UNIVERSITE CENTRALE DE TUNIS

TOPIC:

HOW DOES THE CONSTITUTION INSURE THE
SEPARATION BETWEEN POWERS

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

YEAR OF SCHOOL: FIRST YEAR OF PRIVATE LAWS

NAME: GNONDOLI AKLESSO

INTRODUCTION
Constitution and separation of powers are objet of debate until our days. The constitution is definite as the act or process of composing, setting up or establishing. It’s our “founding fathers”, the one who established our government and function. And the separation of powers a principle of constitution rather than a legal rule applied by the courts. Then how does the constitution insure the separation of powers? However, our study will initially focus on the separation of powers in United States Constitution.

I- The separation of powers in United States Constitution

Separation of powers is a political doctrine originating from the United States Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S. form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances.

During the Age of Enlightenment, philosophers such as James Harrington advocated the principle in their writings, whereas others, such as Thomas Hobbes, strongly opposed it. Montesquieu was one of the foremost supporters of separating the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. His writings considerably influenced the opinions of the framers of the United States Constitution.

Strict separation of powers does not operate in Britain, whose political structure served in most instances as a model for the government created by the U.S. Constitution. Under the British Westminster system, based on parliamentary sovereignty and responsible government, Parliament (consisting of the Sovereign (King-in-Parliament), House of Lords and House of Commons) was the supreme lawmaking authority. The executive branch acted