separation of powers

noun · Gewaltenteilung

Gewaltenteilung, the division of state power into legislature, executive and judiciary, Art. 20 Abs. 2 GG. But the German version is deliberately not strict: the executive stems from the parliament and the branches interlock, a Gewaltenverschränkung, so it is checks and balances rather than a wall between the powers.

Which translation, when

drei Gewaltenthe three powers of Art. 20 Abs. 2 S. 2 GG, exercised by special organs: Gesetzgebung (legislature), vollziehende Gewalt (executive) and Rechtsprechung (judiciary), each with its own section of the Grundgesetz, checking and limiting the others.

Gewaltenverschränkungthe interlock that qualifies the picture: the separation is not strict, because the Bundeskanzler and most ministers are also members of the Bundestag, so executive and legislature overlap; the principle is entrenched against amendment by Art. 79 Abs. 3 GG, and it runs vertically too, between Bund and Länder.

Why

Separation of powers is Gewaltenteilung, but the word can mislead if read as a strict wall. Art. 20 Abs. 2 S. 2 GG divides state authority among special organs of legislation, execution and adjudication, and these check and limit one another; the point is to prevent a concentration of power and protect freedom. What is distinctive is that the German model is not a strict separation but a Gewaltenverschränkung, an interlocking: the government issues from the parliament, the Chancellor and most ministers sit in the Bundestag, and the branches are woven together through mutual controls. The English-speaking comparison cuts two ways. The United Kingdom has an even greater fusion, the executive sitting inside Parliament and Parliament sovereign, so courts cannot strike down primary legislation, though the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 gave the judiciary its own Supreme Court. Germany, by contrast, has a Verfassungsgericht that can annul statutes, a strong judicial branch. So rendering separation of powers as Gewaltenteilung is right, but importing an assumption of a rigid three-way split, or of a purely formal principle, misreads a system built on interlocking control and entrenched by Art. 79 Abs. 3 GG.

Typical mistakes

The German Gewaltenteilung is not a strict separation but a Gewaltenverschränkung: the executive issues from the Bundestag and the branches interlock, so treating it as a rigid wall between the powers misreads it.
It is entrenched against constitutional amendment by Art. 79 Abs. 3 GG, so presenting it as an ordinary alterable arrangement understates its status.
It operates vertically as well, between Bund and Länder, so reading it as only a horizontal split among federal organs is too narrow.

What matters

Explaining the structure of the German state, the memo should render separation of powers as Gewaltenteilung, note that it is an interlocking rather than a strict split, Art. 20 Abs. 2 GG, and that the Verfassungsgericht can annul statutes. Presenting it as a rigid three-way wall, or as a merely formal principle, misstates a system of entrenched mutual control.

Authority

Art. 20 Abs. 2 GG
Art. 79 Abs. 3 GG

What the machine misses

Machine output renders separation of powers as Gewaltenteilung, then presents it as a strict three-way wall. It loses that the German model is a Gewaltenverschränkung, an interlock in which the executive issues from the Bundestag and the branches check one another, entrenched by Art. 79 Abs. 3 GG and running vertically between Bund and Länder as well. The rendering hides the interlocking control that defines the principle.

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Examples

the separation of powers	die Gewaltenteilung
legislature, executive and judiciary	Gesetzgebung, vollziehende Gewalt und Rechtsprechung
checks and balances	gegenseitige Kontrolle der Gewalten
the interlocking of powers	die Gewaltenverschränkung