Separation of state power.
Separation of powers - principle and mechanism the exercise of state power, under which.
Legislative, executive and judicial powers are granted to different bodies in accordance with the Constitution; and are characterized by the following characteristics.
- The authorities are all equal and autonomous
- No authority may exercise the rights conferred by the constitution on another authority;
- The judiciary acts independently of political influence.
Basic theories of separation of powers (Montesquieu):
There are three kinds of authorities: legislative, executive and judicial, which should be distributed among different state bodies.
A system of checks and balances should be in place (in order for the authorities to control each other's actions). A certain branch of government should represent the interests of a certain social group.
Later on, the theory of separation of powers has developed strongly in practice and theory. First of all, it is worth mentioning the works of J.. Rousseau, who believed that "legislative, executive and judicial authorities are special manifestations of the unified power of the people".
In connection with the informatization of society in the 20th century, in the modern theory of state and law it is customary to single out another branch of power - the "fourth power" - the mass media. The theory of separation of powers was one of the main guarantors of human rights and freedoms.
The separation of powers is implemented on two levels: horizontally and vertically.
Vertically: it is the separation of powers between different levels of government (central, regional and local governments).
Horizontally: it is implemented in practice as a division of power between 3 power bodies (branches) - legislative, executive and judicial.
Legislative power is the state power delegated by the people, to its representatives, which is implemented collectively through the publication of legislative acts, as well as monitoring and control over the executive power, mainly in the financial environment.
Functions:
- legislative
- Financial (approves the state budget).
- Distribution (related to the formation of the highest executive and judicial bodies)
- the function of control (over the activity of the executive power).
Executive power is one of the main types of state power, ensuring the implementation of laws and other regulatory legal acts adopted by the legislative power throughout the country. The peculiarity of executive power is that it not only organizes the implementation of legislative decisions, but also can itself issue normative acts or come forward with legislative initiative.
The judicial power is one of the types of power that independently administer justice. It is a specific independent branch of state power, which is carried out by means of public, competitive consideration and resolution of disputes on law in court sessions. The judicial branch is implemented by special state bodies - the courts.
Unity of state power.
The unity of State power is a feature of State sovereignty, expressed in the existence of a single body or system of bodies that together constitute the highest State authority.
Thomas Hobbs argued in the famous Leviathan treatise that "there is only one way to create a strong state - the unity of power. Leviathan (1651) gives the most extreme concept of a single state of the monarch's power and absolute power. From the Hobbes' point of view. Rule of law of the state is best carried out under sole authority, and therefore the best the form of government is monarchy. The will of the monarch should be considered the will of all, his power is above the law, boundless, unpunished, he does not carry of responsibility to any human authority.
The Uniformity of State Authority is a prerequisite for state integrity.
The legal attributes of the Unity of the State are that the combined competence of the system of bodies that make up the supreme State authority covers all the powers necessary for the exercise of the functions of the State, and that the various bodies belonging to that system cannot prescribe mutually exclusive rules of conduct for the same subjects under the same circumstances.
In addition, the principle of the unity of State power is reflected in a single legal policy, particularly in legislative, regulatory and administrative policies and the existence of mechanisms for the coordination of public action and federal representation (for a federal State).
The unity of the state power implies centralization, subordination of state bodies (at the same time reflecting the federal structure of the state).