. Metzger, Kevin M. Stack, Jun 2017
- The State Of Coal In Wyoming, Sidney A. Smith, May 2017
- Can President Trump ‘Open Up’ The Libel Laws?, John M. Greabe, May 2017
- The Vice Presidency In Five (Sometimes) Easy Pieces, Vikram David Amar, Apr 2017
- A Constitutional Afterthought: The Origins Of The Vice Presidency, 1787 To 1804, Edward J. Larson, Apr 2017
- Newsroom: Trump: Full Employment For Lawyers 04-04-2017, David Logan, Apr 2017
Resources
See Also
- Legal Biography
- Legal Traditions
- Historical Laws
- History of Law
Further Reading
- Executive Power in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
- Executive Power in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
- A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly
Hierarchical Display of Executive power
Politics > Political framework > Political philosophy > Separation of powers
Politics > Political framework > Political power > Power of implementation
Politics > Politics and public safety > Politics > Legislative-executive relations
Executive power
Concept of Executive power
See the dictionary definition of Executive power.
Characteristics of Executive power
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Resources
Translation of Executive power
- Spanish: Poder ejecutivo
- French: Pouvoir exécutif
- German: Exekutive Gewalt
- Italian: Potere esecutivo
- Portuguese: Poder executivo
- Polish: Władza wykonawcza
Thesaurus of Executive power
Politics > Political framework > Political philosophy > Separation of powers > Executive power
Politics > Political framework > Political power > Power of implementation > Executive power
Politics > Politics and public safety > Politics > Legislative-executive relations > Executive power
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