Government Studies

GOVERNMENT STUDIES

US Constitutional System of Government and a Parliamentary System of Government . The main difference between the two systems of government is that in the constitutional system like that of the United States there is the separation of powers among its three branches , namely the executive headed by the president , the legislative which is congress and the judiciary which is the Supreme Court and the lower courts . The doctrine of Separation of Powers was adopted by the Framers of the US Constitution from the concept of the French Political Philosopher Baron

br de Montesquieu . In his `Spirit of the Law ' he contended that those elected to public office have a tendency to abuse power , so they must be checked . By separating or dividing these powers among them , he reasoned that such will provide the necessary check on each other . As it has been and still is today , the constitutional system of government of the United States provides its three branches with separate powers . The legislative will make laws , the executive will implement , and the judiciary will act as the arbiter in disputes arising from questions of law

In contrast , the parliamentary system of government has a strong legislature . The legislature or the parliament is superior in the sense that the prime minister is elected from among its members . By strength of numbers the prime minister comes from the majority party . His cabinet will also come from the parliament members . The prime minister and his cabinet members may be subjected to questioning by the parliament . In most countries with parliamentary forms of government if the prime minister loses the confidence of the majority of the parliament over a vote and or an issue of material importance , the prime minister must resign for new elections to be called

In the presidential or constitutional system like that of the United States ' the president may be removed from office through an impeachment process in Congress after which the vice-president takes over the presidency as provided for in the of succession

How are powers both shared and separated in the United States ? While enacting laws is mainly a function of congress the president has the power to veto laws passed by congress , and then again congress may override the veto . The president may nominate officials to fill up government posts , including members of the judiciary . For these nominees to assume the positions , congress must give its approval . The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces , but only congress can declare war . Congress has the power to create judicial courts . Acts of both congress and the executive will still be subject to review by the judiciary and can be struck down as unconstitutional

Advantages and Disadvantages of the close links of the Executive and the Legislative in a Parliamentary System . There is a speedy legislation process . As the prime minister and the majority of the members of parliament belong to the same party they have a common stand on most issues . It allows for...