CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. SEPARATION OF POWERS

A constitution is the political and ideological structure within which a sys­tem of laws operates. Most countries have a formal written Constitution de­scribing how laws are to be made and enforced. The French Constitution, for example, sets a seven year term of office for the president; the U. S. constitu­tion sets a four year term. In Switzerland, a referendum (national vote) must be held on any issue for which a petition signed by 10, 000 people has been gathered; in Ireland, referenda are to be used only in the case of changes in the constitution itself. In Germany, a change in the constitution requires a special majority vote in parliament, not the simple majority necessary for other laws. Many other countries put the constitution above other laws by making it difficult to change.

One of the reasons for having special constitutional laws is to prevent gov­ernments from becoming too powerful and from interfering too much in the lives of individuals. Whereas socialist legal systems have tended to try to define exactly what the state allowed citizens to do, Anglo-American law has been more concerned with defining what the state could do, arguing that citizens are entitled to do everything other than that which the state forbids. As a check upon over-powerful government most modern constitutions have adopted the principle of separation of powers, developed in the 18th centu­ry by the French political philosopher Montesquieu. Montesquieu argued that the functions of the state could be divided into policy formulation and direction (executive), lawmaking (legislative), and interpretation and application of the law (judicial). To stop govern­ments from becoming too powerful these functions should be carried out by separate institutions, and there should be a balance between them. In the United States, for example, the president (executive) is elected by the people and attempts to carry out his policy promises through a pres­idential office of advisers. The Constitution gives him many important powers, such as control of the armed forces and appointment of Supreme Court justices, but many of his decisions and all new legislation must be approved by a majority in Congress (legislature), which is also elected by the people.

Many presidents have had important policies blocked by Congress. The Supreme Court (judiciary) has the task of interpreting laws which have been disputed in lower courts, and of deciding whether a law passed by Congress or by one of the individual states is in keeping with the Consti­tution.

Task 1. Mark if the following statements are True or False.

1. All countries of the world have a formal written Constitution describing how laws are to be made and enforced.

2. A president of any European country can serve no more than 4 years in the office.

3. In many countries the constitution is put above laws that make it difficult to change.

4. Special constitutional laws exist to prevent governments from becoming too powerful.

5. Most modern constitutions have adopted the principle of separation of powers developed in the 18^th century by the French philosopher Montesquieu.

6. Montesquieu argued that the functions of the state i.e. executive, legislative and judicial should be carried out by one single super-powerful institution maintaining a balance within its structure.

7. Many American presidents have had important policies blocked by Congress.

Task 2. Render the text.

Text 2

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1751