Posted by Chester Morton / Sunday, 18 December 2016 / No comments
How Separation of Powers operates in a Parliamentary system of Government
The meaning of the doctrine of separation of powers
The concept of Separation of Powers was propounded by Baron
de Montesquieu. It states that the three arms of government – the Legislature,
Executive and the judiciary - must be separate and independent in terms of
personnel, functions and powers. In other words, the personnel in the
legislative arm of government must not be the same as those in the executive or
the judicial arm of government. Also the members of the legislature must not
have the same functions and powers as those in both the executive and the
judiciary.
What is a parliamentary system of government?
The parliamentary system of government refers to the system
where the three arms of government, that is, the executive, legislature and the
judiciary are fused into one in the performance of the functions. In this
system, the members of the executive are at the same time members of the
legislature. Also the highest court of the land is part of the legislature –
the House of Lords. This has since been amended though.
HOW SEPARATION OF
POWERS OPERATES IN THE PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
Separation in institution
The three arms of government are separate in terms of
institution. The judiciary, as an institution, is different from the executive
and the legislature. They may even be housed in different locations or
buildings.
Separation in personnel
The members of the executive are all members of the
legislature. In fact, the head of the executive is the leader of the majority
party in the legislature. Some of the members of the legislature are also
members of the judiciary. For example, in Britain, the Lord Chancellor is a
member of both the legislature and the executive in spite of the fact that he is
the head of the judiciary.
Executive as initiator of bills
In the parliamentary system, it is the cabinet that initiates
bills before the bills are sent into the legislature. By the time the bills get
to the parliament, they may have been well thought through and therefore there
is not much to do before the bills are passed. Even if it becomes difficult,
the executive has majority in parliament so it can force the bill to go
through.
Court of Appeal
In the past, the highest court of the land was the House of
Lords. Though the House of Lords was the second chamber of the legislature, it
was at the same time the Court of Appeal. This has since changed. Today, there
is a Supreme Court separate from the House of Lords.
Collective responsibility
The members of the executive, that is the cabinet, are as a
bloc responsible to the legislature for every action they take in the
performance of their duties. The only way a cabinet member can absolve him or
herself of blame is when a decision is made in cabinet is to resign. Once he or
she does resign, he is bound by every decision that is made.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What is separation of powers? [2 marks]
b. Highlight five
ways in which separation of powers operates in a parliamentary system of
government. [10 marks]
