The so-called doctrine of separation of powers is a framework propounded by a French jurist named Montesquieu who sought to create a legal framework to avoid the over-concentration of political power in the hands of one person or group.
• His framework envisions a constitutional structure characterized by non sharing of responsibility.
• It is based on the assumption that governmental organs can operate in water tight compartments.
• Montesquieu‟s thesis was that governmental powers should be devolved to different organs namely Judiciary Executive and Legislature. That these organs exercise different functions and that no person should be a member of more than one organ.
• According to him such dispersal of powers creates a system of checks and balances.
• This is the so-called classical doctrine of separation of powers which is for all intents and purposes impractical unless modified.
