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Dissolution of parliament. The dissolution of a legislative assembly (or parliament) is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assembly is chosen by a general election.
The Declaration of Independence and Its Legacy. "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent ...
- About this series
- About International IDEA
- Why?
- How?
- Where?
- Content and scope
- Understanding dissolution and the dynamics of parliamentary government
- Dissolution in action: the 2011 Canadian general elections
- Purposes and rationale of the dissolution power
- Dissolution and patterns of executive–legislative relations
- Basic design options
- Dissolution by the head of state
- Dissolution by the head of state on the advice of the prime minister
- Dissolution by decision of parliament
- No dissolution before completion of parliament’s term of ofice
- Date of election and the next meeting of parliament after a dissolution
- Duration of parliamentary terms
- Consultation
- Contextual considerations
- The head of state: their role and method of selection6
- Party system
- Ability to hold elections
- Decision-making questions
These constitution-building primers are intended to assist in-country constitution-building or constitutional-reform processes by: (i) helping citizens, political parties, civil society organisations, public oficials, and members of constituent assemblies, to make wise constitutional choices; and (ii) helping staf of intergovernmental organizations...
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with a mission to support sustainable democracy worldwide. International IDEA
The power of dissolution is the power to end the term of ofice of a parliament (or other legislative body) so as to cause new elections to take place. Parliaments are compulsorily dissolved at the end of their term of ofice. In many countries, a premature dissolution, before the scheduled end of Parliament’s term, is also possible in certain situat...
• The dissolution of parliament is a powerful political tool. The location and extent of the dissolution power will therefore afect the overall balance of power in the polity. If a broad power of dissolution is vested in the head of state or cabinet, then the political system will tend to concentrate powers in those institutions; if the dissolution...
• Most parliamentary and semi-presidential systems allow for the premature dissolution of parliament in some circumstances— an almost unfettered power of dissolution to a very limited power although the circumstances in which this is possible range from that can only be used in specific cases. Premature dissolution is rare in presidential systems.
Definition: Dissolution is the power to dismiss a parliament or other legislative assembly such that the members of the assembly cease to hold ofice and new elections are required. Dissolution thus difers from prorogation, which ends the sitting of an assembly but does not cause the members to be removed from ofice or require new elections to be he...
First, however, it is necessary to think carefully about the purposes and rationale of the dissolution power, to understand the dynamics at the heart of executive–legislative relations in parliamentary democracies, and to consider how diferent forms of dissolution power may influence the overall functioning of the political system. In parliamentary...
In 2011, the three main opposition parties in the Canadian House of Commons joined forces to pass a vote of no confidence in the government led by prime minister Stephen Harper, accusing the latter of ‘contempt of parliament’ for failing to provide opposition members with adequate information. The Government, faced with having to choose between res...
Dissolution may serve various purposes in relation to the working of parliamentary democracy. The specific rules in each country may encourage or discourage, allow or prohibit, the use of dissolution for each of these purposes. Dissolution as a means of enforcing party discipline and strengthening the executive: When a broad discretionary power of ...
Legislative–executive relations in parliamentary democracies range from those characterized by executive dominance to those in which there is a more equal balance of power and a give-and-take relationship between the executive and legislature (Lijphart 1999). Although there are many other contextual variables—including the electoral system, the efe...
Having surveyed the various purposes for which the dissolution power exists, and having discussed the relationship of the dissolution power to the overall functioning of the parliamentary system, it is now possible to discuss the various design choices that constitution-makers may face. These choices concern the location of the dissolution power an...
Dissolution by the head of state at will: One possibility is for the constitution to place the power of dissolution in the hands of the head of state, with the intention and expectation that the head of state may freely use this power according to his or her own judgment and on his or her own responsibility – that is, without being bound by the adv...
In many parliamentary democracies the constitution formally vests the dissolution power in the hands of the head of state, but with the clear intention that this power be (normally) exercised only in accordance with the binding advice of the prime minister. The Constitution of Bangladesh (article 72) provides that: ‘Parliament shall be summoned, pr...
Another possible design option is to allow parliament to vote for its own dissolution, thus enabling parliament to decide (subject, obviously, to a maximum prescribed term of ofice) when it should dissolve itself. The Constitution of the Solomon Islands (section 73), for example, provides that, ‘If at any time Parliament decides by resolution suppo...
A final possible design option is not to allow premature dissolution at all: parliament sits for a fixed term, and may not be dissolved before the end of its scheduled term. This provides parliament with security from arbitrary dissolution, strengthening it as an institution vis-à-vis the executive, especially when compared to systems in which the ...
The dissolution of parliament leads necessarily to a new parliamentary election and, in due course, to the first meeting of the new parliament. During the interval between the dissolution of the previous parliament and the first meeting of the next parliament, there is no parliament in session, meaning that the government can govern without parliam...
In the vast majority of parliamentary democracies, the parliament (or, in bicameral systems, the lower house) is elected for a term of four or five years (IPU 2015). These terms express the maximum period of time that may normally elapse between elections (barring, for example, exceptional circumstances, such as a state of emergency, that might all...
Prime ministers who exercise the power of dissolution may in practice be obliged, by conventional usage and by political realities, to consult with cabinet colleagues before dissolving parliament, but explicit constitutional requirements to consult with cabinet colleagues are rare. When the power of dissolution is efectively vested in, and exercise...
Decisions about the design, location and limits of the dissolution power need to be taken with the overall balance of power between institutions constantly in view: dissolution power is intrinsically related to the processes of government formation and removal in parliamentary democracies, and the allocation of the distribution power between the br...
The method of selecting the head of state—whether by direct popular election, indirect election by parliament or an electoral college, or by hereditary succession—will have an obvious influence on the democratic legitimacy of the head of state, and, as a consequence, on both: (a) the acceptability of vesting discretionary powers in the head of stat...
The way in which the dissolution power is likely to be used in practice will depend not only upon the constitutional rules but also upon the shape of the party system, that is, the efective number of parties in parliament, their degree of internal cohesion or factionalism and whether relationships between the parties are centripetal and co-operativ...
The process of holding elections can require a considerable investment of money, time and other resources. In some contexts, there may also be security concerns, and inter-communal tensions can be particularly high during elections. So although regular elections are essential to democracy, holding elections too frequently can place a great burden o...
Where is leadership power supposed to reside in the political system: in the parliament itself, in the prime minister and cabinet or in the head of state? How should the dissolution power, in terms of its location and extent, reflect this? What has been the recent historical situation in the country in terms of executive– legislative relations: has...
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Nov 17, 2017 · Robert Alexander/Getty Images. The three branches of the U.S. government are the legislative, executive and judicial branches. According to the doctrine of separation of powers, the U.S ...
Definition. The dissolution of parliament refers to the termination of a parliamentary session, typically by the head of state, which triggers a general election for a new parliament. This process is a key feature of parliamentary regimes, where the executive branch has the power to dissolve the legislative branch and call for new elections.
Jan 8, 2016 · This report provides an overview of separation of powers. It first reviews the philosophical and political origins of the doctrine. Then it surveys the structure of separation of power in the Constitution. It next discusses the consequences of the system, for both the institutions and for individual political actors.
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Nov 24, 2022 · Abstract. This chapter summarizes current constitutional design regarding the dissolution of Parliament and the impeachment of President. It is based on the review of national constitutions and seeks to establish a common ground for writing and amending constitutions. The first part of the chapter focuses on who is empowered to dissolve ...
