The separation of powers is the concept behind the American constitutional system. In this system, the national government is divided into three branches. These branches are the legislative, executive, and the judicial branch and are set in such a way that they are dependent on each other (National Constitution Center, 2014). Although the power is shared equally amongst all the branches, each branch has the power to challenge the powers of the other two branches. This is the system of checks and balances set up by the constitution to ensure no branch becomes more powerful than the other two. The legislature was the only existing branch prior to the constitution. The legislative branch, which is also known as the Congress of the US, is made …show more content…
The constitution grants the judicial branch power to interpret the laws. The judicial branch judges have no term limits and hence, are free from the control of the executive on the period of holding office. The judiciary also performs other checks such as a judicial review on the executive to check for unconstitutional acts. The Chief Justice, who is also the head of the judiciary, acts as the president of the senate during impeachment of a president (National Constitution Center, 2014). On the legislative branch, the judiciary also carries out the judicial review for unconstitutional acts. In addition to that, the judiciary has the power over the legislature that ensures compensation is not …show more content…
It consists of the president, vice president and other executive ministers. The main purpose of the executive is to enforce the laws passed by the legislative branch (Kelly, 2014). The executive, which is also headed by the president, has a significant power to postpone or cancel decisions made by the legislature over the other two branches. To add on to that, the constitution has also granted powers to the executive to call sessions of congress, recommend and appeal legislation, and recess appointments. On the judiciary, the executive has the power to appoint Supreme Court and federal judges and pardon prisoners. Since it was established, the American system of checks and balances has worked well in balancing power to maintain a stable government. The system of checks and balances ensures that the powers held by the three branches of government are equal. This system, based on the concept of separation of powers, allows each branch to control a specific portion of the government. The system also allows each branch to perform checks on the other branches to ensure no branch gains more power and control over the other