{"id":3173,"date":"2022-12-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/16-12-2022\/doctrine-of-separation-of-power\/"},"modified":"2022-12-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T00:00:00","slug":"doctrine-of-separation-of-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/16-12-2022\/doctrine-of-separation-of-power","title":{"rendered":"Doctrine of Separation of Power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The President and the Vice-President of India have weighed in on the<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong> surpassing significance of the separation of powers in the Indian Constitution<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>About\u00a0 Doctrine of separation of power<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">A\u00a0 constitution, being the fundamental or basic law of the land, not just lists the functions of the government but also distributes these three core functions amongst the three organs of a government \u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong> the legislature (to enact laws)<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">, the <\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>executive (to enforce the laws and to manage day-to-day administration<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">), and the <\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>judiciary (to adjudicate on disputes).<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">This distribution is based on the doctrine of separation of powers proposed by the 18th Century French philosopher Montesquieu.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The emphasis is on the mutual exclusiveness of the three organs of the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Aims and objectives\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The doctrine aim to prevent a concentration of power or misuse or abuse of power by an individual or a group and guards citizens against arbitrary and tyrannical powers of the State.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">There is an equal emphasis on ensuring an effective balance of powers between the organs of the government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#d9ead3; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Constitutional Provisions\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The provisions of the\u00a0 Constitution that provide for the separation of functions and powers between the three organs of Government are:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Article 50<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"> directs the State to take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Articles 74 and 163 <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">restrict the courts from inquiring into the advice tendered by the Council of Ministers to the President and the Governor.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Articles 122 and 212 <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">restrict the courts from questioning the validity of proceedings in the Parliament and the Legislatures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Articles 121 and 211 <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">restrict the Parliament and the State Legislature from discussing the Judicial conduct of a judge of the Supreme Court and the High Courts unless the resolution of removal of the judge is under consideration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>Article 361 provides immunity<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"> to the President or the Governor from being answerable to any court for the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of his office.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Checks and balances between the three organs are ensured through<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The power of the Judiciary to exercise judicial review over legislative and executive actions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The Judiciary is bound by the procedure established by law in adjudication on question of law.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Appointment of Judges by the Executive head and removal of judges on the basis of a resolution passed by the Parliament.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Parliamentary form of Government where the executive is responsible to the legislature.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Thus the\u00a0 Constitution of India prevents the possibility of arbitrariness and tyranny by providing for functional separation of powers between the three organs of Government along with effective checks and balances between the three organs wherein one organ exercises control over the other.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Challenges\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">There is a criticism of the judiciary crossing its boundaries.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Supreme Court\u2019s decision to strike down the 99th Constitutional Amendment setting up the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC).\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:square\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Parliament had not focussed on this matter for the past seven years.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">There are also concerns about the independence of the judiciary being in peril.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The doctrine of separation of powers must be respected and It is an institutional seamless connection marked with mutual trust and respect that generates an ecosystem best suited for serving the nation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">Democracy blossoms when its three facets scrupulously adhere to their respective domains.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The Supreme Court, being a custodian of the Fundamental Rights of the citizens, needs to be given complete independence. However, as suggested, there is need to refine the collegium system, making it more transparent and accountable.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#d9ead3; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:13pt\"><strong>Mains Practice Question\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:12pt\"><strong>[Q] <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-size:12pt\">The Executive and the Legislature need to work in conjunction with the Judiciary to ensure complete justice as envisaged under the Constitution. Comment\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News The President and the Vice-President of India have weighed in on the surpassing significance of the separation of powers in the Indian Constitution.\u00a0 About\u00a0 Doctrine of separation of power A\u00a0 constitution, being the fundamental or basic law of the land, not just lists the functions of the government but also distributes these three [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[30,124],"class_list":["post-3173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis","tag-gs-2","tag-separation-of-powers"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/68473672962218D1C2BEA-B42D-44CA-AC90-12BFBC61D8CC.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}