The Powers of the judiciary Depend on the country, since each has a particular organization within the division of powers, but all are constituted on three central pillars: the executive, the legislative and the judicial.
The judiciary is one of the three powers of the states in democratically organized countries, whose main faculty is the administration and enforcement of justice.
As an independent power, it must enjoy three fundamental conditions for its exercise to be valid: impartiality, autonomy and absolute power within the law.
This way of conceiving the societies, has its origin in the theory of the French thinker Montesquieu Who in Law spirit Established that this separation guarantees the freedom and participation of citizens.
This thought is based on the ideas of power and the state of antiquity, in which men sacrifice the possibility of being completely free to ensure care before an attack against their rights.
The division of powers guarantees equality of participation and citizen representation, the executive power being responsible for the general action of the State, the legislature responsible for drafting, approving and supervising the legislation, and the judiciary, who controls, judges and sanctions Compliance with laws.
This separation of powers makes the three estates of the state able to act complementary and free, supporting the independence of the other two powers. That is the main mission as a whole: to ensure the functioning of the state.
15 powers of the judiciary
1- Manage justice
As a maximum interpreter of the domestic laws of a nation, the judiciary watches over as the guardian of current legislation and must administer justice equitably, and impart and enforce standards.
2- Apply the law
The judiciary is responsible for applying impartially the norms that express the popular will, so one of its attributions is the application and interpretations of the laws, thus guaranteeing a rule of law. The consequence of this is to impart justice.
3- To order the judicial system
Resolutions of the judiciary must be complied with by all minor courts within a given territory, so the findings of this body order the judicial system of a society.
4- Attests the operation of the state
Judicial officials are those who attest to the appointment of all those responsible for the state, in their role of certifying if they conform to the law to be able to occupy those positions of privilege.
5- Control the legality
As responsible for enforcing the law, the judiciary must subject all public powers to effective enforcement of laws, without exception. The judiciary must also respect this mandate.
In addition, it must control the legality in all the administrative actions of a society.
6- Guarantee rights
Other powers of this institution is to provide all persons, over whom it has jurisdiction, a guardianship and effective care of legitimate rights.
In the event that someone is being violated in their freedom and rights, it is the judiciary that must ensure fair treatment.
In this regard, it should be clarified that in its resolutions it can only make different interpretations for specific cases, but never modify a general law of the state without agreement with the other two powers.
7- Collaborate in the creation and modification of new laws
The power to create a legal framework is the primary responsibility of the legislature, however, the judiciary must offer his disinterested and professional advice for effective preparation of the rules.
8- Set taxes
The judiciary has the authority to regulate taxes for the import and export of goods and services between countries, but also within the borders.
9- Coparticipation
It is the judiciary that is responsible for ensuring the distribution of state funds, obtained through taxes, and their equitable distribution among their districts.
10- Setting limits
The external and internal borders are an attribute of this governmental establishment, which should set the limits both with other countries and between its districts.
eleven- Legislating international treaties
This is an attribution that shares with the other two powers of the state, in which it must approve or annul international treaties.
12- Responsible for prisons
The judiciary must exercise exclusive jurisdiction in the internal prison system, in which the sentences issued by the courts are complied with in the event of non-compliance with the law.
13- Approve the introduction of troops
For both internal and external exercise, the mobilization of military troops must be approved by the judiciary.
It is this station that allows international delegations to enter their territory, or dictates the mobilization of their own forces to another terrain.
14- Have federal intervention
Given the need for the State to exercise its power of intervention over a district, the judiciary must decide the legality of that action.
If this state establishes that it can not be carried out, an intervention is considered a violation of the rights, for which it is illegal and therefore unfeasible.
fifteen- Ensure governance
Faced with an uncontrolled situation of the executive power, the judiciary must guarantee governance through the mission of its officials, without exception.
Depending on the legislation of each country, the possibility of exercising the powers of another power varies, but in all cases it is responsible for a prevailing rule of law.
The idea of justice
The judicial power guards the justice of a society, something as complex as the definition of the word justice itself. This term has in the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy up to 11 different meanings.
It is a power, a value, a faculty, a quality and a right, among other possible descriptions, and in all cases is the same for all members of a society without distinction.
In any of its definitions, justice is linked to reason, law and equity, and as a concept accompanies humanity from the origins of life in society.
Nor is the etymology of the word unambiguous, some theorists link it to the spiritual life of the Romans, others to the conception of equality.
Symbolization
Different representations of the goddess Iusticia
Justice is symbolized with the Roman goddess Iustitia, a figure equivalent to the Greek goddess Temis. This personification in a female body, blindfolded and a scale in the hand has an explanation.
Based on the foundation of moral force, this representation is inspired by the goddess Maat, who could hold the balance of God's justice.
This idea of counterbalance between the parts, symbolizes the force of support of a case and its opposition. It is always the right hand that carries the balance.
The statues and sphinxes representing justice show in the left hand a sword, which represents the power of reason and justice.
While the blindfold tells of faith, objectivity and fairness. Justice is blind, as conceived by theorists.
In this article we will develop the powers of the judiciary, whose attributions are exclusive and exclusive, and no other state can display them. These functions and their conformation can vary from country to country.
References
- The spirit of the laws, Charles de Secondat de Montesquieu, Isthmus, Spain, 2002.
- The fundamental virtues, Josef Pieper, Ediciones Rialp, 1997.
- Judges and Politics: Judiciary and Democracy, Carlo Guarnier, Patrizia Pederzoli, Taurus, 1999.