Importance Of Separation Of Powers

Separation of powers refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the main functions of another. The main intention is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances. The principle of separation of powers is laid out in Articles I, II, and III in the constitution, in an effort to avoid oppression. The check and balances play the roles of the three branches of government. This structure was furnished so that no one branch will over power the other. The three branches are organized to help one another by being self-governing of the other. The legislative branch contains congress, the judicial branch contains the courts, and the executive branch involves the president.

On the other hand, separation of powers is defined as, “the division of powers into distinct branches of government” (Levin-Waldman, 2011). With the legislative branch creating law, the executive branch applying and carrying out the law, and the judicial branch interprets the law. This is an idea the framers of the constitution developed to distribute detailed governmental powers among the three branches of the government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The framers understood it was important to separate the powers between the three branches to keep the mainstream from having complete control over everything.

Checks and balances is defined as, “when one branch of government checks the other and balances out its power” (Levin-Waldman, 2011). The creators did not want any single branch of the government to have more control over the other, so through separation of powers they executed a system of joint powers, called checks and balances, which requires each branch ...

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...udges’ cases; and sets the policies for its own members. The judicial branch is protected against unreasoned firing by other branches. The courts check the executive and legislative branches by means of judicial review. The Supreme Court is not the only court that can regulate whether a law is constitutional; the lower-level courts can too. However the Supreme Court is the only court whose judgments affect the whole nation.

In conclusion, the powers of all three branches of the government are very strong and influential in today's society. Separation of powers is necessary so that no one branch can overthrow the other. With checks and balances, each of the three branches of government can limit the powers of the others. This way, no one branch becomes too powerful. Each branch checks the power of the other branches to make sure that the power is equal between them.