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Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The relationship between the executive and the legislature in South Africa is determined by the Constitution. The study focuses on the separation of powers in a single party-dominant system and examines the role of the Leader of Government Business in parliamentary processes. The Leader of Government Business is appointed by the President in terms of Section 91(4) of the Constitution. The role is outlined in the terms of National Assembly Rule (150), while the functions have been developed over time since 1994. Though an executive function an office in parliament was established to act as conduit between the executive and the legislature on matters relating to the legislative and oversight processes. The office mainly fulfills its role by monitoring government‟s legislative programme and ensuring that government‟s priorities are achieved. Over the past 15 years, the office of the LOGB has developed into one that performs a dual function supporting both the executive and the legislature. Parliament relies more and more on this office in executing its oversight responsibilities with regard to the functions of programming in ensuring the availability of the executive, tracking matters of executive compliance and tracking vacancies in institutions that support democracy. The study employed a combination of research methods. It used a desk top study approach by consulting relevant literature on the subject matter. Interviews were conducted with both politicians and relevant officials in the South African Parliament and the House of Commons in Britain to gauge their perceptions, knowledge and experiences in respect of the role of the executive and the legislature in the legislative and oversight processes. Reports of Portfolio and Select Committees on deliberations during the legislative and oversight processes were consulted.

The topic of my thesis are parliamentary systems. For this topic I have decided mainly on the grounds that the Czech Republic ranks among countries with a parliamentary form of government, like most of European countries. The work is divided into seven chapters, which are subsequently divided into different subsections or other parts. At the beginning of my work I have engaged in the general concept of political systems. The view of this chapter is mainly to introduce readers to the topic and to acquaint them with the basic types of democratic political systems, which includes particular the parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems. The second chapter is engaged in parliamentary systems and their basic definitions. This chapter contains the theoretical foundation for the whole work and especially introduces readers with the basic principles upon which these systems work. Among these principles is included especially the principle separation of powers which is not too strictly interpreted, the sovereignty of Parliament and the specific relationships between the executive and legislature. In the third chapter I have dealt with the relationships between the supreme constitutional organs, as well as their position in the constitutional system. This issue is very important, just as relations...

Student Number: 0516477F DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL STUDIES THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS / This research report is a probe into prospects of meaningful political opposition in the parliamentary system South Africa. Political oppositions play a very constructive role in the entrenching of democracy. A free and open democratic system owes a lot to politics of opposition. The political landscape in South Africa is characterized by one dominant ruling party opposed by small and fragmented opposition. Thus there is a challenge in South Africa’s democracy due to poor opposition politics. The importance of opposition cannot be overstated, democracy thrives when there is healthy deliberation and contestation in parliament. Thus different goals, values and ideas are given the chance to be argued for or against. In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) enjoys large support that dwarfs even the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA). There are other opposition parties inside and outside parliament. However the fact that the opposition is still relatively weak, is a call for concern. Although relatively weak, the opposition in South African politics is of vast importance. The effectiveness of the opposition can be measured in the debates in parliament and the positions that the opposition adopt to counter the ruling party. Currently there is the reality of a very loose and weak opposition. The opposition is not being effective enough to be of considerable substance in the political landscape. The fact that much of the policies the ANC adopts are in principle similar to the beliefs and ideas of the opposition renders the opposition ineffective and the electorate is left with no real alternative. The point of departure of this research report is that the opposition should assume policies that are an alternative to the ruling party so that they can attract the electorate and thus boost democracy in South Africa.

This thesis is a situational study of the use and exercise of emergency powers in Malaysia, undertaken from the perspective of the principles underlying the Malaysian Constitution. The primary focus and perspective are Malaysian, and I use comparative materials where I consider they may help to Illuminate that perspective and the way in which emergency powers have been used. A unique situation has been created whereby the Malaysian Government has the option of taking measures under one or other of two legal regimes. The thesis, therefore, examines the development of this parallel government system. it includes discussion of the considerations that animated writing reserve powers into the Malaysian Constitution and the near Institutionalisation of the state of emergency In Malaysia, using this historical background to focus on the role of the judiciary In crisis situations, the incorporation of certain traditional elements of Malay society into the Constitution, and the existence of racial 'bargaining' in developing the Constitution. The thesis then examines the distinct legal order created by a state of emergency, within the context of the reality of the Malaysian polity. Hence, there is an examination of the four actual instances when an emergency was proclaimed in the country. An examination is also undertaken of the various amendments made to Article 150 over the years which has reduced much of the safeguards originally built into the provision. This examination suggests that Article 150 in Its present form, is debilitative of parliamentary government largely because of the dual system of law-making created by a state of emergency. The thesis therefore provides an insight into the working of a major constitutional democracy seeking to reconcile the need to maintain emergency powers and realise the objective of a parliamentary system envisaged by its Federal Constitution.

Les explications politiques de la fin de la monarchie de Juillet demandent à être reconsidérées. L’historiographie, s’appuyant sur les témoignages des acteurs qui l’ont combattue a insisté sur le refus du roi d’accorder la réforme électorale et parlementaire, refus appuyé par le cabinet ministériel dirigé par Guizot et par la Chambre des députés. La Charte de 1830 définissait le cadre d’un régime où le roi avait sa place et où le gouvernement devait chercher l’appui et le concours des chambres parlementaires. Dans ces conditions, le pouvoir exécutif devait obtenir l’assentiment des assemblées pour mener sa politique. Le refus de la réforme s’explique alors par l’obtention d’une majorité parlementaire acquise au gouvernement par des moyens peu avouables (élections manipulées, corruption, pressions de toutes sortes sur les députés) et la présence massive de députés fonctionnaires a priori dociles et obéissants. Était-ce vraiment le cas ? La dernière Chambre des députés élue en 1846 voit une victoire ministérielle incontestable plus fondée sur les effets du suffrage censitaire que par des manipulations. Le comportement de cette majorité durant cette courte législature révèle en fait que le cabinet s’occupa plus de composer avec les dissensions qui sont apparues en son sein que d’essayer de la diriger et de la dominer. En réalité, on en vient à se demander si Guizot, loin d’imposer son point de vue aux députés ministériels n’était pas en fin de compte le porte-parole de leurs aspirations conservatrices. / The political explanations for the downfall of the July monarchy require re-examination. Relying on testimonies from the politicians who battled against it, historiography gives preference to the king’s refusal of parliamentary and electoral reform, a refusal that was backed by the ministerial cabinet under the direction of Guizot and the Chamber of deputies. The Charter of 1830 laid the foundations of a regime with a place for the king, and where the government had to solicit the assistance and cooperation of the assemblies. In these conditions, in order to conduct its policies, the executive branch had to first obtain the consent of the assemblies. The refusal of reform is thus attributed to the government’s winning the parliamentary majority by dubious means (corruption, rigged elections, and putting deputies under pressure of all sorts) and the immense presence of bureaucrats who were assumed obedient and docile. Was this really the case? The monarchy’s last Chamber of deputies, elected in 1846, reached an incontestable ministerial victory, due more to the effects of censitary suffrage than rigging. The behavior of this majority over the short course of this term of office actually reveals that the cabinet was more concerned with dissent from within than it was with trying to lead and dominate it. By this one is led to wonder if Guizot, far from imposing his point of view on ministerial deputies, wasn’t actually the spokesperson for their conservative aspirations.

Le royaume de la Belgique a pendant longtemps été considéré en Europe continentale, comme l’un des principaux pays à avoir adopté et réussi la pratique du régime parlementaire. L’analyse du système de gouvernement envisagé ici, dans tous ses aspects historiques, juridiques et politiques, vise à reconstituer la façon dont s’est parlementarisé sans heurts notoires, la monarchie constitutionnelle représentative des origines vers une pratique parlementaire dualiste. Cette étude propose une réflexion d’ensemble sur l’architecture des pouvoirs, sous les règnes de Léopold Ier, Léopold II et Albert Ier, notamment sur la formation du gouvernement de cabinet, la naissance des partis politiques, le déclin de l’autorité politique du Roi, tout en faisant au passage une prosopographie du personnel politique de l’époque. / The Kingdom of Belgium has long been considered in continental Europe as one of the main countries to have adopted and succeeded in the practice of a parliamentary system. The analysis of the government system presented here in all its historical, legal and political aspects aims at reconstituting the way the initial constitutional monarchy progressed towards a dual parliamentary system without any significant incidents. Thus, in the reigns of Leopold I, Leopold II and Albert I, this study offers an overarching consideration of the architecture of powers, the formation of cabinet government, the creation of political parties, the decline of Royal political authority, while conducting a prosopography of the political figures of the period.

This paper investigates the relationship between ethnic conflict, electoral systems, and power sharing in ethnically divided societies. The cases of Guyana, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago are considered. Electoral systems are denoted based on presidential versus parliamentary system, and on proportional representation versus majoritarian/plurality. The paper concludes that, while electoral systems are important, other factors like the power distribution between ethnic groups, and ensuring a non-zero-sum game may be as important.

This thesis generally focuses on the president's role in the formation of the first government of Andrej Babiš after the 2017 parliamentary elections. As this government ruled for several months without the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies, the key part of the thesis further concerns the issue of the investiture vote. In the context of the post-election period, the thesis examines specific steps taken by the president in the government formation process in order to evaluate whether the manifestations of the president's influence are in line with the basic preconditions for the functioning of the executive power. The issue of confidence is assessed with respect to whether it is necessary for the government to rely on the confidence of the Chamber of Deputies, both in terms of relations between the executive and the legislature, but also regarding the government performance. Emphasis is therefore placed on the complex problematization of the investiture vote and the issue of confidence is then analysed primarily at the level of government's accountability to the Chamber of Deputies. Furthermore, the thesis confronts the first cabinet of Andrej Babiš with the basic prerequisites for effective government and aims to prove whether its appointment created a cabinet with the potential to govern...

1 Abstract: The division of state authority ilustrated on the example of the Czech Republic and French Republic with the focus on the position of the head of the state Key words: separation of state authority, constitutional laws, the legislative, the executive, the judiciary, the head of state, presidential system, parliamentary system Abstrackt: This thesis addresses the historical separation of state authority which is illustrated on the example of the Czech Republic and French Republic, especially on the position of the head of the state. The goal is to identify the identical and differing characteristics of the presidential status of both republics. The thesis is divided into three chapters and into a sub-chapters. The first chapter explains the development of the decomposition of the state authority from the first theoretical thoughts to the practical incorporation into the political system. The Second chapter describes in separate sub-chapters, the division of the state authority in Czech Republic and France. Third chapter is dedicated to the position, mandate, election and the competencies of the head of the state in both countries. Subsequently the gathered information is summarized in a sub-chapter, where the identical and differing characteristics of both presidential functions is discussed.