In this case, I will focus on the Judicial branch, next to explain one strength and one weakness of the branch of government as well as to provide an option to maintain the strength and option to correct the weakness of that branch of government. The major strength of the legislative branch is that it is the branch that actually has the right and the power to make laws. It also established the powers of the three branches. Answer example: I demand the best from the people around me and above all from myself. Dahl feels that the judiciary branch has repeatedly used its power over authority to change the Constitution. they protect individuals rights granted by the state constitution. The writers of the Constitution created this system to help ensure that the federal government wouldnt have too much power. For one, the loose federation of the states was too weak to act as a foundation to be considered or act as a central government. The most common weakness in the Article of Confederation was the lack of power that was given to the Continental Congress strangled the federal government. This l . As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. The Constitution. For example, the federal government could decide to wage war, however they had no national army to fight and the states were responsible to gather their own militias. Not having the judicial branch, would. Before making any changes to the Article, 9 out of 13 states had to approve the law before it was passed. One strength of this branch is that it holds the power to provide equal justice and determine if the laws passed by Congress are constitutional through appeals, trials, and review. If the leadership of Congress wants to push a certain agenda (imagine, for example, that it wants to pass a health care program to replace Obamacare), it has a very hard time leading the public and getting the public to support the idea. The judicial reviews of a policy are the authority of the courts to circumscribe the constitutionality of efforts by the legislature and the executive branches. The Judicial Branch is so small. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Another weakness was that the Articles called for all of the powers of the government to be in one place. This is evident since the judicial branch cannot enforce power, it cannot approach matters, but matters have to seek the judiciary, and public opinion influences the courts decisions to a great extent. I disagree with Alexander Hamilton 's statement that the "Judiciary is the weakest branch of government today. 78, Hamilton stated that the judicial branch was perhaps the least dangerous of the three, due to the fact that it will not put the liberty of the people at risk, as opposed to the executive and the legislative. Versatility. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Being able to check each other is one of the ways that the Constitution kept one group from having too much power. Honesty. The Constitution established an executive branch headed by a president, which represented a significant departure from the Articles of Confederation. Later, when writing the Northwest Ordinances, Jefferson proposed the idea of having three branches of government, and a system of checks and balances between the three to ensure. Judiciary is the branch government tasked with interpreting laws, adjusting cased and controversies over the application of laws and levying judgement when laws are violated (Lasky,.J, political parties, interest groups and federal elections) are involved in the processes, activities and policies of the U.S. government. More tips for discussing strengths and weaknesses? The Congress creates law, for example, they created the National Prohibition in the 1920s, and the president executes the laws by ensuring all the laws passed by the Congress are implemented. I will focus on the legislative branch at the federal level. 3. As for the jJudicial Branch, the lLegislature creates the lower courts, can impeach judges, and must approve Supreme Court cases. The major strength of the legislative branch is that it is the branch that actually has the right and the power to make laws. The job of the judicial branch is to balance out the executive and legislative branches of government, so that no branch is more powerful than the others. Adopted by Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, The Articles of Confederation served as the United States Constitution and was in effect from March 1, 1781 to 1789 when the current Constitution took effect. A. What are the advantages and disadvantages of liberalism and radicalism? Unfortunately, it is routinely carried to extremes, with billions of dollars spent every year on questionable projects that benefit only ones constituency. It doesnt have as many parts to it as the Executive and Legislative Branches. Cost-Effectiveness: Some entities are able to reduce pollution at a lower cost than others. Communication skills. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. president, and no national judiciary. It tried to help the union become a fair union. The Congress had the power to pass laws however not unless nine states voted in favor of it. After all, when power starts accumulating, that is one step closer to a tyrannical. As school children, we were always taught about the system of checks and balances. when the Romans expelled the Etruscan kings and set up their own government. 9. The major strength of this kind of government is that it is more efficient than a federal system. The main problem with the Articles of Confederation was that it failed to give power to the federal government. who describes himself as an American, British and Scottish citizen asks: It would be interesting to compare the strength and weakness of the American constitution. The distinctions between the American and other legislative branches are most prominent in the manner in which a chief executive is elected, how the powers of a chief executive are outlined, and how the balance of power between branches of government and the delegation of responsibilities for each branch are established. It established the three branches of government: executive, legislature and judiciary, as well as "checks and balances" which enable each branch to limit the power of the others, preventing any one from accumulating too much power. However, amending the constitution is very difficult, and has become impossible in this era of intense political polarisation. The Constitution which was written 229 years ago, comes with many strengths and weaknesses. Leadership skills. Having experienced tyranny as subjects of the British Crown, the framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted to keep the federal government from becoming too powerful. Having witnessed the problems of the monarchy on their own land, and aristocracy and democracy among the Greeks, they opted for a mixed form of government, with three branches. Latest answer posted January 23, 2021 at 2:37:16 PM. The Supreme Court of Canada falls under the judicial branch of the government, its role is to interpret the Canadian constitution and decide whether or not laws are constitutional. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of the following traditional types of government include: Monarchy Advantage: In a monarchy, decisions can be made quickly based on the opinion of the. We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. A good example of this is Shays Rebellion. One of the major strengths of the executive branch in the U.S. is its power rotation. Those days are over. Each branch of government checks on another to keep them balanced. The executive branch is the office of the president who approves laws, the legislative branch is Congress who make laws, and the judicial branch refers to courts that evaluate the laws, with the . Strengths And Weaknesses Of Judicial Branch 592 Words3 Pages 1. There are three federal branches in the U.S.; the legislative, executive, and judiciary. Each have evolving goals and objectives to get citizens involved with politics to exercise their first Amendment to vote. List of the Pros of Federalism 1. Respectfulness. Both the president and congress always making noise. Ratified in 1789, the present Constitution was remarkably innovative in overcoming the shortcomings of the Articles. Separation of Powers. They control the taxes money, and relationships between states. Does the weakness of the Articles directly correlate with how popular or unpopular they were in the United States? The United States government is divided among three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The system of checks and balances is meant to even power within the Federal Government, but within we know it has its flaws. What are the duties and responsibilities of each branch of government. They are all ruled over, In the United States government, there are three branches called the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. Strengths and weaknesses Witness the impact of the global financial crisis of 2007-08 See all videos for this article The U.S. economy is marked by resilience, flexibility, and innovation. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. One Example of this is in document B where is says, The judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the, The authors of the Constitution set limits, which still apply to our modern day society, on each branch of government. A weakness of the United States Constitution is that it can be difficult to make changes to it. The Judicial branch is the third government branch that is made up of different types of courts. Latest answer posted June 18, 2019 at 6:25:00 AM. America has made the president the head of his party. What follows reflects the perspective of someone who resides in the United States, the legislative branch of which, the United States Congress, differs from legislative branches in other democratic systems, most of which are characterized by parliamentary systems. The Articles of confederation were also weak because the required congress to have all 13 colonies in agreement when a new tax was to be passed. It became clear that the Articles had some serious flaws and actions would be. They have the power to declare way, and make their own laws. The strengths of the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States include the representative nature of that branch. Congress had little power to impose upon the states. As stated by the Cornell University Law School, " judicial review is the idea, fundamental to the US system of govn't, that the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government are subject to review and possible invalidation by the judicial . They have to over view the president 's actions and decisions, if they don 't agree with it they can stop him. However, the American people view political parties as important in the effort to promote the American democracy in their many activities to get citizens to vote at the polls.The one strength of the political parties are to act as a bridge between the government and the American people as being biased to political views. Stark economic differences across states have a profound effect on the well-being of citizens. The greatest weaknesses of separation of power is gridlock. States particularly relished the three branches of government and the idea of a republic, where citizens elect political . Having the language to do this helps a lot. Chief among them are economic disparities across states, race-to-the-bottom dynamics (i.e., states compete to attract business by lowering taxes and regulations), and the difficulty of taking action on issues of national importance. If the national government, for example, wants to implement a system of health care, it does. Unlike the UK system whereby the party with a majority in parliament controls the legislative and executive branch, in the US it is very rare that one party controls the House, Senate and Presidency at the same time, and it doesnt last. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Another weakness of the legislative branch is its increasing partisanship. It would allow one branch to limit another and to prevent one from becoming supreme, . Strengths and Weaknesses of US System of Government Although Tocqueville praises the Constitution, he believes that it succeeds because of the natural mindset of the American people. The Articles created a government in which the colonies - now states - retained most of the power. In the national government, this is the Congress. Strengths like communication, teamwork, flexibility, adaptability, problem-solving and leadership are all qualities that would accomplish that. Document 4 supported this claim because the legislative branch could have the president veto the law or goal the other branches suggested, the Exec branch appointed the judges for the judicial branch and the legislative branch could impeach the judges for the judicial branch and of the branches could veto anything the legislative branch did if it wasnt a benefit. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. Whether or not this is a good thing depends on your political perspective, but it has curbed the worst impulses of presidents, excluded radical measures from the agenda and led to a stability of policy. This is because Congress is so big and has so many members. The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of United States in November 1777. If the bill passes both houses of Congress and is signed by the President, it becomes a law. For the first . The lLegislative Branch has a good amount of power over the other two branches of our, It is noted by Hamilton and Madison that the most powerful branch, however, is the legislative. In 1787-1788 eighty-five essays appeared in the New York newspaper, they were supporting the federal constitution, Alexander Hamilton was one of the writers. Those types of court are the Supreme Court, Judicial review is the courts power to interpret the U.S. Constitution meaning and the amendments towards laws and policies that were given by the Executive or Legislative branches. The Supreme court also decides if the treaties negotiated by the president and approved by the senate are accepted by the constitution. Unimaginable levels of gun violence, underpinned by the 2nd amendment, resulting in some 40,000 deaths annually. Any attempt to change the Articles required a unanimous vote of all 13 states. We asked leading expert on constitutional matters Dr Mark McNaught of Rennes University to respond: AS someone who was raised in the United States and holds a Doctorate in Political Science, I have developed a keen appreciation of both the strengths and the weaknesses of the US Constitution. There was also no executive branch which resulted that it was almost impossible to coordinate the work of the national government. . In the same section that solved our problem of money for the central government it also authorized Congress to raise an army. The three branches in the UK are known as the legislative, (Parliament) the executive, (Government) and the judiciary (Courts) which are considered to function 'separately' as they have different legal powers. Were the Constitution more easily amendable, including changing the original text, it could be modified and updated to help resolve them and others. I disagree with the statement by Alexander Hamilton that judiciary is the weakest branch of the government, maybe at that time it could have been viewed as so, but its power has increased through several amendments (Jellum, 2008). These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. The dependence of the government on the will of the people is undoubtedly the best control, but experience teaches that other controls are necessary. Most American historians said that the Articles of Confederation were insignificant because of the subsidiary position occupied by the central government. In addition, there as no national currency, which made all state currencies useless in trade. The legislative branch takes a proposed idea, called a bill, and shapes into a law following a process established by the legislative branch. They also watch and determine if actions made by the president in enforcing the law are allowed by the constitution. The Articles of the Confederation was the first government constitution that the United States used, and, although there were strength like the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, there were major weaknesses of the Articles of the Confederation like the following: requiring 9 out of the 13 colonial votes from the representatives from different states to pass a law; having no executive and judicial branch; and the federal government being unable to impose tax revenue onto the states. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. In Canada, laws must be brought to the supreme court to be challenged and the court may not arbitrarily open cases. However, one weakness of the judicial branch is that Congress can overrule their decisions. Project management. Nor did it prevent these individuals from working cordially and professionally across the political divide. They make democracy possible through moderating the mass public and the government. Congress had right to declare war but could not raise the national army for the war. This resulted in weakness because it proved to be a very difficult task to get all 13 colonies to agree on a single matter unanimously. For example, Congress overturn the Supreme Courts decision in Chisholm vs Georgia case in 1793 because of the Amendment XI to the U.S. Constitution. This was done because the drafters of the constitution didn 't want any one person or group of persons to have too much power. Again, this is a strength of the legislative branch: the body that is most directly answerable to the citizenry is that which has the power to raise and spend money. One strength of this branch is that it holds the power to provide equal justice and determine if the laws passed by Congress are constitutional through appeals, trials, and review. Therefore, the judicial branch can be also interpreted as an independent branch due to their strong use of passing limitations by the government. When a judicial review is conducted it helps the state courts determine whether or not statutes are valid in the state. One such strength is that the Constitution is a living document. Uni-cameral legislature (one house) had too much power - appoint (choose) the Governor and judges. However, Congress does not really have the power to lead. The Articles of Confederation are said to be weak and because of their weakness, it is sometimes assumed that they were also unpopular. Officially, U.S. Supreme Court justices can overrule a policy in the preferences of the more democratic branches. The conversation will go back to what it should be about people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. However, the lack of power given to the Congress, to avoid too much power, made it hard to do their place in government. No other branch of government can actually make laws. The executive and legislative branches are selected by the people, but the members of the Judicial Branch are chosen by the President. The third problem was the Articles of Confederation, The Articles of Confederation was Americas first constitution and at the time it seemed like a great alternative for a government. The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to pass laws but no power to enforce those laws. HP10 9TY. The judicial branch can confirm the Presidents nominations, and it can declare presidential acts unconstitutional. The weaknesses of the Articles would quickly lead to problems that the Founding Fathers realized would not be fixable under the current form of government.