Everything about Executive Government totally explained
In
political science and
constitutional law, the
executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the
state. In many countries, it's referred to simply as the
government, but this usage can be confusing in an international context. The executive branch contains the
head of government, who is the head of this branch. Under the doctrine of the
separation of powers, the executive isn't supposed to make laws (role of the
legislature), nor to interpret them (role of the
judiciary), their purpose is to enforce them: in practice, this separation is rarely absolute. The executive is identified by the
Head of Government. In a
presidential system, this person (the
President) may also
be the
Head of State, where as in a
parliamentary system he or she's usually the leader of the largest
party in the
legislature and is most commonly termed the
Prime Minister (
Taoiseach in the
Republic of Ireland, (Federal)
Chancellor in
Germany and
Austria). In
France, executive power is shared between the
President and the
Prime Minister and this system has been reproduced in a number of former
French colonies, while
Switzerland and
Bosnia and Herzegovina likewise have
collegiate systems for the role of Head of State and Government. The Head of Government is assisted by a number of
ministers, who usually have responsibilities for particular areas (for example health, education, foreign affairs), and by a large number of
government employees or
civil servants.
Relation to the legislature
While the
legislature is responsible for approving the laws of a state, it doesn't usually, on its own, have the capacity to enforce them, notably in terms of employees and other infrastructure. The necessity to enforce a law if it's to be effective imposes a degree of cooperation between the legislature and the executive: the legislature may vote "free beer for all", but the executive would be in its role to ask "who pays the brewer?" In many countries the executive has the
power to veto some or all types of legislation, or at least to delay their approval by insisting on a longer debate of the consequences.
Under the
Westminster system, the
Prime Minister and other
ministers are members of the legislature, and in other
parliamentary systems the executive is usually headed by the
party or parties which control a majority in the legislature. This gives the executive some control over the legislation which is passed, but this control is rarely absolute in a
democracy. In
presidential systems, the executive and the legislature may be controlled by different political parties, a situation known as
cohabitation: both sides must arrive at a compromise to allow the government to continue to function, although complete blockage is rare.
In general, the legislature has a supervisory role over the actions of the executive, and may replace the
Head of Government and/or individual ministers by a
vote of (no) confidence or a procedure of
impeachment. On the other hand, a legislature which refuses to cooperate with the executive, for example by refusing to vote a
budget or otherwise starving the executive of funds, may be
dissolved by the
Head of State, leading to new
elections.
The legislature usually delegates some legislative power to the executive, notably to issue
regulations or
executive orders which complete a piece of legislation with technical details or points which might change frequently (for example fees for government services). The executive may also have powers to issue legislation during a
state of emergency.
Relation to the Judicial Branch
The Executive Branch acts by and with the advice and consent of the Legislation made by the Legislature and thus is subject to the Legislative Branch. The
judiciary acts as a competent administrator to ensure compliance with the laws crafted by the Legislative Branch.
The laws which apply specifically to the executive are known as
administrative law, although this shouldn't be taken to imply that the executive is exempt from other laws such as
human rights or the
rules of war. The Executive Branch may be challenged in court for failure to comply with the decisions of the Legislative Branch. The idea of
judicial review is that the competent administrators in the judiciary have the responsibility to review compliance with Legislation wherever there's a party claiming injury. The Legislature Branch has the responsibility to supervise the execution of its laws and the compliance of the judiciary and the Executive branch with them.
The Legislature makes decisions and the Judiciary and the Executive Branch enforce its decisions with the help of the forces funded by the Legislature to enforce its laws (for example police force,
prison service). The Legislative Branch is responsible for providing funding for courthouses, establishing and paying the salaries of judges: The Executive Branch is responsible for getting them built and staffed as instructed. The competent administration of the judicial system is the responsibility of the
justice minister, also referred to as the
attorney general.
The Legislative Branch makes laws and the Executive branch executes them as instructed. In the Department of Justice the Attorney General oversees the staff responsible for taking legal action in the
public interest, for example enforcing Civil Rights, Public Safety, policing corporations,
prosecuting them as any other criminal and protecting the interests of those who can't defend themselves (for example children or the mentally handicapped). The authority to perform these functions is delegated by the legislature to be both the executive Branch and the judiciary as required. The executive is responsible for the day-to-day management after the Legislature decides to provide the necessary infrastructure and pay the necessary salaries.
Most countries have safeguards to protect the
independence of the judiciary from the executive, such as the impossibility of the executive to dismiss a judge. Similar safeguards may apply to other categories of
government employees, in order to allow them to conduct their functions without undue political pressure. In return, judges and government employees may be expected not to take part in active politics themselves. In the
United States the
Congress has all the power and the sole responsibility of removal by means of impeachment.
Local government
Individual states or provinces in a
federal system have their own executives, legislatures and judiciaries in addition to
the corresponding bodies at federal level. Even in non-federal systems, all but the smallest of countries have some form of
local government, although legislative and (especially) judicial powers are often very limited. The distribution of
executive powers between central and local government varies widely between different countries: for example, policing and
education are local responsibilities in the
United Kingdom but central responsibilities in
France. An extreme example
is
Switzerland, where
nationality, a central government responsibility in almost all other countries, is a matter
for individual
municipalities (albeit with federal minimum standards).
Local government may be funded through local taxes (often
property taxes), through a grant from the central government
or through a combination of the two. The head of the local executive of a
municipality is usually known as the
mayor;
various terms exist for the head of the executive at other levels of local government. The local executive is usually
supervised by an elected council, which is responsible for setting the rates of local taxes (where these exist, and often
only to a limited extent) and for approving the budget of the local executive. The central government may also have a
supervisory role, which may go as far as the power to dissolve the local government completely in exceptional cases.
As mentioned above, it's essential to consider the different roles of local (or State) government when comparing the
roles of the executives in different countries: the provision of public education is an executive function whether it's
provided by the central government (
France), state governments (
Germany),
local education authorities (
England and Wales) or
school boards (
United States).
Further Information
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