Checks and Balances System in American Government

As the name suggests, the checks and balances system ensures a balance of power amongst the government’s branches. Each branch is then accorded the responsibility of checking the actions being carried out by other units. The United States government consists of three primary components: the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Each department comprises specific participants who cannot engage in other branches’ activities. For instance, the Executive branch includes the president, independent government agencies, and executives and cabinet departments. For the legislative branch, congress, which comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate, controls all activities assigned to the unit (Rossum & Tarr, 2018). The judicial branch includes country courts such as the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and District Courts. According to the United States Constitution, each unit is expected to execute differentiated responsibilities. Remarkably, the Executive branch is assigned to enforce the laws, the Legislative branch creates rules, and the Judicial branch interprets the laws. A summary of the checks and balances system has been conducted to further readers’ knowledge of the three components.

The functionality of the checks and balances system in the American government can be expressed by expounding on various checks between branches to maintain a balance of power as they perform their respective responsibilities. The concept of balance of power is achieved by assigning departments the responsibility of monitoring each other and stopping any branch from carrying out operations that make them more powerful than others (Rossum & Tarr, 2018). First, the Legislative branch checks whether the Judicial branch abides by terms such as approving justices. To balance the Judicial branch’s power, the Legislative branch can impeach justices, create amendments, alter the Supreme Court size, and set jurisdiction for the court. Similarly, the legislative can control the executive branch’s power by overriding the presidential veto, impeaching the president, approving ambassadors, treaties, and departmental appointments, declaring war, and approving the vice president’s replacement.

Secondly, the judicial branch checks and balances Legislative power by conducting Judicial reviews, certifying that the compensation does not decrease, and confirming that good behavior is held during judicial seats. On the other hand, the executive branch’s power is regulated using Judicial review and appointing the Chief Justice as the president during the impeachment trials. Finally, the administrative checks and balances on the Legislative branch in that the president is granted the power to veto, the president of the senate is the vice president, the president is appointed as the military’s chief commander, and the president can call for emergency sessions (Rossum & Tarr, 2018). In the Judicial branch, the president can appoint justices and the president can pardon power. As discussed above, the system of checks and balances encourages constant conflict and tension between branches, enabling the constitutional end goal to be achieved. Overall, the system of checks and balances is made effective by the balance of political forces and adherence to the behavioral norms of western democracy.

Despite the constitution’s initiative to separate power, each branch portrays different strengths and weaknesses. The strength of the executive branch is outlined in its power rotation. The president’s services are limited to a four-year term, which has helped the US have forty-six presidents, triggering a healthy democracy (Rossum & Tarr, 2018). On the other hand, the vulnerability of the executive branch lies in the poor agreement levels between the legislative and executive branches that cause the unit to abuse power. The judicial branch is characterized by its outstanding uniqueness. The branch’s strength is mainly based on its ability to check other branches’ performance. In addition, the unit is assigned one of the most crucial roles: the leadership conference, where the Supreme Court decides whether to listen to the cases. One of the weaknesses of the Judicial branch is that it only solves immediate cases occurring in the present, which is different for Congress and the president, who formulate laws and ensure laws are put out, respectively. The primary strength of the legislative branch is its profound relationship with the citizens. At the same time, its weakness is defined by its susceptibility to citizens’ demands.

Various approaches can be adopted to bring the power between the three branches into a more stable form. As discussed above, checks and balances execute the role commendably. The constitution grants branches the authority to revoke unwanted actions from any branch. Apart from checks and balances, power can be evenly distributed amongst branches by balancing taxes, money, and social contact among the three components. Moreover, the constitution should reevaluate and suggest the dos and don’ts of each department. For example, constitutional amendments for the legislature to check over the decisions of the judicial branch can bring a balance by regulating Supreme Court powers. The reliability of checks and balances in safeguarding the separation of power remains the most appropriate measure. Even if new ways may be adopted to maintain the equal division of power, checks and balances remain outstanding. Thus, the approaches discussed stress the advancement of checks and balances.

Reference

Rossum, R. A., & Tarr, G. A. (2018). American Constitutional Law: the structure of government. Routledge.