Reserve power

A reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state of a country in certain exceptional circumstances.

Republics

Reserve powers can also be written into a republican constitution that separates the offices of Head of State and Head of Government. This was the case in Germany under the Weimar Republic, and is still the case in the French Fifth Republic and the Italian republic. Reserve powers may include, for instance, the right to issue emergency legislation or regulation bypassing the normal processes. In most states, the head of state's ability to exercise reserve powers is explicitly defined and regulated by the text of the constitution.

Related Topics:
Head of State - Head of Government - Weimar Republic - Fifth Republic - Italian

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France

Article 16 of the Constitution of France allows the President of the Republic to exercise exceptional powers in case of a national emergency. During this time, the President may not use his prerogative to dissolve the National Assembly and call early elections. He must still consult the Prime Minister, the leaders of both houses of Parliament and the Constitutional Council.

Related Topics:
Constitution - France - President of the Republic - National Assembly - Constitutional Council

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The inspiration for this disposition in the Constitution was the institutional chaos and lack of governement authority which contributed to the French debacle in the Battle of France in 1940. On a larger scale, this is consistent with a tradition of the Roman Republic (which has always been an inspiration for the successive French Republics), to give six months of dictatorial power to a citizen in case of an imminent danger of invasion.

Related Topics:
Battle of France - 1940 - Roman Republic

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Article 16 rule has only been exercised once, in 1961, during a crisis related to the Algerian war of independence in which Charles De Gaulle needed those emergency powers to foil a military plot to take over the government. In 1962, the Council of State ruled itself incompetent to judge measures of a legislative nature issued by the President under Article 16.

Related Topics:
1961 - Algerian war of independence - Charles De Gaulle - 1962 - Council of State

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In his book, Le Coup d'État permanent (The Permanent Coup), François Mitterrand criticized Article 16 for allowing an ambitious politician the opportunity to become a dictator. However, he made no move to put away his reserve powers after he himself became President.

Related Topics:
Coup - François Mitterrand

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Germany

The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany strictly limits the reserve powers available to the President to prevent the situation in which the executive could effectively rule without legislative approval, which was the case in the Weimar Republic. In particular, he cannot rule by decree and he can only dissolve the Bundestag (parliament) if the Chancellor loses a and asks the President to do so.

Related Topics:
Germany - Weimar Republic - Rule by decree - Bundestag

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The German President has exercised this right three times since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949. President Gustav Heinemann dissolved the Bundestag at the request of Chancellor Willy Brandt in 1972 and in 1982, President Karl Carstens did so at the request of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Both Brandt and Kohl were reelected with larger majorities. Most recently, on July 1 2005, President Horst Köhler dissolved the Bundestag at the request of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Schröder lost the election that followed.

Related Topics:
Gustav Heinemann - Willy Brandt - Karl Carstens - Helmut Kohl - Horst Köhler - Gerhard Schröder - Election

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The abuse of sweeping reserve powers by Adolf Hitler, given to him by the frail and easily influenced President Paul von Hindenburg, has often been cited as an important factor in the failure of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s.

Related Topics:
Adolf Hitler - Paul von Hindenburg - Weimar Republic - Nazism

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Italy

The President of the Italian Republic's powers are defined by articles 87 through 90 of the Constitution of Italy. The President:

Related Topics:
President of the Italian Republic - Constitution of Italy

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• Can send official messages to the chambers of the Italian Parliament;
• Calls for elections;
• Has the command of the armed forces and is responsible for declaring the state of war;
• Is also the President of the High Council of Courts (Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura), the self-government body of the Italian judicial system;
• Can grant pardons and reduce sentences;
• Can call for new elections for both or only one of the chambers, except during the last six months of his term;
• Is not responsible of any actions undertaken while serving his functions, except for high treason and plotting against the Constitution.

The president can refuse to sign laws he deems clearly against the Constitution, while less obvious cases are dealt later on by the Constitutional court. This power is seldom used, because of the tensions it can foster between the ruling powers.

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Trivia

• Only one Italian president has been impeached, Francesco Cossiga, but he resigned before the final vote could take place.
• Elections in Italy have always been called before their natural expiration terms by Presidents throughout the Republic's history, but most often only by short periods.
• The current Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, is trying to pardon Adriano Sofri, convicted after a decades-long series of trials for the murder of Luigi Calabresi. Many believe Sofri to be innocent (among others, Nobel prize-winner Dario Fo campaigned for Sofri). However, Justice Minister Roberto Castelli has been recalcitrant, and has repeatedly refused to sign the pardon act.