What Is The Separation Of Powers Essay

Introduction to the separation of powers
In a nation which has political liberty as the direct object of its constitution no one person or body of persons ought to be allowed to control the legislative, executive and judicial power, or any two of them. This concept is what we call as the separation of powers. It is significant to the concept of constitutionalism as it limits and allocates the powers of legislature, judiciary and executive. The essence of the doctrine is there should be a clear demarcation of personnel and functions between the legislature, judiciary and executive, in order that none should have excessive power and there should be check and balance between the institutions. For N.W. Barber, separation of power is a distinctively constitutional tool. According to Lord Templeman in M v Home

The doctrine of the separation of powers is clearly committed to a view of political liberty an essential part of which is the restraint of governmental power, and that this can best be achieved by setting up divisions within the government to prevent the concentration of such power in the hands of a single group of men. It shows that, separation of powers also can mean separation of function between different units of government, separation of personnel in the membership of different units of government and checks and balances between different units of government. The system in United Kingdom resembles a balance of powers more than a formal separation of the three branches, or what Walter Bagehot called a “fusion of powers” in The English Constitution. Separation of powers in UK shows that Parliament, executive and courts each have their own power scopes and each should exercise their powers accordingly. Article 16 of the (French) Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) stated that ’a society where rights are not secured or the separation of powers established has no constitution’. John Locke and Charles