Vaishnavi Sharma, Christ (Deemed to be) University, Bangalore Central Campus
ABSTRACT
‘Separation of Power’ as a doctrine is recognised and accepted by nations worldwide; however the extent of its applicability depends from country to country. Separation of power refers to the strict division of powers and functions between the Legislative, Executive and the Judiciary. The doctrine of separation of power was first coined by Montesquieu in his writing Spirit of Law.
This paper is a comparative study or analysis of the principle of Separation of Power in three different countries namely India, United States of America and France. The author in the initial stage gives a brief idea about the meaning of the principle of separation of power, its profounder and his contribution in the said field. Later, the paper focuses on the application of separation of power in India, where the author states through a series of Supreme Court Judgments that there is no strict practice of separation of power in India. Further, the paper compares the principle with USA where the Constitutional provisions explicitly divide the functions of the three organs of the government.i.e. Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. Finally the paper puts light on the principle of separation of power in France where there exists two different sets of courts, one for the civil disputes and the other for the administrative disputes. Therefore, there is independence between the two courts which ensures fair and reasonable justice to the public at large. However, considering the present scenario of the modern day state, it is almost impossible in all the countries to maintain the separation of powers amongst the three organs of the government. It can be stated that there exists division of functions and not strict separation of power.
Keywords: Comparative study, Separation of Power, Constitutional Provisions, civil disputes, administrative disputes.
