The Head of State Compared
Chapter Fifty-Five
Syllabus topic 4, "Comparative Study of the fundamentals of the Constitutions of India, USA, UK, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany and Canada."
Pages 250 to 253 of 676
In one line
The seven systems have four kinds of head of State: a President who governs, a President who does not, a monarch, and a committee.
In the wording a student can write in an exam: the office of head of State may be held by a directly or indirectly elected President with executive power, by an elected President without it, by a hereditary monarch, or by a collective body, and its constitutional significance lies not in how it is filled but in whether its powers are exercised on advice.
The four kinds
A President who governs: the United States. Article II vests the executive power in the President. He is head of State and head of government at once. He appoints, pardons, commands, negotiates treaties and executes the laws, and he does none of it on anybody's advice.
A President who does not govern: India, Germany, Ireland.
India: article 53(1) vests the executive power in the President; article 74(1) requires him to act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers, with one power to require reconsideration. Elected under article 54 by an electoral college of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies, with the weighting in article 55, for five years under article 56, re-eligible under article 57, and removable by impeachment for violation of the Constitution under article 61.
Germany: article 54 provides for election by a Federal Convention consisting of the members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members elected by the Land parliaments, for five years, once renewable. Article 58 requires countersignature by the Chancellor or the competent minister for orders and directions, with named exceptions.
Ireland: Article 12 provides for direct election by the people for seven years, once renewable. Article 13.9 confines him to acting on the advice of the Government except where the Constitution gives absolute discretion or requires consultation with the Council of State.
A monarch: the United Kingdom and Canada. Section 9 of the Constitution Act 1867 declares that the executive government and authority of and over Canada is vested in the Queen, and section 10 provides for the Governor General as her representative. The monarch acts on advice in both.
A committee: Switzerland. Article 174 makes the Federal Council of seven the supreme governing and executive authority. Article 176 gives it a President elected annually by the Federal Assembly from among its members, not re-electable for the following year. There is no individual head of State.
The powers, compared
| Power | India | United States | Ireland | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive power | Article 53(1), on advice | Article II section 1, personally | On advice, Article 13.9 | On advice, article 58 countersignature |
| Appointment of the head of government | Article 75(1), on convention | Not applicable | Article 13.1.1, on nomination by the Dail | Article 63, on the President's proposal to the Bundestag |
| Assent to legislation | Article 111, on advice | Veto, Article I section 7 | Article 25, and Article 26 reference | Article 82, with a signing function |
| Pardon | Article 72, on advice | Article II section 2, personally | Article 13.6, on advice | Article 60(2) |
| Dissolution | Article 85(2)(b), on advice | Not applicable | Article 13.2.2, with a discretion to refuse | Article 68, on the Chancellor's proposal |
| Removal | Article 61, impeachment | Article II section 4, impeachment | Article 12.10, impeachment | Article 61, before the Constitutional Court |
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