Separation Of Powers: Overview Of Literature

Textbook: The New Separation of Powers: A Theory for the Modern State (Oxford University Press 2009)

I found the textbook by searching on the NUIG Library Collection the topic of “Separation of Powers”, specifically for books. This book is available online.

This book discusses the theory of the “Separation of Powers”. The content focuses on questioning how the power is exactly used and how things are necessarily concealed by people in official power and used to undermine the general public. It examines topics such as “The Search for Institutional Legitimacy” and introduces a new theory for “Institutional Separation” which is then examined throughout the remaining chapters of the book, examining it about the Administration and whether it would work in action.

The book was written by Eoin Carolan. He is a respected source. This book for example earned him the 2011 Kevin Boyle Prize for Outstanding Legal Sponsorship and was shortlisted for the 2010 Peter Birks Prize. He is currently a Professor at the University College Dublin. He is also the current Director there for the Centre of Constitutional Studies which he founded. This book has been said to have “made a lasting contribution to the discipline” (N.W Barber, University of Oxford, Public Law). This book is used by college students to help with their understanding of the topic “Separation of Powers”.

One of the chapters in the book focuses on “The Relationship between the Administration and Other Branches. This chapter examines the way these operate and how the theory proposed in the book can further help them. It lays out how the administrations should work more together in order to efficiently carry out their jobs, in such high places of power. It discusses how if these different branches interconnected it would help identify all possible outcomes, therefore, allowing problems to be solved quickly or not even begin. It also contains a varied amount of cases from different countries detailing the outcome of these cases regarding the topic of “Separation of Powers”.

Journal: Reflections on “Public Administrative Theory and the Separation of Powers” (American Review of Public Administration 2013)

I found the article on the NUIG Library Website by searching for the keywords “Separation of Topics” and filtering the result to just articles. The full article is available online on Sage Journals which there is a link to on the library website for this article.

The article reflects a previous article the author David H. Rosenbloom wrote thirty years previous. In his previous article, he introduced the “three perspectives” to gain an understanding to public administration. These three perspectives were management, politics and law. He discusses the popularity his article gained, by recanting its reprints. He also examines other people’s perspectives on public administrations.

The article was written by the scholar Davin H. Rosenbloom. He is a Professor of Public Administration at the School of Public Affairs at the American University of Washington and is also the Chair Professor of Public Management at the City University of Hong Kong. He is a reliable source as his book further discusses the topic of his article from 30 years ago is used as a core text in many countries all around the world including China, Hong Kong, India and Canada. Its also been translated into languages to suit said countries. This book was also ranked the fifth most influential for this field of study for the years 1990-2010

The article is laid out clearly with sub-headings to allow for an easy read and understanding. It is revising his article from 30 years previous and lays out concisely in the beginning what the basis of the previous article was. It further discusses his three perspectives and how they have been adapted and used by people around the world to help them understand how the administration in America. He also introduces other perspectives and examines them in comparison to his which further introduces the reader to new theories to help understand the running of an administration.

The Justis website is a reliable source as it contains a vast amount of case law dating back years. It shows highlights of important quotes from the judgements of the cases. It is also one of the recommended databases by NUIG to research case law.

Blog: “Separation of Powers”( https://blog.ipleaders.in/separation-of-powers/)

I found this blog by googling blogs discussing “Separation of Powers”. This was the first hit from the google search and after going into all the different blogs on the first page of the search, I found this one to be the most interesting.

This blog is about the separation of powers and how it works regarding other countries. It especially focuses on India. The article breaks down and explains all the different sides of the separation of powers. It offers easy explanations for subtopics such as legislative and executive, which I personally find helpful. The blog then goes on to discuss the separation of powers focusing on its relation to India. It uses case law to help with its explanation. It then goes on to speak quickly in other countries such as Australia, Denmark and France.

The blog was written by Janhavi Arakeri. She is currently a student at Symbiosis Law School in Pradesh, India. The reliability of this blog is questionable as it isn’t from an academic website, and Janhavi Arakeri is still only a student. She is listed as an editor for the website that the blog was posted on though. While I think the blog is factual with definitions that would help me in studying, regarding its reliability, I do not think it would be.

The blog is broken down into simple sections with each containing separate topics. Janhavi Arakeri breaks down the topics quite simply, which helped in my understanding. Her comparisons between each country were well laid out and were also interesting. I found the blog to have a nice flow to it which allowed it to be an easy read.

Case: Maguire v Ardagh [2002] IR 385

I found this case by first going to my lecture notes on Constitutional Law, specifically on the subject of “Separation of Powers”. This was where I found the case. I then went back to the NUIG library website and went on to Justis.com through NUIG Library. I was then able to look up the case and find it on the website. The judgements were available to be read on the website.

The case is about a man who was killed by An Garda Siochana because he was carrying a shotgun. This case started out in the High Court in 2001 and was then brought to the Supreme Court which is the one I am discussing. It was put to question whether the death of the man could have been avoided and a special committee of members of the Oireachtas was created to decide this. Several of the guards were not happy with the involvement with this Oireachtas committee believing that they should not have the power to investigate such matters and that they were being treated unfairly. It resulted in the formation of the 30th Amendment.

The Justis website is a reliable source as it contains a vast amount of case law dating back years. It shows highlights of important quotes from the judgements of the cases. It is also one of the recommended databases by NUIG to research case law.

I found it easy to use the Justis website to locate the case and read its judgements. The judgements were long and complicated, so the helpful quotes taken from the judgements by Justis really bettered my understanding of this case.

Local Government Act 2001

I first came across the act in my lecture notes from Constitution Law, for the topic of Separation of Powers. To find the official act I went on to the NUIG library collection which provided me with a link to the Irishstatutebook.ie where I was able to look up the act and find it in full.

This is an act the Oireachtas enacted in 2001. It concerns power in local authorities and how local authorities such as county councils do not have the power to change the legislation, it further states the limits that the county councils have in their respective counties. It also gives more of control to the local authorities to manage their counties dealings internally. It applies how certain matters should be dealt with officially concerning legislation and local authorities

It is taken from the official website for Irish statutes. It is completely reliable as it is also printed in book form and is the go-to place when enquiring about Irish statutes. It provides the official documents, allowing for a thorough read. Every act in Irish history can be found on this website which further confirms its reliability.

The website irishstatutebook.ie is laid out extremely well for anyone enquiring into Irish Statutes. It’s easy to locate what your looking for with a quick search system. Once you locate your act, to get to a specific section in the act you can do so by quick links in the table of contents which I found to be very realistic as the acts are rather long. It also provides ways that you can print the act or certain sections of it.