Separation of Powers

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

Guide to Separation of Powers

The Legal History of Separation of Powers

This section provides an overview of Separation of Powers

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See Also

  • Legal Biography
  • Legal Traditions
  • Historical Laws
  • History of Law

Further Reading

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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Translation of Separation of powers

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

See also

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