A country’s political system is determined by the needs of that country and the people. A state must, therefore, choose a system that suits them (Quora.com). Some of the most common political systems include the presidential system, the parliamentary system or even a hybrid of the two. In looking at states political systems, one has to consider the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This paper focuses on the differences between the US government political system and the Romania’s system.
The United States versus Romania: the executive, legislature and constitution
The United States runs a presidential system of government where the president is elected and has the executive powers. Romania, on the other hand, has a hybrid system where there is both the president directed elected by the people as well as a prime minister who is also elected. These share power but maintain a balance of power that lies in one of the positions (quora.com).
Both countries are guided by a written constitution. The Constitution of the United States was made in 1787 while that of Romania was made in 1866. Both countries have had their laws amended several times. The constitutions of these countries are however different regarding content. For instance, while United States Constitution contains ten major articles, the one for Romania has 156 articles, which share equal importance (referatele.com).
The three levels of powers are represented differently in the two states. The president represents the executive power in the United States while in Romania the executive power is vested in the president and the government led by parliament (referetele.com). The legislative power in both countries lies in parliament, and the judicial power is represented by courts.
The legislative power of the United States is vested in the Congress, which consists of two houses namely the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the senate, each state elects two senators who serve for a term of six years. In the House of Representatives, each state elects representatives proportional to the population of the state (usaid.gov). These go for a term of three years. The legislative power in Romania follows almost a similar system as the United States. The power is held by parliament, which is made of two houses just like in the United States. The houses are named similarly to that of the United States. The senators and representatives are elected by universal, direct, equal, secret and freely spoken vote (referatele.com).Unlike the United States, the number of senators is determined by a law referred to as Election Law.
The function of the legislature is mainly to make laws. In the United States, a bill only becomes a law only when passed by two-thirds majority of each house. The president can veto the bill if it fails to pass through both houses.
The parliament in Romania can be dissolved by the president in consultation with the speakers of both houses and the leaders of the main political parties. There are conditions for this, however. The president can only dissolve parliament only if it has failed to give its Trust Vote for the naming of the Government within sixty days after the first time it is called and rejecting two calls for a naming (Europa.eu).
In regards to the presidential powers, the president in the United States has political power (referatele.com); this means that the president is not a ceremonial one. In Romania, power is shared between the president and the prime minister as noted earlier. The president goes for a five-year term in Romania while in the United States the president goes for a four-year term. The president can only go for a maximum of two terms in the United States. The political parties through primaries and caucuses choose the presidential candidates in the United States. The president names the vice president who becomes his or her running mate in the United States. This is not the case in Romania.
In Romania, the president is the one who names the prime minister and the government after the parliament has given its Trust Vote (IloveRomania.com). The president of the United States names his or her cabinet with the approval of the Senate. The cabinet acts as advisors to the president and is directly accountable to him, and the Congress has no power to remove them.
The Supreme Court in the United States is responsible for interpretation of laws and can judge whether the president has acted constitutionally or not. If a president is judged to have acted against the state, he or she can be impeached. In Romania, the fate of the president lies with the two houses. He or she can be accused of high treason but the high court has the final say in this matter (referatele.com). Therefore, the decision to judge the president’s behavior in Romania lies in both the hands of parliament and the courts.
Romania has a constitutional court that determines whether laws conform to the Constitution or not (referatele.com). This court also decides whether international agreements abide by the Romanian constitution. The court also determines the acts of parliament by determining their constitutionality. The constitutional court oversees elections. This court is made up of nine judges, three of whom are named by the president, three by the House of Representatives and the rest of the Senate (Europa.eu). These judges serve for a term of nine years. They chose a chairperson among themselves who serves for three years (referatele.com). In the United States, the Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of laws. It is, therefore, the role of Supreme Court to interpret the constitutional and judge whether either laws passed by the Congress or the president are constitutional. If it finds them otherwise, it has the powers to repeal them (referatele.com).
