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The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law.
Function
The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In democratic countries, the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics, though limitations are often applied to the executive.
In political systems based on the separation of powers, such as the United States of America, government authority is distributed between several branches to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single person or group. To achieve this, each branch is subject to checks by the other two; in general, the role of the legislature is to pass laws, which are then enforced by the executive, and interpreted by the judiciary. The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law-derived rules, such as a decree or executive order.
In those that use fusion of powers, typically parliamentary systems, such as the United Kingdom, the executive forms the government, and its members generally belong to the political party that controls the legislature. Since the executive requires the support and approval of the legislature, the two bodies are "fused" together, rather than being independent. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means powers possessed by the executive are solely dependent on those granted by the legislature, which can also subject its actions to judicial review. However, the executive often has wide-ranging powers stemming from the control of the government bureaucracy, especially in the areas of overall economic or foreign policy.
Ministers
In parliamentary systems, the executive is responsible to the elected legislature, which must maintain the confidence of the legislature or one part of it, if bicameral. In certain circumstances (varying by state), the legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive, which causes either a change in the governing party or group of parties or a general election. Parliamentary systems have a head of government (who leads the executive, often called ministers) normally distinct from the head of state (who continues through governmental and electoral changes). In the Westminster type of parliamentary system, the principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched as in some others. Members of the executive (ministers), are also members of the legislature, and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law. In presidential systems, the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers. The ministers can be directly elected by the voters.
In this context, the executive consists of a leader or leader of an office or multiple offices. Specifically, the top leadership roles of the executive branch may include:
- head of state – often the monarch, the president or the supreme leader, the chief representative and living symbol of national unity.
- head of government – often the prime minister, overseeing the administration of all affairs of state.
- defence minister – overseeing the armed forces, determining military policy, and managing external safety.
- interior minister – overseeing the police forces, enforcing the law, and managing internal control.
- foreign minister – overseeing the diplomatic service, determining foreign policy and managing foreign relations.
- finance minister – overseeing the treasury, determining fiscal policy and managing national budget.
- justice minister – overseeing criminal prosecutions, corrections, enforcement of court orders.
- head of government – often the prime minister, overseeing the administration of all affairs of state.
Presidents and ministers
In a presidential system, the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government. In some cases, such as South Korea, there is a Prime Minister who assists the President, but who is not the head of government but is the second in the chain.
In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government, while the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president.
See also
- Constitution
- Diarchy
- Legal reform
- Rule according to higher law
References
- Martinez, Jenny S. (2006). "Inherent Executive Power: A Comparative Perspective". The Yale Law Journal. 115 (9): 2480–2511. doi:10.2307/20455703. ISSN 0044-0094. JSTOR 20455703. Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
- Buchs, Aurélia; Soguel, Nils (2022-04-01). "Fiscal performance and the re-election of finance ministers–evidence from the Swiss cantons". Public Choice. 191 (1): 31–49. doi:10.1007/s11127-021-00949-z. ISSN 1573-7101. S2CID 246371550.
- "The Executive Branch". The White House. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- "Executive Branch of Government in Canada". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Executive government news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions November 2019 Learn how and when to remove this message The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law FunctionThe scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges and it can change over time in a given country In democratic countries the executive often exercises broad influence over national politics though limitations are often applied to the executive In political systems based on the separation of powers such as the United States of America government authority is distributed between several branches to prevent power from being concentrated in the hands of a single person or group To achieve this each branch is subject to checks by the other two in general the role of the legislature is to pass laws which are then enforced by the executive and interpreted by the judiciary The executive can also be the source of certain types of law or law derived rules such as a decree or executive order In those that use fusion of powers typically parliamentary systems such as the United Kingdom the executive forms the government and its members generally belong to the political party that controls the legislature Since the executive requires the support and approval of the legislature the two bodies are fused together rather than being independent The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means powers possessed by the executive are solely dependent on those granted by the legislature which can also subject its actions to judicial review However the executive often has wide ranging powers stemming from the control of the government bureaucracy especially in the areas of overall economic or foreign policy MinistersVanhanen II Cabinet in a session of Finnish Parliament in 2007 In parliamentary systems the executive is responsible to the elected legislature which must maintain the confidence of the legislature or one part of it if bicameral In certain circumstances varying by state the legislature can express its lack of confidence in the executive which causes either a change in the governing party or group of parties or a general election Parliamentary systems have a head of government who leads the executive often called ministers normally distinct from the head of state who continues through governmental and electoral changes In the Westminster type of parliamentary system the principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched as in some others Members of the executive ministers are also members of the legislature and hence play an important part in both the writing and enforcing of law In presidential systems the directly elected head of government appoints the ministers The ministers can be directly elected by the voters In this context the executive consists of a leader or leader of an office or multiple offices Specifically the top leadership roles of the executive branch may include head of state often the monarch the president or the supreme leader the chief representative and living symbol of national unity head of government often the prime minister overseeing the administration of all affairs of state defence minister overseeing the armed forces determining military policy and managing external safety interior minister overseeing the police forces enforcing the law and managing internal control foreign minister overseeing the diplomatic service determining foreign policy and managing foreign relations finance minister overseeing the treasury determining fiscal policy and managing national budget justice minister overseeing criminal prosecutions corrections enforcement of court orders Presidents and ministersIn a presidential system the leader of the executive is both the head of state and government In some cases such as South Korea there is a Prime Minister who assists the President but who is not the head of government but is the second in the chain In a parliamentary system a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the head of government while the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president See alsoConstitution Diarchy Legal reform Rule according to higher lawReferencesMartinez Jenny S 2006 Inherent Executive Power A Comparative Perspective The Yale Law Journal 115 9 2480 2511 doi 10 2307 20455703 ISSN 0044 0094 JSTOR 20455703 Archived from the original on 2022 12 30 Retrieved 2022 12 30 Buchs Aurelia Soguel Nils 2022 04 01 Fiscal performance and the re election of finance ministers evidence from the Swiss cantons Public Choice 191 1 31 49 doi 10 1007 s11127 021 00949 z ISSN 1573 7101 S2CID 246371550 The Executive Branch The White House Archived from the original on 20 January 2021 Retrieved 4 July 2015 Executive Branch of Government in Canada Parliament of Canada Archived from the original on 2 May 2017 Retrieved 4 July 2015
