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

Ancient Athens developed a democratic system based on an entire ecosystem of assemblies devoted to different tasks, which essentially created a separation of powers such that no faction of the citizenry could take control over the whole.

From Salon

As Thomas Zimmer explained at Democracy Americana, Vought argues that the law or separation of powers should not constrain him and the president, because this is a "post-constitutional moment."

From Salon

In 1973, the OLC declared that the prosecution of a sitting president would violate the Constitution’s separation of powers.

From Slate

After all, the “separation of powers” principles cited by the OLC were not written down in the Constitution—from which they’re entirely absent—but made up by lawyers seeking to grant more power to the president.

From Slate

The court framed the question entirely in terms of the separation of powers.

From Slate