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The Theory Of Separation Of Power

Decent Essays

The concept of separation of power suggests that the branches of the state; the executive, legislature and the judiciary be divided in terms of their functions and members likewise in other to prevent abuse of power or external influences. In 1748, Montesquieu made a statement which today is regarded as one of the clearest explanations of separation of powers, ‘When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty... there is no liberty if the powers of judging is not separated from the legislative and executive... there would be an end to everything, if the same man or the same body... were to exercise those three powers’. The functions of the legislative …show more content…

To highlight the fact that there is no clear cut boundaries within the articles, leaving scope for judicial interpretation.
Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, imposes a duty on the court that says whenever judges are looking at a legislation which has been passed by the parliament, the judges have a new duty of statutory interpretation, which requires that they try to interpret the piece of law as being compatible with the convention ‘in so far as it is possible to do so’. However, if the judges look at the legislation and remain unable to find to way to make the law compatible, in those circumstances the court could make a ‘declaration of incompatibility’, Section 4. An importance case which portrays the power of the judges and also provides a better understanding of Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, is the Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza [2004] UKHL 30. In this case, the claimant being the landlord, Ahmad Ghaidan, brought proceedings in the West London County Court against Mr Godin-Mendoza who was claiming possession of the flat which before the demise of his spouse, Mr Wallwyn-Jame, was their resident home. The defendant, Mr Godin-Mendoza, argued that he had rights over the flat as he was the surviving spouse of the deceased, under The Rent Act 1977 Schedule 1 Paragraph 2. Judge Cowell ruled in favour of the claimant, Ahmad Ghaidan, on the grounds that Mr Godin-Mendoza

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