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Separation Of Powers In Irish Constitution Essay

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Although Alexander Hamilton famously described the judiciary as the weakest branch of government that existed under the tripartite system of the separation of powers, this statement cannot be said to be entirely true in the context of the Irish constitution. The Irish constitution attempts to lay out a system which creates three equal branches of government, capable of exercising a series of checks and balances to prevent the power of any other branch exceeding what has been mandated by the constitution. This essay aims to look at the importance of the role of the Irish judiciary in the separation of powers, and how it has a power equal to that of both the legislature and the executive. This will be looked at through three main parts. Firstly, the separation of powers will be explored (with a focus on the judiciary) in order to understand the scope of power afforded to each branch. Following this the interactions of the judiciary and other branches will be examined to gain a better understanding of the lines drawn between the judiciary and other branches. Finally the question of whether the judiciary is the weakest branch of government will focused on, with the aim of demonstrating that the powers of the Irish judiciary are quite substantial …show more content…

The idea of the separation of powers is regarded as the basic framework at the heart of the Irish constitution. This separation is put forward in article 6.1 of Bunreacht na hÉireann and divides the power between three organs of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Such a tripartite separation of powers is thought to be a distinct feature of many modern constitutions which aims to prevent the abuse of power by any one organ of government through a system of checks and balances. In order to understand the role of the judiciary within the system, it is necessary to briefly establish the powers of the other organs

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