Separation of Powers

From the book of Isagani Cruz (Constitutional Law I)

Purpose:

- The doctrine of separation of powers is intended to prevent a concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an irreversible error or abuse in its exercise to the detriment of our republican institution.

- According to Justice Laurel, the doctrine is intended to secure action, to forestall over action, to prevent despotism and to obtain efficiency.

- to achieve this purpose, the legislature is generally limited to the enactment of laws and may not enforce or apply them; the executive to the enforcement of laws and may not enact or apply them; and the judiciary to the application of laws and may not enact or enforce them.

- According to Justice Laurel again, the keynote of conduct of the various agencies of the government under the doctrine of separation of powers, as properly understood, is not independence but interdependence. 

From the book of Fr. Joacquin Bernas (The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: A Commentary)

Purpose:

- the purpose of separation of powers is to prevent concentration of powers in one department and thereby to avoid tyranny.

- the doctrine of separation of powers was adopted not to promote efficiency but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary power. The purpose was not to avoid friction, but, by means of the inevitable friction incident to the distribution of governmental powers among the three departments, save the people from autocracy.

Definition:

In essence, separation of powers means that legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the executive, settlement of legal controversies to the judiciary. Each is prevented from invading the domain of the others. But the separation is not total. The system allows for “check and balances” the net effect of which being that, in general, no one department is able to act without the cooperation of at least one of the other departments.