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checks and balances |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
checks and balancesPrinciple of government under which separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power. Checks and balances are applied primarily in constitutional governments. They are of fundamental importance in tripartite governments, such as that of the U.S., that separate powers among legislative, executive, and judicial departments. Checks and balances, which modify the separation of powers, may operate under parliamentary systems through exercise of a parliament's prerogative to adopt a no-confidence vote against a government; the government, or cabinet, in turn, ordinarily may dissolve the parliament. In one-party political systems, informal checks and balances may operate when organs of an authoritarian or totalitarian regime compete for power. See also Federalist papers; judicial review; separation of powers. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| The system of checks and balances we had in Australia has served us well. A healthy system of checks and balances among the three branches of government is vital to the protection of our civil liberties. With the Internet, China is developing--for the first time in 4,000 years of history--a powerful independent institution that offers checks and balances on the emperors. |
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