2.7 Independent Legislatures

4 min read•june 18, 2024

Isabela Padilha

Kelly Cotton

AP Comparative Government 🗳️

90 resources

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In Topic 2.7 Independent Legislatures, you need to be able to explain how the legislature is checked by other branches or the processes that can impact the independence of the legislature in each of the course countries. A chart seems like the perfect way to examine how legislative independence is affected in each country. 📝

But, before we jump into each course country, let's discuss the following question:

What is the importance of an Independent Judiciary?

As we discussed before, the Legislature is one of the most powerful branches of government because it has the ability to shape the direction of a country.👆So, it is important that it remains independent from other bodies of government to be able to properly check on the executive and the judiciary. Independence helps to prevent any branch from becoming too authoritative.

The legislative should not fear interference from the executive, as they are there to respond to the needs of the people that voted for them, and not the head of government and/or head of state. But, you will see that the Executive has become a dominant force in many nations and through mechanisms such as "decree power" (read more about this in the table below) and even corruption, the Executive can gain more influence over the Legislative branch.

In addition, keep in mind that the legislative has the capacity to maintain stability and legitimacy in a government. Not only are they directly responsible to responding to the people's demands, but they are also in charge of coming up with copromises between factions, and extending civil liberties. If they act in a way that is "predictable" to the expectations of the people, they nurture stability and legitimacy. 🌱

💡Remember: Political factions are political groups formed by something in common (ideology, identity, geographic region, among others). In the legislative, they can represent a healthy diversity of viewpoints, but they may also create conflicts and make it more difficult to create an united front in policymaking.

Legislative Independence and Checks on Power

Country	Degree of Independence	Explanation/Example
UK 🇬🇧	considered more independent in this course	Fused powers between the executive and legislative branch leave few checks on the legislative branch. But, the Executive can still adopt some mechanisms that check on the Legislative's power, such as the ability to veto legislation and even call for new elections. Confidence votes can check power as well as set election dates.
Russia 🇷🇺	no true independence	United Russia controls who may be elected and the legislature is just a little more than a rubber stamp for the executive branch. The President also has decree power which means he can pass and shape implementation of law without the input of the legislature.
Iran 🇮🇷	no true independence	The Guardian Council, selected by the Supreme Leader, oversees the Majles to ensure that laws comply with Islamic law. In addition, there is the Expediency Council which serves a mediator between the Majles and the Guardian council and it is also made of officials appointed by the Supreme leader. It serves as a check on both the Legislative and the Judiciary branch, and has been helpful in mediating important issues, such as the Nuclear deal between Iran and other world powers in 2015 ☢️.
Mexico 🇲🇽	considered more independent in this course	The President also has decree power which means he can pass and shape implementation of law without the input of the legislature. Process that checks is set election dates.
China 🇨🇳	no true independence	The CCP is the true center of power. The Politburo Standing Committee is the true seat of power. The Chinese Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) sets the legislative agenda for the NPC, supervises NPC member elections, and interprets the laws and Constitution.
Nigeria 🇳🇬	considered more independent in this course	The President also has decree power which means he can pass and shape implementation of law without the input of the legislature. Process that checks is set election dates.

In addition to the checks mentioned above, it is important to recognize that public opinion 🗣 and the media 📺 also play a crucial role in checking on the legislative. These two elements can hold the legislative accountable and ensure that it is following the demands of the people. This is why it is important to have a free media and a strong civil society!

Now that you've reviewed all the structure of the Legislature and its power dynamics with other bodies, we will now move ➡️ our discussion to the Judiciary branch! 🎉 Remember that this is the body that ultimately checks on the Legislative's work, as it holds the authority to make the correct interpretation of the laws that rule the country.