2. Constitutional Republic (u.S.A.):

Constitutional Republic--A Definition. A modern constitutional republic is a constitutional, representative democracy characterized by (1) a chief of state chosen by some method of election and (2) a total absence of inherited offices in the government. The system of government is constitutional, representative, and democratic in character because govern- mental power is limited by the Constitution and is exercised by representatives chosen in popular elections in which the bulk of the adult citizenry has or can easily obtain the legal right and opportunity to vote. The widespread electoral suffrage and the exercise of political authority by elected representatives make the governmental system a representative democracy; the fact that the power of government is limited by a body of fundamental law makes the political regime constitutional; and the elective, non-hereditary office of chief of state and the total absence of inherited offices in the government make the regime republican in character.

The Chief of State in a Constitutional Republic. As was indicated in the discussion of constitutional monarchy, the distinction between the two types of modern constitutional democracy, republicanism and limited monarchy, turns primarily on the nature of the office of chief of state and the method by which the office is filled. In a republic, there are no inherited offices in the government, this absence or exclusion of hereditary positions applying to the office of chief of state in particular. A republican chief of state, usually styled "the President," is chosen through the election process. The President, or chief of state, is selected by direct popular vote, by the legislature, by an electoral college, or by some other method of election. Every public office in a republican government is filled by election (direct or indirect) or by appointment according to law, with all law that is not part of the Constitution being made or subject to modification by and with the consent of the people's elected representatives in the legislature. (Statutory law is enacted by and can be changed or repealed by the legislature. While common law is judge-made law, it is subject to modification by legislative statute.)

Republicanism and Titles of Nobility. In a modern republic, hereditary titles of nobility are not recognized by law and are generally forbidden. There can be no chamber of the legislature made up of non-elective seats which, by law or custom, go automatically to persons holding inherited titles of nobility and/or inherited landed estates. There can be no governmental body such as the British House of Lords has been, up until recently.

The U.S.A. as a Constitutional Republic. In the United States of America, the President, who is both the nation's chief of state and the effective head of the executive branch of the national government, is elected by the voters through the medium of the Electoral College. The members of both houses of Congress are chosen in direct popular elections. Pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Federal Constitution, federal judges as well as U.S. ambassadors to foreign governments and international organizations and other high-ranking officers in the executive branch of the national government are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. All other federal officers and employees are appointed or employed in accordance with the relevant statutory laws enacted by Congress. Moreover, the U.S. Constitution denies both the national government and the states the authority to grant titles of nobility and prohibits officers of the national government from accepting such titles from foreign monarchs.

Not only is the U.S. national government a republic, but the governments of the fifty states are also republican in form. The U.S.A. is a federal constitutional republic, composed of one national republic and fifty state republics. Article IV of the U.S. Constitution imposes on the national government the obligation to guarantee to every state in the American federal union a "republican form of government."

Other Contemporary Constitutional Republics. In addition to the U.S.A., examples of constitutional republics in the world today include the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of France, the Republic of Italy, the Federal Republic of Austria, the Swiss "Confederation" (Switzerland), the Republic of Ireland, the State of Israel, the Hellenic Republic (Greece), the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, and the Republic of Costa Rica.

B. Parliamentary System and Presidential System

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive are drawn from the legislature and are accountable to that body. In here the power to make and execute laws is held by a parliament.

A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot dismiss it in normal circumstances. The executive is chosen directly by the citizens.