Constitutional objectives (1)
Separation of Powers
In this session
- Define what is meant by a ‘constitutional objective’
- Consider what different theorists mean by ‘separation of powers’
- Look at some arguments that support the statement that the UK constitution has a strong
separation of powers
- Look at some arguments that support the statement that the UK constitution has a weak
separation of powers
What is a ‘constitutional objective’
- Constitution = set of rules, laws, practices that regulate how the institutions of state work,
and governs the relationships between the different institutions of state and the relationship
between the state, and the individual
- What are the rules/laws/practices supposed to provide or protect in society?
‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’
John Dahlberg-Acton 1834-1902
The three institutions of state and their main functions
- LEGISLATURE – makes law and keeps a check on the executive
- EXECUTIVE – responsible for provision of services, national policy
- JUDICIARY – enforce law, settle disputes about the meaning of law
THEORY 1: MONTESQUIEU
- “All would be lost if the same man or the same body of principle men....exercised these
three powers: that of making the laws, that of executing public resolutions, and that of
judging the crimes or the disputes of individuals”
- (Baron von Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, 1748)
THEORY 2: BLACKSTONE
- “It is highly necessary for preserving the balance of the constitution, that the executive
power should be a branch, though not the whole, of the legislature. The total union of them,
we have seen, would be productive of tyranny; the total disjunction of them for the present,
would in the end produce the same effects” (William Blackstone)
THEORY 3: BAGEHOT
- “a close union and an almost complete fusion of legislative and executive power” Walter
Bagehot (1867)
THREE UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SEPARATION OF POWERS IN THE UK
- ‘PURE’ separation of all 3 institutions (personnel and function)
- ‘PARTIAL’ separation of all 3 institutions (personnel) but separate function
- ‘FUSION’ no separation of executive/legislature (but independent judiciary)
- Assess the evidence and determine which you think is the most accurate
Separation of Powers
In this session
- Define what is meant by a ‘constitutional objective’
- Consider what different theorists mean by ‘separation of powers’
- Look at some arguments that support the statement that the UK constitution has a strong
separation of powers
- Look at some arguments that support the statement that the UK constitution has a weak
separation of powers
What is a ‘constitutional objective’
- Constitution = set of rules, laws, practices that regulate how the institutions of state work,
and governs the relationships between the different institutions of state and the relationship
between the state, and the individual
- What are the rules/laws/practices supposed to provide or protect in society?
‘Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’
John Dahlberg-Acton 1834-1902
The three institutions of state and their main functions
- LEGISLATURE – makes law and keeps a check on the executive
- EXECUTIVE – responsible for provision of services, national policy
- JUDICIARY – enforce law, settle disputes about the meaning of law
THEORY 1: MONTESQUIEU
- “All would be lost if the same man or the same body of principle men....exercised these
three powers: that of making the laws, that of executing public resolutions, and that of
judging the crimes or the disputes of individuals”
- (Baron von Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, 1748)
THEORY 2: BLACKSTONE
- “It is highly necessary for preserving the balance of the constitution, that the executive
power should be a branch, though not the whole, of the legislature. The total union of them,
we have seen, would be productive of tyranny; the total disjunction of them for the present,
would in the end produce the same effects” (William Blackstone)
THEORY 3: BAGEHOT
- “a close union and an almost complete fusion of legislative and executive power” Walter
Bagehot (1867)
THREE UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE SEPARATION OF POWERS IN THE UK
- ‘PURE’ separation of all 3 institutions (personnel and function)
- ‘PARTIAL’ separation of all 3 institutions (personnel) but separate function
- ‘FUSION’ no separation of executive/legislature (but independent judiciary)
- Assess the evidence and determine which you think is the most accurate
