The character of a ‘federal' state opposes its ‘unitary' form. These are two forms of a State. ‘Scarcity' of the federal form (twenty federal states among 191) can push us to examine its organization and operation. According to Olivier Duhamel, federalism is the "coexistence of states [Federated States] preserving their identity and their power of self-organization while creating a common superstructure [the federal state]." The Concise Oxford Dictionary uses this broad definition and defines it as "an organization establishing a constitutional division of powers between federal and State members"
It is, thus, legitimate to ask the following questions: If we look at the examples of Germany and the United States of America, can we say that despite certain differences, federalism in the two nations faces common challenges?
The first criterion for defining German and American Federalism is the superposition of two separate legal orders that apply to all people: that of the federal State and those State legislatures, the legal system as "all normative constitute positive law but also all the reports and legal situations involving both public authorities and private parties operating on the territory.
Tags- Federalism, Germany, America, Olivier Duhamel
[...] The distribution of powers The structure of these two-level federalism requires finding a balance between the independence of the States and their grouping within the federal state, that is to say, allow federal agencies to exercise their power of decision while preserving the Federated States autonomy and control role of federal action (the checks and balances of the American system). This balance can only be found through an equitable distribution of skills. Both Germany and the United States, the federal state has exclusive competence in the most important areas, primarily diplomacy on the international scene, the conduct of foreign policy (cf. [...]
[...] I / The characteristics of federalism through German and American cases A. The superposition of two legal orders • The first criterion for defining these German and American federalism is the superposition of two separate legal orders applying to all people: that of the federal state and those of the federated states, the legal system is the "normative set constituting positive law but also all the reports and legal situations involving both public authorities and private persons operating in the territory "(Constitutional Law, P. [...]
[...] Birth of federalism or why a federal state The German and American federalism is different, first of all by their historical origin. • The United States of America were born of the 1787 Constitution which made the American Confederation from 1777 a genuine union with a federal state recognized by the federal states, with institutions at both levels of power. Federalism is the result of a shared desire among former British colonies to join, while keeping a relatively large share of sovereignty and independence. [...]
[...] The exercise of power is what distinguishes these two federalist majority. Conclusion It must therefore be noted that Germany and the USA have adopted a federalized state form that best meet their past, their history. Each consists of autonomous federal states, expressed at the federal level through the Bundesrat or a Senate. But although having the common characteristics of federalism, the two countries differ as to their regime, but also about their system, including electoral. So it is possible to notice that within the same mold of federalism, different schemes can accommodate and deliver results for nearby stability. [...]
[...] These members are appointed by the governments of the federal states and not directly elected. Each state has a number of members proportionate to its population to but each delegation voting overall, this system does not harm the small states. The Bundesrat monitoring federal legislation, is involved at the federal level to defend the interests of the Länder and is a potential power-cons in the Bundestag. The Länder also participate in the election of the President of the Republic through the Federal Assembly comprising the members of the Bundestag and members elected by the assemblies of the Länder. [...]
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