separation of powers

[sep-uh-rey-shuhn uhv pou-erz]

noun

1. the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.

separation of powers

1. A fundamental principle of the United States government, whereby powers and responsibilities are divided among the legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch. The officials of each branch are selected by different procedures and serve different terms of office; each branch may choose to block action of the other branches through the system of checks and balances. The framers of the Constitution designed this system to ensure that no one branch would accumulate too much power and that issues of public policy and welfare would be given comprehensive consideration before any action was taken.

Example Sentences

He often took a constitutionally conservative approach to federalism and the separation of powers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“He has waged the most serious attack on separation of powers in American history,” said Elaine Kamarck, an expert on federal management at the Brookings Institution.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The result would be a dramatic, instantaneous shift in the separation of powers,” Kettl said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They are a direct challenge to the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Read more on Barron's

"We would have expected this milestone to reflect a maturation of our democracy - stronger rule of law, greater accountability, and clearer separation of powers," the SALC's Melusi Simelane told the BBC.

Read more on BBC