Executive power

In political science and law, the executive branch is one of the three primary powers and functions of the state. It is thus distinguished from the legislative power, which approves or repeals laws, and from the judicial power, which interprets, enforces or invalidates them.

In political systems that use fusion of powers, which often include parliamentary systems, only the executive is often referred to as the government (and the legislature is often referred to as "Parliament" or simply "legislature"), which is often trusted and supported by the legislature (requires the support/approval of the legislature) and is therefore merged with the legislature rather than independent. In systems where the legislature is sovereign, the executive's powers and organization are entirely dependent on the powers granted to it by the legislature, and the executive's actions may or may not be subject to judicial review, which is also controlled by the legislature. The executive may also have legislative or judicial powers in systems where the legislature is sovereign, thus the executive is often referred to as government as it often possesses non-executive powers.

The executive branch is responsible for the daily management of the State, it conceives and executes laws and policies that have to be applied; represents the nation in its diplomatic relations; and supports the armed forces. In democratic states, the executive branch is considered the administrator and executor of the popular will, which it represents and of which it must be its strongest guarantor.

National law

The legal doctrine of administrative and constitutional law poses a nominal dilemma to designate this power of the State.

Some call it the Executive Power and others the Administrative Power. However, it is this last version that best describes the functions of this power, since the display of this legal power not only implies the execution of rules, but also implies the administration through the ruling of other rules (regulations, decrees, instructions). In some jurisdictions it is common for legislative powers to be delegated to the person who also holds the office of president, although this should not be confused with administrative power, which under the constitutional mandate gives those powers to the president or prime minister.

The latter usually brings about problems of legal competence, that is, confusion between what each power is allowed to do, and this dilemma is usually an argument in favor for the justification of the Constitutional Courts.

Functions

The executive branch has two basic functions.

• Political function: it is intended to direct society as a whole on the path that will better meet its specific purposes, making decisions to new situations that are not regulated by law, such as: appointing ministers of State; approving, or not, international treaties; trading in one or another country, etc.
• Administrative function: the specific purposes of the State, subject to the law, are carried out by this function (the activities carried out by ministries, governorates, mayors, companies, etc.).

Situation by country

The executive power is usually unipersonal. The head of government is the most important and visible figure of the executive branch. In a presidential system, the head of government is also the head of state, while in a parliamentary system he is generally the leader of the party with the highest representation in the legislature and is commonly called the prime minister (Taoiseach in the Republic of Ireland, Federal Chancellor in Germany and Austria). In France, executive power is shared between the president and the prime minister, a system that has been replicated in a number of former French colonies.

Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina have also collegiate systems for the role of head of state and government. In Switzerland, the Federal Council of Switzerland|Federal Council is made up of seven members, one of whom chairs it on a rotating basis. For its part, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a three-member collegiate presidency.

The head of government is assisted by a number of ministers, who generally have responsibilities centered on a certain field of action of the executive (for example: health, education, foreign affairs), and by a large number of government employees or public officials.

Germany

In Germany, the executive includes the federal government, as well as all federal, state and local government administrative authorities, for example, state administrations and all subordinate enforcement agencies, such as the public prosecutor's office, the police, the prison and the tax office. But the executive branch also includes full-time district administrations (district office), city administrations and municipal administrations, as well as district councils and honorary municipal councils.

An example of executive action by administrative authorities is the imposition of a fine for illegal parking.

Here the laws are executed by the state. There is always an executive action (executive act) when a public administrative authority makes a decision and communicates it to the citizen, for example, by letter. These administrative acts usually refer to the relationship between the citizen and the State (subordination theory).

The citizen can oppose any administrative act and, where appropriate, subsequently sue an administrative court, which examines the decision against the citizen in detail to determine its legality.

The executive branch is subject to law and justice (Article 20, Paragraph 3, of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany): principle of the rule of law.

In some respects, the Bundeswehr (armed forces) can also be considered as belonging to the executive branch, although this opinion is neither unequivocally nor exclusively correct: although the Bundeswehr reports directly to the Federal Government or, more precisely, to the Federal Ministry of Defense, is a so-called "parliamentary army", the deployment of which cannot always be decided exclusively by the respective federal government. When it comes to armed deployments by the Bundeswehr, the Bundestag as a whole (as a legislature) has extensive codecision rights and control options that go beyond the normal scope of regular executive control. unarmed deployments of the Bundeswehr in Germany within the framework of Article 35 of the Basic Law, for example for disaster relief, as in the case of the 2002 flood disaster, the categorization of the Bundeswehr as part of the executive is correct.

United States

In the United States, at the federal level, the Office of the President of the United States is the head of the executive branch. This is stipulated in Article 2 of the US Constitution. It describes the power of the office, the requirements to stand for election, and how to choose the president. The President has no formal right of initiative in the legislative process of the United States Congress.

France

In France, under the Fifth Republic with a semi-presidential regime, this power is shared between the President of the Republic (Head of State) and the government headed by the Prime Minister. The political situation determines the authority of the executive. In a situation of concordance of the majorities, the President of the Republic exercises the reality of the executive power while this returns to the President of the Government in case of coexistence. Therefore, the executive power falls most of the time on the President of the Republic.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, the executive branch at the federal level is the seven-member Bundesrat and the associated administration (departments and federal chancellery). At the cantonal level, the cantonal government (called the governing council or state council in most of the cantons) constitutes the executive branch. This council is usually made up of between five and seven members. At the municipal level, depending on the region, the municipal council or city council (or small town council) forms the executive. The executive is governed by a "weak boss"; that is, the city council or mayor does not have more rights than the other members of the executive branch.