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Branches of Government

There are three main branches of government: the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The executive proposes and enforces laws, the legislature passes laws, and the judiciary interprets laws and settles legal disputes. In democracies, these branches have separate powers to prevent any one group from having too much authority. The document provides examples of the different branches in Spain, the UK, and US governments.

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Paul Martin
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27 views20 pages

Branches of Government

There are three main branches of government: the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The executive proposes and enforces laws, the legislature passes laws, and the judiciary interprets laws and settles legal disputes. In democracies, these branches have separate powers to prevent any one group from having too much authority. The document provides examples of the different branches in Spain, the UK, and US governments.

Uploaded by

Paul Martin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

Branches of
government
AIM:
To understand and identify the
different branches of governments.
To be able to explain what their
roles are.
Branches of
government
There are three branches of
government. These are:
The Executive: Makes laws
The Legislature: Passes laws
Judicial: Interprets laws
(decides the meaning of
laws)
The Executive
▪ Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chancellors, etc.
▪ Ministers (people in charge of certain areas e.g.
the economy, defence, health education etc).
▪ IN democracies often called the government i.e.
the leaders of the political party that have been
elected into power.
▪ So the executive is usually made up of people
from the same party (although they can still
disagree amongst themselves)
▪ They decide what laws they want to introduce.
(Bills)
▪ However, they do not have the power to pass
the laws (at least not in democracies).
The Legislature

▪ Parliaments, Congress, Reichstag etc.


▪ They are made up of people who have been elected
by the people. The legislature includes people from
different political parties.
▪ Usually the executive proposes a law. Unless the
members of the legislatura agree then it will not
become a law (at least not in most democracies).
▪ Sometimes the legislature can propose their own
laws.
▪ Legislatures often have two chambers (E.g.
Congresso de Diputados y el Senado (in Spain) or
The House of Commons and the House of Lords
(UK).
The Judiciary

▪ Interpret the laws. This means deciding on the


meaning of laws.
▪ The Judiciary is made up of different courts at
different levels e.g. local, regional or national.
▪ E.g. In the case of “La manada”, whether the crimes
constituted rape or sexual assault was decided by
the judge.
▪ When states have constitutions (written rules saying
who can do what etc) then the the judiciary decides
when/if the consitution is being broken.
President Sanchez and
his ministers (2021) Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?
President Sanchez and
his ministers (2021) Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?

EXECUTIVE
Congreso de los
Diputados Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?
Congreso de los
Diputados Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?

LEGISLATIVE
President Biden
Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?
President Biden
Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?

EXECUTIVE
A courtroom
Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?
A courtroom
Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?

Judicial
House of Commons (UK
Parliament) Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?
House of Commons (UK
Parliament) Executive,
Legislative
or Judicial?

Legislative
Tribunal Supremo
Executive,
Legislative or
Judicial?
Tribunal Supremo
Executive,
Legislative or
Judicial?

EXECUTIVE
The Queen Executive,
Legislative or
Judicial?
The Queen Executive,
Legislative or
Judicial?

ALL
THREE!
(Well technically
anyway)
In democracies there is usually some separation of the
three powers. This is done to prevent one person or group
having too much power.
Countries that do not have a separation of Powers are
usually less democratic.
Democracies usually have a constitution which clearly says
who can do what and when. This is also usually used to
protect the democracy against becoming a dictatorship.
E.g. The Queen of
England may technically
be in all branches of
government, however
most people would not
describe her as a
dictator!

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