Separation of Powers in the UK Administrative Structure

ASSIGNMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Separation of Power is a crucial feature in any of the democratically established
administration. The understanding of this separation is rooted in the work of Montesquieu who
conceptualised it to make administration by people in the form of democracy as a structure that
was intrinsically fair and just rather than a mode of tyranny and oppression. Herein, we discuss
certain features of the UK administrative structure in light of the principles of the doctrine of
separation of power. The following analysis lists out certain features which are discussed along
with the plausible legal issues they lead to and how the separation of power still remains through
check and balance.
MAIN BODY
The term fusion of powers is believed to have been first coined by Walter Bagehot, the
British Constitutional expert. It exists by design, first arising as a result of how the British
political system evolved over centuries, with the power of the monarch being constrained by
Parliament. The UK still has a system in which members of the executive are also members of
the legislature
Until 2005, the position of Lord Chancellor was a fusion of all the branches of the UK
political system – as the person holding that position was speaker in the House of Lords, a
government minister heading the Lord Chancellor’s department and the head of the judiciary
Although the above examples indicate the ways in which the United Kingdom infringes
the doctrine of the separation of powers, these violations may be driven by practical
considerations (eg delegated legislation and judges making practice rules). In any event, the
various breaches of the separation of powers may well be governed by constitutional
conventions. For example we have already noted the following:
■ The parliamentary executive (see section 5.7.1) – although government ministers are
drawn from Parliament, they are governed by the conventions of collective and individual
ministerial responsibility.
■ The role of the monarch (see section 5.7.3) – although the monarch is involved in all
three state institutions, these are largely formal overlaps as she is governed by convention (eg in
respect of the Royal Assent).
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