Balance of powers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A balance of powers is a legal structure in which power is allocated to different entities, which have distrust relationships and checks on each other. There are several well known examples.

The United States Constitution which establishes:

• The United States Congress has sole power to initiate bills regarding spending and so must finance all branches of government, but has no executive power and only limited power to block appointments to the judiciary, which are made for life, and requires 2/3 majority to override a Presidential veto
• The President of the United States has executive and military power and may veto any bill that 2/3 of the Senate does not pass, and may appoint members of the Supreme Court, but must gain Senate approval for those, and can do nothing without funds granted by Congress
• The United States Supreme Court has the power to limit or undo laws passed by the above, but its members are appointed by the President and ratified by the Senate, and it has no subordinate structure for enforcing its decisions

The British legal code based on common law traditions which require:

• Police or regulators cannot initiate complaints under criminal law but can only investigate, which prevents selective enforcement, e.g. the 'fishing expedition' which is often specifically forbidden
• Prosecutors cannot withhold evidence from attorneys for the defendant, to do so results in mistrial or dismissal, accordingly their relation to police is no advantage
• Defendants convicted can appeal, but no new evidence can usually be introduced, restricting the power of the court of appeal to the process of law applied

Any balance of powers relies on officers dedicated to ensuring the integrity of each office and the rights associated with each level of government or specific mandate of each office.