Separation of power refers to the division of a state’s government into different branches, where each branch shares differentiated responsibilities and independent powers, so the powers of one branch do not conflict with the other. Thus, instead of centralizing government agencies, these separate branches make it possible to do government work much more efficiently. Namely, these three branches are the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.
The executive branch is headed by the president, who is elected by citizens’ votes; the vice president, cabinet ministers, and other institutional agencies may work with the president in the executive branch. The executive branch will execute the laws given by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary. Also under the executive branch, the president has the power to appoint federal judges and accept or reject a law after the legislature has passed it. The executive branch will also focus on the country’s development by maintaining financial and administrative policies within the country, as well as establishing foreign relations with other countries through signing treaties between countries. Thus, the importance of the executive branch is that it is responsible for executing the correct law within the state as the president is responsible for its citizen’s vote and must be able to make proper decisions on behalf of its citizens who elected the president to the position.
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The legislative branch of the government is made up of the House and the Senate, which is collectively known as Congress. The members of the legislature are known as legislators and they are appointed directly or indirectly by election, and these legislators represent the entire population or particular groups within the state. The legislator has certain functions like making laws, maintaining the government budget, controlling the executive, and making amendments to the constitution. Under a democratic government, the members of the executive branch are also selected by the legislative members. For example, in the United States of America, Congress has two main parts - the House of Representatives and the Senate. The members of the Senate and the House of Representatives are voted by the American citizens in each state. Thus, the legislature can either be bicameral, an assembly with only one legislative chamber, such as in Finland and Hungary, or unicameral, an assembly of two legislative chambers such as in France and the USA.
The last branch is the judiciary, which is made up of courts, the Supreme Court, magistrates, and municipal courts. The judicial branch has the power to interpret, defend, and apply laws in legal cases. The state judges in the judicial branch are elected by citizens rather than being appointed. The main body of the judiciary is the Supreme Court. The main aim of the Supreme Court is to interpret the constitution. The Supreme Court has more power in making decisions, and once the Supreme Court has taken a decision, no external party can appeal its decision. The judicial system is important for a government because it provides checks and balances that a whole system works. Checks and balances refer to the principle of government under which separate powers are empowered to prevent the actions of other branches, and which are included to share power. In the United States of America, the judicial branch does not only protect the law and the rights that are given by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to its citizens, but the judiciary also makes sure that all the other government branches are working in their responsibilities towards the people of the States.
Highly developed countries in the world pay more attention to the separation of powers between the legislative, judicial, and executive branches maintain an equal distribution of power between each branch of government, and focus on the rights and freedoms granted to their citizens, which helps these governments to be more successful.