The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) played a key role in the establishment of the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles on the separation of powers, which highlights the importance of the separation of powers between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary to ensure effective governance and democracy.

Effective Parliaments are one of the principal institutions of any functioning democracy and they are central to the attainment of UN SDG 16 on the role of effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

This CPA blog series, with additional articles from The Parliamentarian, will explore many different aspects of the separation of powers in the Commonwealth.

In this series:

• Absolute power corrupts absolutely
• Fugit inreparabile tempus - the time for change is now!
• Lessons to learn (or not to learn) on judicial independence and separation of powers
• The Commonwealth Latimer House Process - 20 years of recognition
• How does the separation of powers impact on the functioning of democracy in the Commonwealth?
• Commonwealth Latimer House Principles: a lawyer’s perspective
• What were they thinking? Defining parliamentary intention and purpose: an Australian perspective

Published 7 December 2023

This blog explores the Power of Parliaments and the notion of absolute power through the ages, resulting in the concept of the separation of powers that we see today in relation to Commonwealth Parliaments. It also provides ‘Top Ten Tips for enforcing the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles and the Separation of Powers’.

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This blog looks at the concept of parliamentary time and its impact on the financial and administrative independence of Parliaments. The importance of the separation of powers is explored and the constraints that it places on both Legislators and Legislatures in the Commonwealth. It also offers some solutions to the ‘time-old’ problems affecting Parliaments.

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This blog article contrasts the separation of powers in the UK Parliament and the US Congress with reference to the Judiciary. It also examines the cautionary tale of the dangers of the politicization of the appointments to the Judiciary and the importance of maintaining the boundaries between the three branches of government.

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This article from Dr Karen Brewer, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA), who helped to draft the original Commonwealth Latimer House Principles analyses their progress after 20 years and why we need judicial independence and accountability in the Commonwealth.

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As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles on the separation of powers, leading lawyer Brian H. Speers (Immediate Past President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association) gives his perspective.

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A former Chief Justice of Australia, Hon. Robert French, AC gives his verdict on the separate but interacting functions of the Parliament and the Judiciary in making laws and interpreting them.

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Written by Dr Philip Loft, Senior Library Clerk in the UK Parliament’s House of Commons Library researching the Commonwealth and the UK’s Overseas Territories.

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Dr Daniel Aguirre, Associate Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies looks at the links between sustainable development, business and human rights in the Commonwealth context.

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