Constitutional monarchy

• Presidential system of government
• Semipräsidentielles system of government
• Parliamentary system of government
• Parliament bound executive power
• Party system

• Parliamentary monarchy
• Constitutional monarchy
• Absolute monarchy

• Overthrown constitutional government (de facto mostly military dictatorships )
• Other systems or unclear political situations

The constitutional monarchy is a special form of monarchy, in which the power of the monarch is limited more or less by a written Constitution (Constitution ).

There is usually a parliament that either perceives the legislation alone or in cooperation with the monarch. The dismissal of the government remains the ruler left (for example, in the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 ) in constitutional monarchies; if this is the task of Parliament, this form of government is called parliamentary monarchy. Is it according to the Constitution, both the monarch and the Parliament to depose the government, so it is a mixed form.

The modern constitutional monarchies have a parliamentary monarchy with a separation of powers system in which the monarch is the symbolic head of the executive power. This power is transferred in practice to a Prime Minister who is appointed by the monarch. He needs the confidence of the parliament, the government is responsible. The monarch, who is above the political parties, has constitutional prerogatives to its highest symbolic role as the guarantor of the constitution and democracy, national unity and territorial integrity, but also as a symbol of the historical continuity of the State, state representative and representative to exercise its interests abroad. It can also have an opposition and regulatory law in relation to the policy of the government, chair the meetings of Ministers and its arbiter in a political or government crisis. So he plays a neutral role and can act as a mediator. That's why the monarch embodied by Benjamin Constant, a regulative force.

So one can say that the parliamentary monarch reigns but he does not react, or to use the formula of Adolphe Thiers: " The king does not manage, he does not rule, he rules. " Apart from Norway, the small states of Liechtenstein and Monaco, as well as the absolutist Vatican, today all existing monarchies in Europe are parliamentary monarchies.

The hereditary monarch can be king or queen, as in the majority of European monarchies, but also Grand Duke or Grand Duchess in Luxembourg, Prince as Monaco and Liechtenstein, as emir of Kuwait or emperor as in Japan.

Scheme

In the German Empire (1871-1918) was a constitutional monarchy organized as follows: The monarch appoints and controls the government and courts. However, the so-called popular or stalls representation, the candidates for the government and chooses the judges. In addition, the popular or stalls representation is involved in the control and allocation in the legislation. However, their decisions may be withdrawn by its active veto the monarch. The monarch has the right to adopt the Constitution as well as to monitor, while folk and stands representatives verifying compliance with the Constitution. See Bismarckian Reich Constitution.

History

As the oldest constitutional monarchy in the modern sense applies UK. However, the UK has to date, no constitution in the strict sense. In fact valid until today the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Bill of Rights from 1688 and, together with later additions Britain's constitution.

Constitutional monarchies arose mainly in the 19th century, either by the rights hitherto absolutely reigning princes by the subjects - usually after revolutions, crises and upheavals - Forced constitutions were limited (for example, France from 1791 by the French Revolution, Austria - Hungary to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ), or by the organic development and modernization of a feudal monarchy (for example, Sweden). When the formation of monarchical states (for example, Belgium 1830), a constitutional state was built in the 19th century always. 1816 by the states of the German Confederation was first the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar -Eisenach a constitution and became a constitutional monarchy. A list of existing monarchies located in Article monarchy.