What is Separation of powers?
'''Separation of Powers''' means that the three branches of government are separated. The three branches are as follows: * the [[Legislature|Legislative]] - the part that makes laws * the [[Executive]] - the part that carries out (''executes'') the laws * the [[Judicial Branch]] - the courts that decide if the law has been broken Separation of Powers helps to protect freedom. The executive branch carries out the laws but cannot make laws to make themselves powerful. Also the judiciary is responsible for making sure that criminals are punished, so that members of the government or legislature cannot ignore the law as the judiciary can check on them. Separation of powers is also called a system of ''checks and balances'' because the branches can check up on each other and if any of the branches get too strong, that branch will be balanced by the others. In the [[United States]] the three branches of government are completely separate except for the [[Vice President]] who is President of the [[Senate]]. In the [[United Kingdom]] the three branches of Government are mixed but the checks and balances are provided by history and ''[[custom]]'' (the rule that says something should happen because that is how it has been done for a long time). The [[King]] is [[Head of State]] (the executive), but is also part of [[Parliament]] (the legislative branch) and is the Fountain of Justice (the head of the judicial branch). But by convention he does not do anything without the advice of Ministers and never refuses to pass an [[Act of Parliament]]. The King has a lot of power but the power is controlled and balanced by the need to act in certain ways or only use the power at certain times. In some countries the leaders of the executive branch are members of the legislature. This system is called [[responsible government]]. The first to talk about separation of powers in the modern age was [[Charles-Louis Montesquieu]]. Montesquieu published his book ''De l'esprit des lois'' (''The Spirit of Laws'') in 1748. ==Related pa