Separation of Powers: Prerequisite for a Stable Democracy

Abstract

The beauty of democracy lies in the rule of separation of powers and the principle of checks and balances. Without the principle of separation of powers, and consequent machinery of checks and balances, the institutions of the state will encroach into the jurisdiction of each other, thereby leading to the set-up of a weak democracy in the nation. Pakistan has been witnessed an unstable democracy since its inception, with governments being thrown over and institutions over-riding each other’s jurisdictions. Our study revealed that the Constitution of Pakistan does not explicitly entail the separation of powers, as is mentioned in the Constitutions of the U.S.A. or the U.K. As a result, the institutions of government exceed their boundaries and start meddling in each other’s domains, leading to bad governance, power imbalance and a feeble democracy. If each of the three organs of government stayed dedicated to their own jurisdictions, with time, practice and hard work, a strong democratic setup would be established, with appropriate checks and balances in place. Documentary analysis was employed in order to review prior literature and then an elite interviewing approach was adopted so that the findings from experts of relevant institutions could also be established, thereby incorporating both first- and second-hand data into the research.