9. According to text are the following sentences true or false? If they are true, say why.

1. Political power is divided into an executive and a legislature.

2. All democracies exist with an absolute separation of powers or an absolute lack of separation of powers.

3. Each branch can’t place specified restraints on the powers exerted by the other branches.

4. A separation of powers is created with a system of “checks and balances.”

5. “Checks and balances” refers to the rules that allow branches to exert powers.

6. The press is considered to be a “fourth power.”

10. Answer the questions.

1. What are the functions of the executive/legislature/judiciary?

2. How is the independence of the executive and legislative branches maintained?

3. How is judicial independence maintained?

4. What does the legal mechanisms constraining the powers of the three branches depend on?

5. What is the legitimacy and sustainability of any power grab hindered by?

6. Why is the press described as a “fourth power”?

11. Speak on separation of powers.

12. a) Fill each gap with a suitable word from the box.

b) Look through text 2 and say what the main difference be- tween separation of powers and fusion of powers is.

democratic	is called	described	selected
branch	election	independent	elected
accountable	independent	controls	exists
characteristic

Text 2

SEPARATION OF POWERS VS. FUSION OF POWERS

In organizing a democratic system of governance, there ... a contin- uum between what ... “Presidential government” and “Parliamentary government.” “Separation of powers” is a feature more inherent to presidential systems, whereas “Fusion of powers” is ... of parliamen- tary systems. There also exist “mixed systems,” which fall somewhere near the midpoint of the continuum, most notably France’s (cur- rent) Fifth Republic.

With fusion of powers, one ... (invariably the elected legislature) is supreme, and the other branches are subservient to it. In a separa- tion of powers, each branch is largely (although not necessarily en- tirely) ... of the other branches. By independent, political scientists mean that each branch is either ... independently of the other branches, or at least is not dependent upon the other branches for its continued existence.

Accordingly, in a fusion of powers system—the best-known is that of the United Kingdom, which was first ... as such by Walter Bage- hot—the legislature is ... by the people, and then this legislature “cre- ates” the executive. As Professor Cheryl Saunders writes, “...the in- termixture of institutions [in the UK] is such that it is almost impos- sible to describe it as a separation of powers.” In a separation of powers, the person or persons (executive branches can have multiple members) of the executive are not selected by the legislature, but by some other means (direct popular ..., electoral college selection, etc.) In a parliamentary system, when the term of the legislature ends, so too may the tenure of the executive selected by that legisla- ture. In a “presidential” system, the executive’s term may or may not coincide with the legislature’s, but again, his selection is technically ... of the legislature. However, when the executive’s party ... the legis- lature, there may sometimes develop an effective “fusion of powers” in favor of the executive. Such situations may thwart the constitution- al goal or normal popular perception that the legislature is the more ... branch or the one “closer to the people,” reducing it to a virtual “consultative assembly,” politically or procedurally unable, or un- willing, to hold the executive ... in the event of blatant”

неотъемлемый, присущий, свойственный главный

п

N o t e s:

inherent supreme subservient electoral college

term/tenure to coincide to thwart blatant

одчиненный, зависимый

коллегия выборщиков (избираемая в штатах для выборов президента и вице-президента)

срок

совпадать противоречить вопиющий, ужасный