scholarly journals Checks and Balances: The Concept and Its Implications for Corruption

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Da Ros ◽  
Matthew M. Taylor

Abstract It is often assumed that checks and balances are effective in curbing corruption, in part because checks and balances are so often assumed to be synonymous with the separation of powers. We argue that checks and balances are only one of several potential manifestations of the separation of powers. We suggest that the apparent correlation between checks and balances and control of corruption is driven by a variety of conditions antecedent to both. Using examples from Western democracies, we demonstrate that the concept of checks and balances is by itself an empty vessel, made effective only by “hard” factors such as the balance of political forces and “soft” factors such as the adherence of elites to particular behavioral norms. This does not mean that checks and balances cannot be useful, but rather that our assumptions about their precise utility may be misinformed: the relationship between checks and balances and curbing corruption is at best indirect.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-17
Author(s):  
Michael Appiah ◽  
Fanglin Li ◽  
Doreen Idan Frowne

Most of the literature that explored the relationship between financial development and economic growth taking into consideration the roles played by institutional quality in the ECOWAS region still debates on the roles of institutional quality on economic growth. This study used data from 1996-2017 for 15 emerging economies within the ECOWAS by applying two-step SYS GMM (SGMM) estimators. The following conclusions were developed: first, the study discovered that financial development has no significant and positive impact on economic growth in the ECOWAS region. Secondly, regulatory quality and control of corruption, which are considered as institutional quality variables, have opposing results with control of corruption reducing growth as well as regulatory quality variable increasing growth. Again, the results indicate that capital formation has a positive association with growth and labor force influencing growth negatively. Finally, due to a lack of proper corruption control systems in the region and poor financial sector development, growth cannot improve.


Author(s):  
Bosire Conrad M

This chapter examines the changes in the 2010 Kenyan constitution, which have resulted in a higher degree of separation of powers between the legislature and executive with an elaborate system of checks and balances. The decision to opt for a presidential system of government (as opposed to a parliamentary or mixed one) and the re-introduction of the Senate are the defining features of the legislative and executive organs. However, the new system is superimposed on a longstanding institutional and political culture that was based on the presence of executive dominance in legislative affairs in a unicameral setting. The new system of government will, therefore, operate in a broader social, political, and historical context that will have a greater impact on their overall effectiveness.


This book examines one of the critical measures introduced by African constitutional designers in their attempts to entrench an ethos of constitutionalism on the continent. Taking a critical look at the different ways in which attempts have been made to separate the different branches of government, the book examines the impact this is having on transparent and accountable governance. Beginning with an overview of constitutionalism in Africa and the different influences on modern African constitutional developments, it looks at the relationship between the legislature and the executive as well as the relationship between the judiciary and the political branches. Despite differences in approaches between the various constitutional cultures that have influenced developments in Africa, there remain common problems. One of these problems is the constant friction in the relationship between the three branches and the resurgent threats of authoritarianism which clearly suggest that there remain serious problems in both constitutional design and implementation. The book also studies the increasing role being played by independent constitutional institutions and how they complement the checks and balances associated with the traditional three branches of government.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Hillary Nye

The concepts of the rule of law, the separation of powers, and checks and balances are related in complicated ways. Jacob T Levy brings this to light in his thought-provoking McDonald Lecture, “The Separation of Powers and the Challenge to Constitutional Democracy.”1 In this response to Levy’s paper I want to further explore the relationship between these three ideas. I will argue that, when thinking about the rule of law, we must consider the idea of “role morality” and its place in constraining power. We should think of the constraints on power that stem from role morality as “internal” as opposed to “external” checks on power. I also suggest that we would do well to broaden our understanding of what the rule of law requires, and to think of it not just as a matter of ensuring impartiality and formal legal equality in the sense that the law applies to all actors within the system. We might benefit from thinking of the rule of law as a weightier moral concept that demands that decision-makers comply with moral ideals, and not just with the rules as laid out.


2019 ◽  
pp. 325-357
Author(s):  
Alison L. Young

When examining the recent evolution of the Constitution, it is argued that the UK has become more ‘legal’ as opposed to ‘political’. The last twenty years has seen a growth in legislation and case law, particularly that of the Supreme Court, regulating aspects of the UK constitution. This chapter investigates this claim. It argues that, whilst we can point to a growth in both legislation and case law, when we look at the case law more closely we can see that the courts balance an array of factors when determining how far to control executive actions. These factors include an analysis of the relative institutional features and constitutional role of the legislature, the executive and the courts. This evidence, in turn, questions the traditional understanding of the separation of powers as a hidden component of the UK constitution. It is not the case that courts merely balance the rule of law and parliamentary sovereignty in order to determine how far to control executive actions. Rather, the courts determine how to make this balance through the lens of the separation of powers, evaluating institutional and constitutional features. In doing so, they are upholding necessary checks and balances in the UK constitution.


Author(s):  
Tatiana Alentieva ◽  

Introduction. The article is devoted to the mechanism of impeachment procedure on the example of the first practical application of it in the history of the U.S. in relation to President Andrew Johnson. This created a necessary precedent in the further political struggle between the branches of government and has made the study of the history of the first presidential impeachment an urgent problem. Impeachment cases were brought against six subsequent presidents: Cleveland, Hoover, Truman, Nixon, Reagan, and G.W. Bush in the lower house of Congress. W. Clinton and D. Trump’s impeachment was discussed in the Senate, but was not successful. Methods and Materials. The article is based on materials from the American press as well as cartoons. The novelty of the source base is in combination of verbal and visual materials. The author used theoretical concepts developed within the framework of interdisciplinarity. The problem-chronological approach was the methodological basis of the research. In American historiography, Johnson is regarded as the “worst” President in U.S. history. However, the debate over the legitimacy of the first impeachment of a President in U.S. history has not subsided until now. In American studies, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson has not been specifically considered. Analysis. The conflict between the President and Congress was caused by the Reconstruction policy. The confrontation between the two branches of government led to impeachment. The President was charged in connection with the dismissal of Secretary of War E. Stanton, which was a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The article examines how the impeachment procedure was implemented by Congress and why it failed. Results. Despite the failure, the first impeachment of a President in the history of the United States showed the effectiveness of the “checks” and “balances” mechanism in implementing the principle of separation of powers. It has become a deterrent to the relationship between the President and Congress.


Author(s):  
Sylvester Shikyil

This chapter examines how Nigeria’s legislature and executive interact and check each other in a manner that prevents the abuse of powers. Section 1 provides a general introduction. Section 2 focuses on the constitutional role of the legislature and the executive. Section 3 examines the features of Nigeria’s presidential system. Section 4 explores the areas of interaction between the legislature and the executive in the discharge of their constitutional roles. Section 5 discusses the causes of legislative–executive conflicts and their impact on good governance while Section 6 concludes. The chapter argues that although the constitution makes ample provisions for a clear separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and the judiciary as well as providing for checks and balances to guide the relationship between the three branches of government, democratic principles have not been fully embraced due to the military culture existing between 1966 and 1999.


Author(s):  
Rafael JIMÉNEZ ASENSIO

LABURPENA: Lan hau laster argitaratuko den izenburu bereko ikerketa baten sarrera da: «Boterearen balaztak (botere-banaketa eta instituzioen kontrola sistema konstituzionaletan). Sarrera honetan, zuzenean, botere-banaketa ulertzeko bi ikuskera handi daudela planteatzen da. Lehenengoa, orekaren ideian oinarritua (edo «checks and balances») anglosaxoia da jatorriz, baina Estatu Batuetan bakarrik errotu zen; Ingalaterra, berriz, pixkanaka urrundu egin zen hasiera batean babestu zuen eredutik. Bigarrenak Frantziako Iraultzan du jatorria, non botere-banaketaren printzipioa aplikatu zen «formalki», nahiz eta benetan botereetako bat besteen gainetik egon zen beti. Botere-banaketaren printzipioaren inteligentzia desberdin horren ondorioak instituzioak kontrolatzeko sistemetan proiektatu ziren, eta bi eredu handi sortu ziren, nahiz eta hiru aldaera izan bakoitzak. Lan honetan, bilakaera horren oinarrizko elementuak marrazten dira, azalduz zein den alderdi politikoen egitekoa boterearen kontrolak diseinatzeko sistema instituzionalean, zein rol jakin hartuko duen jurisdikzio konstituzionalak Europan gabezia horietako batzuk zuzentzeko bitarteko gisa, eta nola ugaritu diren kontrol— eta arau-organoak, boterea kontrolatzeko bitarteko gisa (askotan bitarteko formala eta urria). RESUMEN: El presente trabajo es una Introducción a un Estudio que, titulado igualmente, «Los frenos del poder (separación de poderes y control de las instituciones en los sistemas constitucionales)» verá la luz próximamente. En esta Introducción se plantea directamente la existencia de dos grandes concepciones de entender el principio de separación de poderes. La primera, basada en la idea de equilibrio (o «checks and balances») es de origen anglosajón, pero arraigó solo en Estados Unidos, mientras que Inglaterra se fue distanciando de ese modelo inicial que había auspiciado. La segunda tiene su origen en la Revolución Francesa donde se llevó a cabo una aplicación «formal» del principio de separación de poderes, pero que en la práctica siempre supuso el dominio de uno de los poderes sobre los demás. Las consecuencias de esa distinta inteligencia del principio de separación de poderes se proyectaron sobre los sistemas de control institucional, dando lugar a dos grandes modelos, aunque con tres variantes. En el trabajo se dibujan los elementos básicos de esa evolución, mediante el papel que juegan los partidos políticos en el sistema institucional de diseño de controles del poder, el rol particular que adquirirá la jurisdicción constitucional en Europa como medio de subsanar algunas de esas carencias y la multiplicación de órganos de control y reguladores como medio (muchas veces formal e insuficiente) de controlar el poder. ABSTRACT: This work is and introduction to a study entitled “The brakes to power (separation of powers and control of the institutions in constitutional systems)” which will see the light soon. In this introduction it is directly suggested that two great conceptions of understanding the separation of powers exist. The first one, based on the idea of balance (or “check and balances”) is of anglosaxon origin but it only became ingrained in the United States, whereas England did separate from that original model that it had supported. The second one has its origin in the French Revolution where a formal application of the principle of separation of powers took place, but that in the practice it always meant a control of one power over the others. The consequences of this different comprehension of the principle of separation of powers did project on the systems of institutional control, resulting in two great models, although with three variants. In this work the basic elements of this evolution are drawn by means of the role played by political parties in the design of the institutional system of controlling the power, the particular role that will achieve the constitutional jurisdiction across Europe as a mean of addressing the lacks and the multiplication of bodies of control and regulation as means (many times formal and not sufficient) of controlling the power.


Author(s):  
Syeda Anam Hassan

To generate and maintain sustainable economic growth, e-government and control of corruption are considered as a key contributor in the nation. E-government not only increases control of corruption and economic growth but also reduces environmental degradation. In this study, the relationship of e-government to control of corruption, economic prosperity and environmental degradation has been investigated. Government has a positive and significant association with economic prosperity and control of corruption. However, e-government negatively related to S curve. The impact of control variables such that manufacturing, working for population and political stability all are positive to economic prosperity while exports and urban population show a negative association with the economic prosperity. In the case of environmental degradation, manufacturing and working population shows negative relationship while exports, political stability, and urban population shows a positive association with the environmental degradation. The study suggests that constructive national policies by practitioners and policy makers are required for the development of e-government.


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