Introduction to Political Science PDF

Introduction to Political Science 03. Other institutions Sándor Gallai, PhD Judiciary ▪ Branch empowered to decide legal disputes of various nature ▪ Court systems ▪ General and specialised courts (e.g. criminal/civil/administrative/military courts (“tribunals” in the UK)); first instan...

Introduction to Political Science 03. Other institutions Sándor Gallai, PhD Judiciary ▪ Branch empowered to decide legal disputes of various nature ▪ Court systems ▪ General and specialised courts (e.g. criminal/civil/administrative/military courts (“tribunals” in the UK)); first instance and appeal courts; High / Supreme Courts (Curia in Hungary) ▪ Self-governing judicial bodies (to guarantee independence) ▪ Arbitration courts and commissions ▪ Separate (dedicated) Constitutional Courts (Councils/Tribunals) ▪ Judges, chief judges, judicial officials (directly/indirectly elected / appointed / co-opted) ▪ Judges adjudicate on the meaning of the law, interpret (‘construct’) law, enforce compliance with laws, (protect the constitution) ▪ Criminal justice system ▪ Law enforcement officers, courts, prosecutions, (public) defenders, corrections (+ jury in the Anglo-Saxon world) ▪ Public prosecutor / attorney general: investigates / oversights criminal investigation; public prosecution (presents the case, files the charges); monitors corrections – usually appointed, rarely, and in top positions elected prosecutors 2 Judicial review, Constitutional Courts ▪ Special role of judges: judicial review ▪ Ordinary courts: only concrete review, interpretation of the constitution, constitutional review of international treaties ▪ Separate Constitutional Courts (Austria, 1919): ex ante and/or ex post review, abstract review, right to make laws null and void, review of treaties, constitutional complaints, interpretation, and impeachment ▪ CC judges usually elected by supermajority in parliament or (joint / separate) decisions by more institutions ▪ Textualist judges, originalists vs. judicial activism (possibility of overturning earlier decisions) 3 Evolution of issues ▪ US Supreme Court ▪ 19th century: constitutional framework, institutions, power relations (e.g. federalism) ▪ Early 20th century: role of government and regulations in the economy, private property ▪ After the New Deal, especially after since the 1960s: civil rights and liberties (suffrage, segregation, due process, abortion, death penalty, euthanasia, affirmative action, etc.) 4 Jurisdictions and independence ▪ Separation of powers (Montesquieu) =˃ independent judiciary ▪ Life tenure or long-term appointments, financial independence, no influence by other branches, parties, private interests, rule of law ▪ Integrity of judges vs. bias ▪ External bias: derived from the influence exerted by a political body (e.g. the legislature, the government, parties) or private actors (e.g. corporations, interest groups) on the judiciary ▪ Internal bias: stems from the prejudices, sympathies, set of values of judges themselves, if those intrude into judicial decision-making ▪ Jurisdictions in the Western world ▪ Common law tradition: case law (Anglo-Saxon world) ▪ based on judicial precedent through court decisions ▪ Roman law tradition: civil law (continental Europe) ▪ based on comprehensive legal codes 5 6 Ombudspersons ▪ Origins: secret royal inspectors in China (before 221 BC), Sweden 18th century ▪ Supreme Ombudsman entrusted by King Charles XII of Sweden (in exile in Turkey) in 1713 to ensure that civil servants and judges acted in line with the royal laws, and did not abuse their power – had the right to prosecute those, who did not comply ▪ Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman established in 1809 to safeguard citizens’ rights, and supervise the executive branch ▪ Meaning in Swedish: “representative/commissioner” ▪ Ombudsperson = a public advocate = citizens’ advocate = (high) commissioner – a broader term than parliamentary commissioner (not all …, but all …) ▪ State official, elected by parliament / appointed within the government to protect the rights of citizens against improper government activities and mistreatment in the public administration ▪ Investigates complaints, mediates, writes reports on regular/systemic violations of rights, makes recommendations, can give (limited) remedy (usually no power to initiate litigation or prosecution) ▪ Limits to investigation (e.g. parliaments, courts, secret services, army, central bank) ▪ General ombudspersons (of human rights) and specialised ombudspersons (e.g. of children’s / minorities’ / immigrants’ / solders’ / consumers’ rights, education, environmental or data protection) ▪ Examples: UN, USA, many all EU members, more than 110 countries worldwide, EU “ombudsman”7 Political “(in)correctness” in the EU: an ombuds(wo)man 8 Central banks ▪ Central bank = national bank = reserve bank (products of the late 19th and the 20th century) ▪ Main functions ▪ Formulation and execution of monetary policy ▪ Controlling money supply, issuing bank notes and coins ▪ Setting the base rate (central interest rate) ▪ Managing currency policy and to reserves ▪ Regulating and supervising the banking (or the entire financial) sector ▪ Primary objectives ▪ Securing and maintaining price stability ▪ Preserving the value of the national currency ▪ Supporting the economic policy of the government (growth) ▪ Status: independent from or subordinated to government; supervised by board and/or parliament ▪ Headed by governor/president + MPC ▪ European Central Bank (Frankfurt) – the (trans- and supranational) central bank of the European Monetary Union 9 Public administration ▪ Public administration = civil servants = bureaucracy (as a neutral term) – appointed officers ▪ Main functions ▪ Implementation of laws and decrees (execution) ▪ Preparing reports and background studies for decision makers ▪ Drafting bills and/or decrees ▪ Managing and running administrative authority affairs, government policies and welfare institutions ▪ Source of influence ▪ Special knowledge, expertise and experience ▪ Long-term continuity vs. short-term replacements in government ▪ Formulation of proposals and alternatives – possibility to pursue options based on individual knowledge, values and agenda + to channel in external, lobby interests ▪ Different patterns in the relationships of politics and public administration ▪ Protected: institutionalised guarantees of independence, position and career protection, predactible promotions ▪ Openness: politicised administration, political control over the work, career and promotion of the civil servants, victims of political patronage (spoils system), limited autonomy (political considerations tend to overshadow professional–technocratic perspectives ▪ Centralised / decentralised /deconcentrated public administration systems ▪ Parts: state administration (ministries, their territorial units, other administrative units with national / regional / local competences, e.g. agencies and authorities, functional self-governments with public authority, and local governments (in their state administrative capacity) 10 Bureaucracy ▪ Max Weber: characteristics of the “ideal” bureaucracy ▪ Division of labour and specialisation: divide all tasks into highly specialized jobs, give each civil servant the authority necessary to perform his/her duties ▪ Formal rules and regulations: perform each task in line with a consistent system of abstract rules to make task performance uniform ▪ Hierarchy of authority: arrange all positions into a clear hierarchical structure, where each lower office is under the control of a higher one, and there is a clear chain of command from the top to the bottom ▪ Impersonality in interpersonal relations: maintain an impersonal attitude toward subordinates to ensure that rational considerations are the basis for decision making, rather than favoritism or prejudices ▪ Formal selection process and career orientation: base employment on qualifications and give promotions based on job-related performance to protect employees from arbitrary dismissal to achieve a high level of loyalty ▪ Tilo Schabert: Boston politics – “The modern prince” (the creativity of power) ▪ Formal and informal structures + frequent changes to structures and personnel + many initiatives and committees + blurred competences (“chaos”) + trusted people in key positions + centralised + informal power 11 Local (municipal) governments ▪ Municipal governments can decide on local affairs, introduce and impose local regulations (decrees), have their own budget and structure ▪ They have compulsory and voluntary tasks, own revenues and central transfers ▪ They are in charge of providing local services and utilities ▪ Elected (mayor + local council representatives) and appointed leadership (notary) ▪ They conduct central policies and duties at local level (as an extended arm of central governments – i.e. in this capacity they are part of the state administration) ▪ They can be independent of the central government (i.e. decentralised structure) or subordinated and dependent on the centre (centralised structure) 12 Thank you for your attention! 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