Issue page

DOI: 10.47026/2499-9636-2022-2-73-81

Kozhina T.N., Petukhov A.V.

Westminster Model of the Parliamentary System and Historical Forms of Its Federalization

Keywords: Westminster model of parliamentarism, devolution, legislature, bicameralism, parliamentary reforms

The article analyzes the historical transformation of the classical model of parliamentarism in the political systems of federal states of the republican form of government at the present stage of development and reveals the features of its functioning. In legal regulation, the mechanism of representative democracy today has varieties. The oldest, time-tested institution is the classical institution of parliamentarism of the Westminster system. But it has also undergone significant changes in connection with its use in states with a federal structure. The objects of the study are the historical forms of representative democracy in the federal states of the British Commonwealth (Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and the Indian Union), the subject is the institution of the legislative power of the classical type and the forms of its transformation. The relevance of the topic is due to the search for optimal ways for various states to improve the legislative power in the system of separation of powers, the choice of the most effective legal means and methods of functioning of the parliamentary system. For the Russian Federation, despite the differences between the model of legislative power and the classical one, discussions about the political and legal composition of the legislative power are very important, this was noted by researchers when the constitutional reform of the Russian Federation in 2020 was being developed. Research methods are based on the principles of the dialectical approach, including deductive analysis from the standpoint of a formal legal definition of specific historical and legal facts. An important place is occupied by the method of diachronic and synchronous comparison in identifying the general and specific characteristics in the parliamentary systems of federal states, as well as the method of typology, that is, their comparison with the classical model. Based on the study of factual data and analytical studies, common features of the functioning of the legislative power in federal states that adopted the classical model of representative democracy have been identified. The work features of this system in connection with changes in political processes are indicated, the features of the manifestation of the crisis are revealed. Institutional and legal changes are identified in the course of solving current problems related to the distribution of functions of the upper and lower houses of parliament in the legislative process and the implementation of the procedure for monitoring the activities of the executive branch.

References

  1. Avak’yan S.A. Konstitutsionnaya reforma 2020 i rossiiskii parlamentarizm: real’nost’, resheniya, ozhidaniya [Constitutional reform 2020 and Russian parliamentarism: reality, decisions, expectations]. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo oblastnogo universiteta. Ser. Yurisprudentsiya, 2020, no. 3, pp. 7–33.
  2. Kovryakova E.V. Kontseptsii predstavitel’nykh sistem i ikh prakticheskoe voploshchenie v gosudarstvennom mekhanizme [Concepts of representative systems and their practical implementation in the state mechanism]. Lex Russica, 2016, no. 11(120), pp. 77–90.
  3. Kucherenko P.A. Parlamentarizm kak evropeiskaya politicheskaya ideologiya: konstitutsionno-pravovoi aspekt [Parliamentarianism as a European political ideology: constitutional and legal aspect]. Vestnik RUDN. Ser. Yuridicheskie nauki, 2014, no. 4, pp. 96–101.
  4. Nekrasov S.I. Territorial’noe i spetsial’noe predstavitel’stvo v parlamentskikh uchrezhdeniyakh [Territorial and special representation in parliamentary institutions]. Trudy Instituta gosudarstva i prava Rossiiskoi akademii nauk, 2015, no. 5, pp. 70–93.
  5. Oleinik I.I. Sootnoshenie parlamentarizma i Konstitutsionnogo printsipa narodovlastiya: teoretiko-pravovoi aspekt [Correlation between parliamentarism and the constitutional principle of democracy: theoretical and legal aspect]. Pravo i politika, 2020, no 1, pp. 1–24.
  6. Peregudov S. Strategicheskie novatsii britanskogo isteblishmenta v kontse XX – nachale XXI vekov [Strategic innovations of the British establishment in the late XX – early XXI centuries] Available at: https://russiancouncil.ru/ analytics-and-comments/analytics/strategicheskie-novatsii-britanskogo-isteblishmenta-v-kontse/?sp-hrase_id=87260608# (Access Date: 2022, Apr. 16).
  7. Fadeev V.I. Narodnoe predstavitel’stvo. Chast’ 1. Istoriko-teoreticheskie korni [People’s representation. Part 1. Historical and theoretical roots]. Moscow, Prospekt Publ., 2016, 166 p.
  8. Bakvis H., Wolinetz S. Canada: Executive Dominance Canada: Executive Dominance and Presidentialization. In The Presidentialization of Politics: A Comparative Study of Modern Democracies. Oxford University Press., 2005. DOI: 10.1093/0199252017.003.0009.
  9. Ganghof S. Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism: Democratic Design and the Separation of Powers. Oxford University Press, 2021. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780192897145.001.0001/
  10. Kanadje M., Ram A.B. Parliamentary Committees: Increasing their effectiveness. Available at: https://prsindia.org/pdfjs?file=files%2Fparliament%2Fdiscussion_papers%2FParliamentary%25-20Committees%2520Increasing%2520their%2520effectiveness.pdf (Access Date: 2022, Apr. 12).
  11. Khaitan T. Balancing accountability and effectiveness: a case for moderated parliamentarism. Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, 2021, vol. 7, pp. 81–155.
  12. Pilon D. Neoliberal Parliamentarism: The Decline of Parliament at the Ontario Legislature Tom McDowell, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021, pp. 264. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2022, vol. 55(1), pp. 251–253. DOI: 10.1017/S0008423922000129.

About authors

Kozhina Tatyana N.
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Theory and History of State and Law, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (tatniko@mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0898-3112)
Petukhov Alexander V.
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of State and Municipal Administration, Cheboksary Branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Russia, Cheboksary (petukhov-av@ranepa.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5849-0482)

Article link

Kozhina T.N., Petukhov A.V. Westminster Model of the Parliamentary System and Historical Forms of Its Federalization [Electronic resource] // Oeconomia et Jus. – 2022. – №2. P. 73-81. – URL: https://oecomia-et-jus.ru/en/single/2022/2/9/. DOI: 10.47026/2499-9636-2022-2-73-81.