Ap Comparative Government Unit 2

Roles of Policy Making Institutions

• Legislative branch

• Executive branch

• Judicial Branch

• Make the law

• Enforce the Law

• Interpret the Law

Parlimentary System Election Process

• Individual Voters vote for ministers of parliment in thier own districits (all uk regions)

• The MP’s that are elected around the districts gain their seat in the house of commons (650 MP’s)

• The majority party in the house of commons gets to elect the PM, who is part of the legislature

• Prime minister gets to appoint cabinet

Presidential system Election Process

• Voters vote for President

• Voters vote for Senate

• Voters vote for Lower House members

• President chooses cabinet members who are confirmed by the senate

If a member of legislature is chosen for cabinet, they have to give up their position in the legistlature.

Semi - Presidential System Election Process

• Voters vote for president and State Duma MP’s

• President chooses Prime minister and cabinet members

• State duma confirms the choice of PM and Cabinet

Iran government election processes

• Voters vote for

  • Assembly of experts

  • Majlis

  • President

• The assembly of experts chooses the supreme leader of Iran

• The supreme leader of Iran chooses the cheif justice of the judicial system

• However all candidates are vetted by the guardian council befor running

  • has 12 members, 6 chosen by the supreme leader and 6 chosen by the cheif justice of Iran

China Election Process

1. Selected as the general secratary of the CCP and chairment of the central military commision

2. Appointed as president by the national people’s congress

3. President nominates the premier who is confirmed by the NPC

Characteristics of a parlimentary system

• Fusion of executive and legislative authority

• Voters vote for members of parliments (MP'‘s)

• Majoirty party is legislature selects the prime minister

• Prime minister selects the cabinet from the leaders of majorty part to form the government

  • If there is no majority then a coalition government is formed

• Policy making is efficient as government bills are supported by the majority party

Law making process in the UK

• Government (PM and Cabinet) proposes bill

• Needs a majority of MP’s to pass law

  • if government bill fails then vote of no confidence

• House of lords can only delay the bill

  • officialy signed by the queen and put into effect

UK Legislature checks on power

• Vote of no confidence

• Question time

  • MP’s question the ministers

• Party leadershup vote

  • Majority party has an internal vote for a new PM

• Collective Responsibility

  • If a memberof cabinet disagrees with the prime minister, it is custom for them to resign.

Presidential System Characteristics

• Seperation of executive and legislative authority

• Voters vote for president and legislature in seperate popular elections

  • To join cabinet the legislators must resign their seat in the house

• Policy making is difficult as divided government can lead to gird lock

Presidential System legislature checks on executives

• Confirmation of the presidential appointements to the cabinet

• Overide veto (requires a super majority vote)

• Legislative oversight

  • Budget approval

  • Comitte Hearings (scrutiny)

• Impeachment

  • Lower house has to impeach the president (2/3 supermajority)

  • Upper house has to remove the executive (2/3 supermajority)

Executive functions:

• Formulate policies

  • Manage policy agenda

  • Propose laws and budgets

• Implement Policies

  • Manage bureacracies

  • Write regulations

• Enforce Policies

  • Administer programs

  • maintain law and order

Head of state

• Ceremonial leader (represents the state)

• Monarch, President

• Commander in cheif

• Foreign policy leader

Head of government

• Legislative Leader (formulates policy)

• Prime minister and president

• Appoints the cabinet to oversee bureaucracy and civil service

• Proposes/approves domestic legislation

President of Russia

• Ceremonial Leader

• Head of state

• Commander in chief

• Foreign policy leader

• Appoints top ministers

• Signs/vetoes legislatures

Prime Minister of Russia

• Appoint cabinet to oversee bureaucracy and civil service

• Proposes Domestic legislature

• Head of government

Prime Minister of UK

• Appoints cabinet to oversee bureaucracy and civil service

• Head of government

• De facto commander in chief (on behalf of the monarch)

• Makes foreign policy

• Develops domestic policies

• Calls elections

Monarch of the UK

• Ceremonial Leader

• Head of state

• Formally names PM’s

• Signs bills into Laws

President of China

• Head of state

• Ceremonial Leader

• Commander in chief

• Foreign Policy Leader

• Nominates Premier

Premier of China

• Head of government

• Appointes the cabinet to oversee bureaucracy and civil service

• Proposes domestic legislation

President of Iran

• Head of government

• Appoints the cabinet to oversee bureaucracy and civil service

• Proposes domestic legislation

• Conducts foreign policy

Supreme Leader of Iran

• Head of state

• Commander in chief

• Appoints ½ of the guardian council

  • Cheif justic

  • Expidency council

  • Revolutionary guards

  • Friday prayer leaders

  • Head of media

  • Bonyard leaders

Mexico president term limit

1 six year term

Nigeria President Term limit

2, 4 year terms

Russia President term limit

2, 6 year terms

Parlimentary PM Term Limits

No term limit

Advantages of Executive term limits

• Check on executive power

  • Inhibits the emergence of dictators and personality rule

• Help focus the office holder on governing rather than winning elections

• Provides opportuinites for new leader with new ideas, polices and goals.

Disadvantages of Executive term limits

• Forces good executives to leave office

• Allows insufficient time for an office holder to action goals

• Impeded policty continuity

  • Weakeans accountability

Parlimentary Removal of Executives

• Vote of no confidence (needs a majority in lower house)

• Internal Party Leadership MP vote

Presidential System Removal of Executive

• Impeachment (Super majority)

China removal of executives

• NPC needs to remove

Iran removal of executives

• President

  • Majlis/supreme leader

• Supreme Leader

  • Assembly of experts

Russia removal of executives

• President

  • 2/3 of Fedralist council impeach

• PM

  • No confidence vote in Duma

UK Removal of Executive

• PM

  • Vote of no confidence

  • Internal Party vote in house of commons

Nigeria House of Reps

• Elected Lower house

• Approves legislation

Nigeria Senate

• Elected upper house

• approves legislation

• Confirmation power

• Impeachment power

Mexico Chamber of deputies

• Elected lower house

• Approves legislation

• Levies taxes

• Verifies Election outcome

Mexico Senate

• Elected upperhouse

• Approves legislation

• Approves treaties

• Confirmation of supreme court justicies

• Approve fedral intervention in state matters

UK house of commons

• Elected lower house

• Approves legislation

• Includes PM

UK House of lords

• Appointed upper house

• Reviews and ammends bills

• Can only delay bills

Russia Duma

• Ellected lower house

• Passes legislation

• Confirms the presidents choice for PM

Russian Federation Council

• Appointed upper house

• Approves budget legislation

• Confirms judicial nominiees

• Approves troop deployment

China’s Legislation system

National People’s Congress

• Elected house

• Party controlled

• Elects the President

• Approves the premier

• Legitimizes polices of executives

Iran’s Legislation System

Majlis

• Elected house

• approves legislation

• Oversees the budget

• Confirms the presidential cabinet appointments

Indepentdent Legislature

Legislative Independse is the degree to which a legislature is the time to excersie its power without constraints from other branchs/institutions.

Benefits of Independant Legislatures

Pottentially increase legitmacy and stability by

• Responding to the public

• Openly debating policy

• Facilitating comprimise

• Most likely to increase civil liberites

• Checks the executives

Function of the Judical System?

To interpret and apply the laws

What is Judicial review

• To interpret the constitution

• To overturn legislation or impact the actions of the executive

China Judicial system

• Tierd Court system

• Judicial appointments are controlled by the chinese communist party

• Rule by law

• No judicial Review

Iran Judicial Review

• Sharia Law

• Role of Judiciary is to ensure legal system is based on religious law (Islam)

• Head of the judicary is appointed by the supreme leader

• Head of the judicary can nominatie ½ of the guardian council

• Judicial Review (sharia’s not the consitution)

Mexico Judicial Review

• Tired Court System

• Supreme Court has judicial review

• Supreme court magistrates nominated by the president, confirmed by the senate for a term of 15 years.

Common Law

High courts make decisions that set precident for laws in the future

Code Law

Rules that are written down

Nigeria Judicial System

• Tierd system

• Judicial Review

• Sharia Courts in the north

• Supreme court judges recomended by judicial council, appointed by presdient and confimed by the senate.

Russia Judicial System

• Tierd system

• Judges nominated by president and approved by the Federation council

• Judicial Review ( In theory but not in practice)

** Courts used to target political Opposition

UK Judicial System

• Not unified

• Common to enforce rule of law

• Supreme court

  • Final court of appeals

• Judicial Review

  • Sort of

  • the court is brand new

  • there is no constitution but the court still performs checks on other branchs of government

Factors Impacting degres of judicial independence

• Qualifications?

• Term Lengths for judges

• Process of removal for judges

• Authority to overule Executive or legislative actions

Judicial Systems and democracy

• Maintain checks and balance

• More likely to protect rights and liberites

  • Act freely from other branchs of government

• Establishing the rule of law

• Maintain the speration of powers