Separation of Powers
Separation of Powers in other Countries (other than in the U.S.)
Introduction to Separation of Powers
All democracies separate governmental powers to some degree, in practice if not in their constitutions. Italy, for example, has a separate constitutional court to review cases that raise constitutional issues. Most democratic countries create such mechanisms to ensure judicial independence from legislatures and executive officials. But some scholars argue that creating an extreme separation of powers on the United States model can make government less effective because it increases the possibility of governmental paralysis. If the leaders in different branches of the government disagree about basic objectives, the country’s official business can come to a standstill.
The critics of the doctrine of separation of powers also point to countries such as the United Kingdom as examples of strong democracies without a separation of powers. In the United Kingdom the prime minister and members of the cabinet are all members of Parliament. The courts, although they function independently, have no ultimate power of judicial review as in the United States, and the highest appeal is to the House of Lords, a branch of Parliament.
A total absence of a separation of powers, however, often figures prominently in extremely repressive governments. Countries such as China, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia were ruled by Communist governments for part of the 20th century, and an absence of a separation of powers in these regimes made it easier for leaders to abuse their authority. In these countries political party leaders held virtually all authority, which was concentrated in a few very powerful ministries and other executive agencies. Courts and legislatures in these countries did not have enough power to prevent the military, police, and other executive officials from repressing citizens. When the Communist parties fell in many of the countries of Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, one of the first political reforms was to break up the concentration of government power and allocate responsibility to separate branches. See Government.” (1)
Separation of Powers in U.S. Constitutional Law
A list of entries related to Separation of Powers may be found, under the Separation of Powers subject group, in the United States constitutional law platform of the American legal encyclopedia.
Concept of Separation of Powers
Note: explore also the meaning of this legal term in the American Ecyclopedia of Law.
Resources
See Also
- Constitution
- Federalism
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Separation of Powers in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to Separation of Powers
The Legal History of Separation of Powers
This section provides an overview of Separation of Powers
Resources
See Also
- Legal Biography
- Legal Traditions
- Historical Laws
- History of Law
Further Reading
- Separation of Powers in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
- Separation of Powers in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
- A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly
Hierarchical Display of Separation of powers
Politics > Political framework > Political philosophy
Politics > Political framework > Political power
Law > Organisation of the legal system > Legal system > Independence of the judiciary
Politics > Politics and public safety > Politics > Legislative-executive relations
Separation of powers
Concept of Separation of powers
See the dictionary definition of Separation of powers.
Characteristics of Separation of powers
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Resources
Translation of Separation of powers
- Spanish: Separación de poderes
- French: Séparation des pouvoirs
- German: Gewaltentrennung
- Italian: Separazione dei poteri
- Portuguese: Separação de poderes
- Polish: Podział władz
Thesaurus of Separation of powers
Politics > Political framework > Political philosophy > Separation of powers
Politics > Political framework > Political power > Separation of powers
Law > Organisation of the legal system > Legal system > Independence of the judiciary > Separation of powers
Politics > Politics and public safety > Politics > Legislative-executive relations > Separation of powers
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