document_title: List of Call the Midwife characters

question_text: who plays chummy's mother in call the midwife

question_tokens: who plays chummy 's mother in call the midwife

text: List of Call the Midwife characters

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Actor
Character
Role
Series

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Jessica Raine
Jenny Lee
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Vanessa Redgrave
Voice of Jennifer Worth
Nurse, midwife
Main

Jenny Agutter
Sister Julienne
Sister-in-charge, midwife
Main

Judy Parfitt
Sister Monica Joan
Retired midwife
Main

Pam Ferris
Sister Evangelina
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Bryony Hannah
Sister Mary Cynthia
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Helen George
Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin
Senior nurse, midwife
Main

Laura Main
Shelagh Turner
Practice manager, midwife
Main

Stephen McGann
Patrick Turner
General practitioner
Main

Cliff Parisi
Frederick "Fred" Buckle
Caretaker
Main

Max Macmillan
Timothy "Tim" Turner
Patrick Turner's son
Recurring

Miranda Hart
Camilla "Chummy" Noakes
Nurse, midwife
Main
Does not appear

Ben Caplan
Peter Noakes
Police Sergeant
Main
Does not appear

George Rainsford
James "Jimmy" Wilson
Friend of Jenny Lee
Recurring
Does not appear

Cheryl Campbell
Lady Browne
Chummy's mother
Recurring
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Emerald Fennell
Patience "Patsy" Mount
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Guest
Main
Does not appear

Dorothy Atkinson
Jane Sutton
Medical orderly
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Leo Starr
Alec Jesmond
Boyfriend of Jenny Lee
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Victoria Yeates
Sister Winifred
Midwife
Does not appear
Main

Jack Ashton
Tom Hereward
Curate
Does not appear
Main

Alice Brown
Angela Turner
Adopted daughter of Shelagh and Patrick Turner
Does not appear
Recurring

Charlotte Ritchie
Barbara Hereward
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Annabelle Apsion
Violet Buckle
Wife of Fred Buckle
Does not appear
Recurring
Main

Linda Bassett
Phyllis Crane
Nursing sister, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Kate Lamb
Delia Busby
Nurse
Does not appear
Recurring
Main
Does not appear

Maxine Evans
Mrs Busby
Delia Busby's mother
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Harriet Walter
Sister Ursula
Sister-in-charge, midwife, nurse
Does not appear
Recurring
Does not appear

Jennifer Kirby
Valerie Dyer
Nurse, midwife
Does not appear
Main

Jack Hawkins
Christopher Dockerill
Dentist
Does not appear
Recurring

Daniel Laurie
Reggie Jackson
In the care of Fred and Violet Buckle
Does not appear
Recurring

text: Characters[edit]

text: Sister Julienne[edit]

text:
Sister Julienne

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jenny Agutter

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Sister-in-charge, Nun, Midwife and Nurse

text: By necessity, Sister Julienne conceals an iron fist in a velvet glove, managing both her charges and fellow sisters with a combination of tact, compassion, and no-nonsense advice.

text: Her steadfast, compassionate guidance makes her an anchor for her colleagues and in a very real way, it is she who holds the inhabitants of Nonnatus House together. She always offers comfort and help to the young midwives and also has a notably close, warm and maternal relationship with Sister Bernadette, serving as her chief mentor and confidante. Beginning with series 4, it becomes clear that the weight of always having to be "the wise one" takes a heavier toll on her than many would guess, and she is increasingly shown leaning on Shelagh (formerly Sister Bernadette) for counsel and support; nevertheless, her faith is not shaken and she remains a serene, guiding presence for all of Nonnatus House. Her pre-Order name was Louise.

text: In the sixth series after her return from Africa, Sister Julienne becomes Deputy Sister-in-Charge to Sister Ursula. Although Sister Ursula leaves in the third episode and Sister Julienne become sister in charge again.

text: Sister Monica Joan[edit]

text:
Sister Monica Joan

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Judy Parfitt

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, Retired Midwife and Nurse

text: One of the UK's earliest registered nurses, and the last surviving founder of Nonnatus House, Sister Monica Joan (whose birth name was Antonia Cavill) retired from practice prior to the events of the series, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia and feeble body. Desperate to be of service and feel useful, she is given make-work tasks to keep her occupied, such as rolling bandages (which the nurses secretly unrolled beforehand). Sister Julienne expresses that it is now their privilege to care for her.

text: She has a very different nature from Sister Evangelina's and misses no opportunity to bait her. It is never entirely clear how much of Sister Monica Joan's eccentricity is due to the frailty of age, or (as Jenny and Sister Bernadette suspect) sheer wilful naughtiness. She has a habit of devouring all the cakes, leading everyone to try to hide them from her. She also knits woollen teddy bears and casts her horoscope in the stars and planets in order to tell her future. In the final episode of Series 1, after recovering from pneumonia, she is arrested for stealing trinkets from the market: some ribbons, a handkerchief, a china robin and several other things.

text: Later, she is suspected of stealing a ring, a bracelet and a pearl necklace, which were discovered by Jenny Lee; Sister Monica Joan then went to hide them in her knitting bag and they were found by Sister Evangelina and who called the constable. Mother Jesu Emanuel (Mother Superior of the order) testifies that Sister Monica Joan inherited those items from her mother and no crime was committed. In light of Monica Joan's age and moments of forgetfulness, she is acquitted of the trinket thefts. In Series 2, she reconciles with her nephew and his family, fears that she is useless, spends a lot of money on taxis to see her nephew, much to the chagrin of Sister Julienne, recovers from angina, escapes a holiday with Sister Evangelina to Chichester, judges a baby show, and pays for a child's funeral. Sister Monica Joan is very close to and gets on well with Jenny. In the 2015 Christmas special, she runs away from the convent after an argument with Sister Evangelina, returning to her childhood home with the belief that everyone should go back to their home, prompted by Barbara's comment that she wasn't allowed back to Liverpool for Christmas. She returns just in time for their appearance on the BBC.

text: Sister Mary Cynthia[edit]

text:
Sister Mary Cynthia

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Bryony Hannah

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, Midwife; later Nun (series 4-)

text: Nurse Cynthia Miller, like Trixie, is also a resident at Nonnatus House when Jenny arrives. She volunteers as a uniformed leader of the local Girls' Brigade.

text: Cynthia is the most sensitive of the young midwives, and gets very emotionally involved with some of her patients.

text: In Series 2, when a child she delivers dies, the people of Poplar suspect her of making a mistake that cost the baby its life. Cynthia begins to doubt her abilities, which takes a heavy toll on her work and health. She suffers a breakdown, but recovers with the help of Sister Julienne. An autopsy report confirms that the baby's death was due to lungs that never fully inflated. In the 2014 Christmas Special, Cynthia decides to become a postulant and leaves Nonnatus House for six months of training, promising Trixie and Patsy that she will return. In Series 4, Cynthia returns to Nonnatus House after her training is complete, having chosen the religious name of Sister Mary Cynthia. Though she now spends less time with her friends, she remains close to Trixie and ultimately convinces her to get help for her alcoholism. She is also close with Sister Winfred and Barbara.

text: In series 5 episode 6 Sister Mary Cynthia is violently attacked at the docks by a man. She thinks it is a test of faith but with the help of Sister Monica Joan, she goes to the police, and is able to return to her own quiet, kind religious self. But when Sister Ursula asks about her life vows, it becomes clear that the attack is still affecting her. In series 6, Sister Mary Cynthia is sent to the Mother House by Sister Ursula.

text: When Trixie returns to Poplar from South Africa, it is realised that Sister Mary Cynthia has gone missing from the Mother House. She is found in an asylum where she has been admitted as a patient, but it is apparent that she isn't getting the help she needs. Dr Turner and Sister Julienne work to get her discharged into their care, and send her to a community for mental health care. She reverts to her birth name Cynthia.

text: Sister Winifred[edit]

text:
Sister Winifred

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Victoria Yeates

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, Midwife and Nurse, Former teacher (Before 1959)

text: Sister Winifred arrives at Nonnatus House at the beginning of Series 3. Sister Winifred is the same age as Jenny, Trixie and Cynthia. She finds midwifery hard. She tries twice to make a harvest loaf for the Harvest Festival, stating 'my mother made it look so easy.' She eventually succeeds on the second attempt. She seems to be close to Patsy Mount. She is now close to Sister Mary Cynthia since she joined the order and is very passionate about her work in Poplar. In series 5 episode 3 it is revealed that Sister Winifred is missing teaching and takes a temporary job teaching a class replacing one of her patients who was fired due to pregnancy. In episode 4 she had returned to midwifery. She is seen to be close to Cynthia since she joined the order. In series 6 she sets about learning to drive with Phyllis help.

text: Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin[edit]

text:
Beatrix "Trixie" Franklin

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Helen George

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Senior Midwife and Nurse

text: Trixie has a much more outgoing disposition than Jenny, but the two share the sense of adventure in their work and become firm friends. Trixie loves nothing more than gossiping with her colleagues and is quite nosey when it comes to other people's business.

text: She occasionally comes across as a bit rude, but she means no harm by it. When it comes to her friends, she takes great pleasure in teasing them about what is going on in their lives. She is caring but no-nonsense to her patients and is encouraging at hopeless times. She is light and carefree, jokes a lot, tries to set her colleagues up with boys and is generally a little boy-mad. Nevertheless, it is clear that work is first in her life, until Curate Tom Hereward proposes to her and she accepts. But their engagement breaks down when Trixie discovers that Tom has a placement in a slum in Newcastle, an industrial city in North East England. This makes her turn even more to alcohol for comfort, but after struggling with alcoholism, with Cynthia's help, she joins a support group. She shares a room with Nurse Patsy Mount.

text: Trixie's acceptance of male homosexuality is decades ahead of her time. Prior to the events of the series, she happily served as cover for a gay medical student, providing him the appearance of propriety. Her disgust of a young father arrested in a cottaging sting was entirely the result of his infidelity; with whom he cheated was immaterial to her.

text: Discovering that Barbara is going out with Tom give her quite a shock and she finds it very difficult to accept, but after a talk with Tom and Barbara she finally accepts that she can no longer hold on to Tom and must let him go. She is now very close to Patsy, Delia, Barbara and Sister Mary Cynthia.

text: In January 1962, while seconded to a clinic in Africa and dozens of miles from a physician, Trixie becomes the only one of the midwives - lay or nuns - to have performed a cesarean section. She returns to Poplar a few months later as she stays on at the clinic returning via the Mother House, when it's realised that Sister Mary Cynthia has gone missing.

text: Later in 1962, she meets a dentist Christopher Dockerill when a turn of events leads to them delivering a baby the grow close. But, later she suspects that she is being cheated on by Dockerhill, but learns that he actually has a child from a prior marriage, which he had not previously disclosed. She forgives him because he was scared to tell her fearing he would be rejected.

text: Shelagh Turner[edit]

text:
Shelagh Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Laura Main

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and Nurse (Series 1–2, 4-), Medical Sister-in-charge (surgery) (Series 4-), Nun, acting sister in charge (series 1–2), medical secretary (series 3–5)

[show]Family

Husband
Patrick Turner

Children
Timothy Turner
Angela Turner
Edward Teddy Turner[1]

text: Sister Bernadette, as she is first known, is Scottish and in her early 30s – the closest in age to Jenny and the other lay midwives. She is the most educated of the nuns and tutors the other nurses whilst providing administrative assistance to Sister Julienne, sometimes covering as her deputy. She joined the order in July, 1948. A consummate professional, she has a fresh, uncomplicated approach to her work that means she connects well with Jenny and her other colleagues. In one episode, she is shown to remove her veil, take her hair down and take off her glasses, expressing her hidden desire to be free.

text: In series 2, it becomes clear that Sister Bernadette is lonely and unhappy, questioning whether the convent is her calling, and wishes to do what the other young midwives of her age are doing: going out to the cinema, dancing, etc. One scene shows Sister Bernadette looking in on the midwives' room while they are drinking and gossiping, but then the door closes; it is a life that cannot be opened to her while she remains a nun. In another, Sister Monica Joan points out that she spends most of her time praying for forgiveness. Sister Bernadette eventually breaks down and turns to Sister Julienne for help, confessing that what she really wants is a family and children of her own. As of the 2012 Christmas Special and from Series 2 onward, it becomes clear that Sister Bernadette has fallen in love with the local physician, Dr Turner.

text: After recovering from a short bout of tuberculosis, Sister Bernadette leaves the convent and reverts to her birth name of Shelagh (née Mannion). She becomes engaged to Dr Turner, who has also fallen in love with her. They marry in the 2013 Christmas Special and she becomes stepmother to his 11-year-old son Timothy. They later adopt a baby girl called Angela after a struggle with infertility. However, she still remains close to her faith, joining the Nuns at compline at times she is strugling. In series four it becomes clear Shelagh desperately misses her nursing and midwifery so she returns to full-time work at the surgery and maternity home, first as a medical secretary, and then also as the sister-in-charge at the surgery after Dr Turner is taken ill. She is now the medical sister-in-charge at the surgery and works alongside the other midwives and nuns at the surgery, but still doesn't perform house calls. When at the clinic or being the acting Sister-in-charge at Nonnatus House in Sister Julienne's absence, Shelagh dons smart civilian dress, rather than uniform of the order's other lay nurses, although she eventually obtained a uniform for wear when serving in a nursing capacity at Dr. Turner's surgery.

text: Shelagh also feels guilty after thalidomide is prescribed for women suffering from morning sickness. When it's linked to with birth deformities of the kind observed in recent months, she says she is as guilty as Patrick because she supported the drug being prescribed.

text: In series 6, Shelagh is overcome with joy when she falls pregnant with her first biological child. However, she suffers complications and is taken ill during an inspection of the maternity home and rushed to hospital fearing a miscarriage, forcing Barbara and Phylis to take over the running of the surgery. This puts her pregnancy in jeopardy and even after she is released from hospital she could have still lost the baby.[2] But she gives birth to a son (Edward 'Teddy' Patrick Turner) with the help of Sister Julienne in the series finale.

text: Camilla "Chummy" Noakes (née Fortescue-Cholmondeley-Browne)[edit]

text:
Camilla "Chummy" Noakes

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Miranda Hart

Duration
2012–2015

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 2

Last appearance
Series 4, Episode 8

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Returning; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and Nurse, Matron Aston Lodge

[show]Family

Family
Peter Noakes (husband), Fred Noakes (son), Lady Browne (mother)

text: By the end of Series 1, after a string of dates she marries Police Constable Peter Noakes. After clinic, she swaps her nursing uniform for a scouting one, as Akela of the local Wolf Cubs whom she leads with Fred - a role later taken on by Patsy. In Series 2, Chummy applies for a place as a CMS missionary in Sierra Leone, Africa. She is accepted and she and Peter move to Africa for six months. Upon their return, Chummy reveals that she is pregnant, much to the delight of her fellow nurses. In the final episode of Series 2 Chummy goes into labour and, despite complications, she gives birth to a son, Fred. Chummy once stated that she had never been happier than when she was at Nonnatus House. In series 4 Chummy, Peter and Freddie move to Aston Lodge mother and baby home, where Chummy is employed as the temporary, replacement matron.

text: Patience "Patsy" Mount[edit]

text:
Patience "Patsy" Mount

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Emerald Fennell

Duration
2013–

First appearance
Series 2, Episode 3

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and Nurse

text: Patsy is first seen in Series 2, episode 3, as a nurse in the male surgical ward at the London Hospital. She then appears in Series 3, Episode 5 as a new midwife. She is tall elegant and favours slightly tailored clothes and becoming the first midwife to wear trousers. She has a very brisk manner but later reveals that at the age of 9 that she and her mother and sister were sent to a Japanese war camp, and that she was the only one to survive of the three of them. Like Chummy before her, Patsy works with Fred as a leader of the local Wolf Cub Scouts; she recruits Delia to help teach first aid. It is then seen in Series 4 that she has a very close friendship with veteran Nurse Trixie and new Nurse Barbara. She is also quite close to Sister Mary Cynthia and Sister Winifred. Patsy is seen to have a very close and romantic relationship with female surgical Nurse Delia Busby, with whom she had previously worked at the London. They plan to move into a flat together at the end of Series 4, but their future is shattered when Delia is involved in a cycling accident and suffers a serious head injury which results in amnesia, leaving her with no memory of Patsy. The amnesia is only temporary however and Patsy and Delia are reunited in Series 5 when Delia accepts an offer from Sister Julienne to live at Nonnatus House. Later in Series 5 Patsy and Delia go to the Gateways Club, a private club for lesbians. It is revealed in the Series 5 finale that Patsy and Delia are going to Paris together in Spring 1962. She shares a room with Nurse Trixie, replacing Jenny Lee. Series 6, sees her temporarily leave Nonnatus House after learning her father is dying in Hong Kong. Delia is upset that she can't go with her as support, as she is training to be a midwife. Following her father's death Patsy seemed to drop all correspondence with Delia, and it looked like she wouldn't return to Nonnatus House, but she came back to London on the day of Tom and Barbara's wedding.

text: Barbara Hereward (neé Gilbert)[edit]

text:
Barbara Hereward

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Charlotte Ritchie

Duration
2015–

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Midwife and Nurse

[show]Family

Father
Canon Arthur Gilbert

Sisters
Margaret

Husband
Tom Hereward (1962-)

text: Barbara Gilbert arrives in Poplar in the early 1960s still finding her feet in district nursing and midwifery. While she is educated and middle class, she is surprisingly in tune with the needs of the community she serves, having grown up the daughter of a Canon serving in an impoverished area of Liverpool. She is hard working, optimistic, and somewhat naïve. In addition to her nursing duties, she helps teach Sunday school at the local church. In series 5 she begins a romantic relationship with Tom Hereward after they become close while working together in the parish. She is also quite close to her roommate, Nurse Phyllis Crane, who serves as something of a surrogate mother figure to her much younger colleague. Tom asks her to marry him while they are out in South Africa after consulting with his former fiancée Trixie. They are married in a hurried wedding at the end of series 6, when Barbara learns that her father has accepted a three year missionary posting in New Guinea, so he can marry them.

text: Phyllis Crane[edit]

text:
Phyllis Crane

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Linda Bassett

Duration
2015–

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 2

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Senior Nurse, Midwife, Deputy Sister-in-charge (Medical)

text: Phyllis is a veteran nurse who also arrives at Nonnatus House in mid-1960. When she pulls up in her sparkling car everybody knows that she's going to be a tiny bit snobby and she is. She is vegetarian and is not scared to put her ideas forward to improve Nonnatus House. She confides in Vaughan Seller, the father of a terminated baby, that she was born an illegitimate child, and to former street walker Roseanne Dawley that Phyllis' mother too was a prostitute. In series 5 it is seen that she has formed more of a relationship with Barbara and has taken quite a high role in Nonnatus House. Having discovered Patsy and Delia's relationship, she is supportive of heartbroken Delia when Patsy sails to Hong Kong to care for her dying father.

text: She is also quite close to her roommate, Barbara, and serves as something of a surrogate mother figure to her much younger colleague. In the sixth series after her return from Africa, Sister Julienne becomes Deputy Sister-in-Charge to Sister Ursula, meaning Phyllis is demoted to Nursing Sister. Although Sister Ursula leaves and Phyllis is reinstated as deputy sister in charge again.

text: Driving back from a successful delivery, Phyllis knocks over one of the family's other children with her car and is left devastated by the possible consequences. She faces suspension by the Central Midwives Board, over her actions and is told by Sister Julienne to focus on the administrative duties. But, the family ask Sergeant Noakes to drop the case.

text: When Shelagh is unwell and goes on maternity leave, it expected she will take over as acting sister in charge of the surgery. Following Pasty's departure she took over as a leader of the local Wolf Cub Scouts.

text: Delia Busby[edit]

text:
Delia Busby

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Kate Lamb

Duration
2015–

First appearance
Series 4

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Staff Nurse at the London (until 1961), Trainee Midwife, Nurse, St John Ambulance volunteer

text: Originally from Wales, Delia is a very close friend of Patsy's, having worked together in the London Hospital's male surgical ward. She resides in the hospital's nurses home,[3] and volunteers evenings for St John Ambulance. In her St John capacity, she works with Patsy's and Fred's scouts, principally teaching them first aid. She is revealed to be in a romantic relationship with Patsy, but together they conceal their feelings due to society's view of homosexuality at the time. At the end of Series 4, just as the two of them have found a flat to share, she is involved in a cycling accident which leaves her with amnesia, leaving Patsy heartbroken. By the following Christmas, she has regained her memories of Patsy and their relationship, and at the start of Series 5, despite continued efforts from her mother to take her home to Wales, Delia accepts Sister Julienne's invitation to board at Nonnatus House when she returns to work at the London in the coming months. By the end of series 5, she appears to be quite close to Trixie and Barbara, and is delighted when Trixie confides in her that she attends Alcoholics Anonymous each week.

text: In the final episode of series five Busby considers additional training as a midwife after successfully talking a young mother through her delivery over the telephone earlier in the series. Busby undertakes training in the following series.

text: Valerie Dyer[edit]

text:
Valerie Dyer

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jennifer Kirby

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 2

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, Midwife

[show]Family

Family
Jean (aunt)

text: Valerie first appears following an explosion in Episode 2 of series 6 coming to the aid of Shelagh following a fire in the docks. She was an Army nurse, but resigned her commission when she grew weary of the routinness of such nursing. A native of Poplar, she took a barmaid job while sorting out her ambitions.

text: In episode 4, she becomes a midwife at the Nonnatus House. Sister Monica Joan somehow immediately recognises Valerie as having been a baby whom she delivered, reciting the details as if it had been yesterday. But it's a baptism of fire as Valerie is caught up with a woman who had FGM which creates difficulties for the pregnancy and the woman is rushed to hospital. Later she finds out the woman had sent her younger sister to be cut in Somalia and with Barbara rushes to stop the girl from boarding the boat. But it's too late.

text: Frederick "Fred" Buckle[edit]

text:
Fred Buckle

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Cliff Parisi

Duration
2012-

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Handyman, Scout Leader, Civil Defence Corps Deputy Party Leader

[show]Family

Wife
Deceased
Violet Gee (1960-)

Daughters
Marlene
Dolly

Grandsons
Anthony

Granddaughters
Samantha

First cousins
Ivy Jackson

Other relatives
Reggie Jackson

text: Fred is the handyman at Nonnatus House since the end of the war.[4] In the evenings, he volunteers as a scout leader and as a deputy party leader[5] in charge of the neighbourhood Civil Defence Corps squad. He is friends with all of the midwives and often gives them help and advice. He's always got a new money-making scheme under his belt, but none of them is ever much good. Fred is the father of two daughters – Dolly, who lives in Australia with her husband and their two children, Anthony and Samantha; and Marlene, who is also married and has recently moved back to England after living in Canada for several years.

text: Before becoming the handyman at Nonnatus he was in the British Army, during which time his wife was killed leaving his daughters to be shuffled around between several of his family members, causing him great pain and temptation to desert. In series four, after twenty years of being a widower, Fred takes an interest in local shop owner Violet Gee; after several months of flirting during their community volunteering duties, Fred asks Violet to a charity dance. By the end of series four Fred proposes to Violet – and, after dealing with his clingy daughter Marlene – he and Violet marry.

text: Dr. Patrick Turner[edit]

text:
Patrick Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Stephen McGann

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
General Practitioner

[show]Family

Wife
Widowed
Shelagh Mannion (1958-)

Sons
Timothy Turner
Edward "Teddy" Turner[6]

Daughters
Angela Turner (adopted)

text: Dr Turner is Poplar's local physician, as well as being the GP to all the midwives and nuns. He works closely with the midwives, helping at clinics, deliveries and at the birthing hospital and is incredibly dedicated to his patients and to his work, including fighting bureaucratic red tape to save lives with a tuberculosis x-ray screening van. He is a widower and father to Timothy and does his best to juggle the demands of being a single parent with his responsibilities as a doctor. In Series 2, it becomes apparent that he has fallen in love with Sister Bernadette, but her vows stand in the way of that love. After her diagnosis with tuberculosis forces her to examine what she truly wants, he makes it quietly clear to her that while the decision is hers, he is in love with her and wishes to share his life with her. She leaves the convent and chooses a different path, accepting his proposal of marriage after she has overcome her tuberculosis.

text: When trying to adopt, it is revealed that he suffered mental health issues after the war. Overwork and a misdiagnosis in Series 4, drives him to illness forcing Shelagh and Patsy to take over the running of the practice. While in the next series the Turner's go on holiday, with a locom who puts a mother in danger. Also he had regularly prescribed thalidomid for women suffering from morning sickness. When it's linked to with birth deformities of the kind observed in recent months, he must deal with his guilt.

text: In series 6, Dr Turner is overcome with joy when Shelagh falls pregnant with her first biological child. However, she suffers complications and is taken ill during an inspection of the maternity home and rushed to hospital fearing a miscarriage. This puts her pregnancy in jeopardy and even after she is released from hospital she could have still lost the baby. But she gives birth to a son (Edward 'Teddy' Turner) with the help of Sister Julienne in the series finale, with Dr Turner in the room.

text: Peter Noakes[edit]

text:
Peter Noakes

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Ben Caplan

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 2

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Police Sergeant

text: Peter is a Police Constable, and later Sergeant, in Poplar. He is first introduced in Series 1, when he is run over by Chummy on her bicycle and takes an immediate shine to her. Throughout series 1, they go on a string of dates, eventually marrying in the series' final episode. In series 2, he follows Chummy to Sierra Leone while she fulfills her desire to be a missionary. In the final episode of that series, he and Chummy have a baby, whom they name Fred. During his service in the Second World War, he earned the 1939–1945 Star, Defence Medal, France and Germany Star, and War Medal 1939–1945, as shown on his uniform tunic.

text: Tom Hereward[edit]

text:
Tom Hereward

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jack Ashton

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3

Introduced by
Jennifer Worth

Classification
Present; regular

Profile

Occupation
Curate

[show]Family

Wife
Barbara Gilbert (1962-)

text: Tom arrives in series 3 as the new Poplar curate. He lives just across the road from Nonnatus House and is shown to have a relationship with Trixie, whom he met when the two were working the same shift in a women's prison. Their engagement is broken off in series 4. Now he is seen doing a lot with the children's group and is getting a bit closer to Nurse Barbara Gilbert. Tom asks Barbara to marry him while they are out in South Africa after consulting with his former fiancée Trixie. They are married in a hurried wedding at the end of series 6, when Barbara learns that her father has accepted a three year missionary posting in New Guinea, so he can marry them.

text: Supporting characters[edit]

text: Timothy Turner[edit]

text:
Timothy Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Max Macillan

Duration
2012–

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Introduced by
Jenny Worth

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Student

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner (step-mother)

text: Timothy is the son of Patrick Turner and stepson of Shelagh Turner. He is very smart and tall and goes to the local grammar school. In 2013 Christmas special he suffers from polio which affects his legs. He slowly recuperates and is now fully recovered. He is seen to have an interest in medicine, and in Series 5 he helps his mother and father out more in the surgery. Timothy sets off on a crusade to make his parents give up smoking after seeing the damage it's doing to their health. He is pleased when, in the following series, his stepmother gives birth to his brother.

text: Angela Turner[edit]

text:
Angela Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Alice Brown

Duration
2014–

First appearance
Series 3, Episode 8

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner

Brothers
Timothy Turner (half-brother), Edward "Teddy" Turner[7]

text: Angela is the adopted daughter of Shelagh and Patrick Turner. She is first seen in the series 3 finale and is briefly seen in series 4 and 5 usually with Shelagh, Patrick or Timothy. She was born to a 16-year-old mother, and was put up for adoption after birth, when the Turners adopted her. It is mentioned in the series that she has a fear of squirrels.

text: Edward Turner[edit]

text:
Edward Turner

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
TBC

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 8

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

[show]Family

Father
Patrick Turner

Mother
Shelagh Turner

text: Edward is the son of Shelagh and Patrick Turner, born in the final episode of series 6.

text: Violet Buckle (neé Gee)[edit]

text:
Violet Buckle

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Annabelle Apsion

Duration
2015-

First appearance
Series 4, Episode 1

Introduced by
Heidi Thomas

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Haberdashery owner, Girls' Brigade Leader

[show]Family

Husband
Bert Gee (deceased)
Fred Buckle (1960-)

text: Violet Buckle is the second wife of Fred Buckle. She owns her own haberdashery called Violet Gee. She has a son who lives in Plymouth. She also had a previous husband called Bert who was killed in the war like Fred's deceased wife. She volunteers as a uniformed leader of the local Girls' Brigade, replacing Patsy when she returns to Hong Kong.

text: Christopher Dockerill[edit]

text:
Christopher Dockerill

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jack Hawkins

Duration
2017–

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 5

Classification
Present; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Dentist

[show]Family

Daughters
Alexandra Dockerill

text: Introduced in Series 6 when Trixie escorts a patient to see him who has a fear of dentists. After carrying out work on the woman which brings on her labour while he is in theatre, Trixie is forced to deliver the baby with his assistance after the general anaesthetic brings on labour. Later Trixie believes he's seeing another woman after he cancels a number of dates, but he tells her he has been looking after his daughter from a previous marriage.

text: Previous characters[edit]

text: Nurse Jenny Lee[edit]

text:
Jenny Lee

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Jessica Raine / Vanessa Redgrave (mature)

Duration
2012–2014

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 4, Episode 0

Introduced by
Herself

Classification
Past; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nurse, Midwife, Nursing Sister (Series 3)

text: Nurse Jenny Lee arrives at Nonnatus House in 1957, at the age of 22, completely unaware of the world she is about to enter. Believing she has accepted a job with a small private hospital, she is somewhat surprised to find she's moving into a convent. Furthermore, the deprivation of the East End is a huge culture shock for the young woman who has enjoyed a privileged upbringing in the home counties and spent time in Paris before training as a nurse. However, although initially shocked by the conditions in which her patients live, Jenny comes to accept the material limitations of the world in which she works and to love the people who must live there.

text: She went to London to escape her forbidden love to a married man, Gerald. Her best friend Jimmy arrives and although he makes her feel more at ease, he also makes things more complicated by revealing that he's in love with her. She turns him down and they remain friends. She becomes good friends with all of her colleagues and patients and always tries to help those around her. Toward the end of Series 2 and halfway through Series 3, she starts dating Alec, a friend of Jimmy's. After Alec's death and her return to Nonnatus House after taking time off to grieve, Jenny decides to begin working at the London Hospital in the Maternity Ward although she leaves soon after, not liking the hospital's policy of requiring impersonal relationships between nurses and their patients.

text: At the end of Series 3, she meets Phillip Worth (her future husband), the cousin of an expectant mother for whom she is caring and begins a relationship with him. She eventually decides to pursue a career change to care for those with terminal illnesses; she leaves Nonnatus House to work at the Marie Curie Hospital in Hampstead. It is shown in the Series 3 Christmas Special that she eventually married Phillip and started a family, and still kept in contact with the friends she made at Nonnatus House.

text: Sister Evangelina[edit]

text:
Sister Evangelina

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Pam Ferris

Duration
2012–2016

First appearance
Series 1, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 5, Episode 8

Classification
Past; regular

Profile

Occupation
Nun, Midwife and Nurse

text: Sister Evangelina is the only one of the sisters who comes from the same tough, uncompromising background as the community they serve. Physically vigorous, she has a robust sense of humour. Her energy and drive make her extraordinarily effective at her job. However, she does not suffer fools gladly and her blunt speech and attitude often offend. She has a particularly contentious relationship with the aristocratic Sister Monica Joan, who often provokes her to breaking point. Growing up in poverty has toughened her up, making her a very comical character in the show.

text: Sister Evangelina knows a lot about the poverty and hardships in Poplar and often shares her insights with the young midwives. She is very close to Sister Julienne, to whom she often serves as a sounding board. In Series 3, it is revealed she has several siblings including an older brother who was killed on active service in a war and a younger brother, Vincent, who returns to her life after being absent for several years during her golden jubilee. It was seeing the birth of Vincent that inspired a young Sister Evangelina to become a nun during her formative years, a goal she achieved in 1909. In 1960 Sister Evangelina has to have an operation due to illness. Her pre-order name was Enid Atwood. In 1961, Sister Evangelina temporarily left Nonnatus House for an enclosed order. She returns in episode 7. She announces that she had a stroke 2 months after she left the convent and has now lost movement in her left arm. In episode 8, Sister Evangelina passes away following a second stroke.

text: Despite her gruff exterior and apparent lack of patience with others, she is deeply cherished and respected by not only her colleagues, but her Poplar community, a great many of whom she delivered—as evidenced by the masses who turned out to congratulate her on the occasion of her jubilee, and to pay their final respects two years later.

text: Sister Ursula[edit]

text:
Sister Ursula

Call The Midwife character

Portrayed by
Harriet Walter

Duration
2017

First appearance
Series 6, Episode 1

Last appearance
Series 6, Episode 4

Classification
Past; recurring

Profile

Occupation
Sister-in-charge, Nun, Midwife and Nurse

text: Sister Ursula arrives to replace Sister Julienne when she went to South Africa, as the new sister in charge in 1962. She appears to have a strict running form when the staff return following their return, clashing with Shelagh over the way clinic is run and the behaviour of Sister Monica Joan. Patsy and Delia appear to be keen for her to return to the mother house. She orders Sister Mary Cynthia to return to the mother house, before being informed of her sexual assault. She returns to the mother house after she is deemed unfit to run Nonnatus House.

text: Previous recurring characters[edit]

text: George Rainsford as James "Jimmy" Wilson (Series 1–2)

text: Jimmy is an old friend of Jenny's. In Series 1, Jimmy is madly in love with Jenny, even though she still pines for the married man, the reason she escaped to London. Jenny convinces Jimmy they are "just friends" and he stops pursuing her. In Series 2, the tables are turned when Jimmy returns, having graduated school and now working as a municipal surveyor/architect. Jenny sees Jimmy as a grown man for the first time which instantly turns her head, but unfortunately she discovers that Jimmy is engaged to pregnant Francine, whom Jenny met at the prenatal clinic. Jimmy and Francine marry and have a baby, Caroline.

text: Dorothy Atkinson as Jane Sutton (Series 2)

text: Jane is the medical orderly at Nonnatus House. She arrives to fill in for Chummy while she's in Africa. Jane is very shy and does not talk unless it is necessary. We later find out the reason for her being shy – her parents sent her to an asylum when she was young, leaving her with no self-esteem. Throughout the series, she grows in confidence and makes friends with her fellow nurses. She also finds love with Reverend Applebee-Thornton (Jason Watkins), a local Anglican priest. She does not return for Series 3, with a deleted scene from the 2013 Christmas special explaining that she has gone to nursing school.

text: Leo Staar as Alec Jesmond (Series 2–3)

text: Alec is a friend of Jimmy's who develops romantic feelings for Jenny. They eventually start dating after a long period in which Jenny continues to mourn her loss of Jimmy, but who encourages her to enjoy life and Alec. Alec and Jenny eventually date, but Jenny's abundant caution about affairs of the heart lead to a misunderstanding and argument. Castigating his co-worker in anger, Alec falls through an old staircase in the building they are renovating. In the hospital, his foot is amputated and he seems to be recovering. He later dies, thought to be because of a blood clot in his wounded leg, and his funeral is attended by a distraught Jenny and the other midwives and the nuns.

text: Cheryl Campbell as Lady Browne, Chummy's mother (Series 1, Series 3)

text: Lady Browne is Chummy's upper-class, snobby mother. She formerly lived in Madeira before she separated from Chummy's father. When she moved to Poplar she was diagnosed with TB and Cancer. In series 1 she was featured in the series finale before Chummy and Peter's wedding. She moved to Poplar in 1959 and was diagnosed with TB and cancer by Dr. Turner. She died peacefully in Chummy and Peter's bed in the series 3 finale.

text: Maxine Evans as Mrs. Busby, Delia's mother (Series 4–5)

text: Mrs. Busby is the mother of Delia Busby. Her first appearance was when Delia was in hospital with was the series finale of series 4, she was also seen in 1960 Christmas special, series 5, episode 1 and the series finale of series 5. She is still not happy that Delia has decided to stay in Poplar at the convent. She also seems not to accept her decision to become a midwife and doesn't really like Patsy. It is clear that, by the end of series 5, she is aware of Delia's and Patsy's sexual relationship and does not approve.


document_title: Separation of powers

question_text: who created separation of powers and checks and balances

question_tokens: who created separation of powers and checks and balances

root

text: Separation of powers

text: History[edit]

text:
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text: Antiquity[edit]

text: Aristotle first mentioned the idea of a "mixed government" or hybrid government in his work Politics where he drew upon many of the constitutional forms in the city-states of Ancient Greece. In the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate, Consuls and the Assemblies showed an example of a mixed government according to Polybius (Histories, Book 6, 11–13).

tag: p

text: Early modern biparty systems[edit]

text: John Calvin (1509–1564) favoured a system of government that divided political power between democracy and aristocracy (mixed government). Calvin appreciated the advantages of democracy, stating: "It is an invaluable gift if God allows a people to elect its own government and magistrates."[1] In order to reduce the danger of misuse of political power, Calvin suggested setting up several political institutions which should complement and control each other in a system of checks and balances.[2]

text: In this way, Calvin and his followers resisted political absolutism and furthered the growth of democracy. Calvin aimed to protect the rights and the well-being of ordinary people.[3][need quotation to verify] In 1620, a group of English separatist Congregationalists and Anglicans (later known as the Pilgrim Fathers) founded Plymouth Colony in North America. Enjoying self-rule, they established a bipartite democratic system of government. The "freemen" elected the General Court, which functioned as legislature and judiciary and which in turn elected a governor, who together with his seven "assistants" served in the functional role of providing executive power.[4] Massachusetts Bay Colony (founded 1628), Rhode Island (1636), Connecticut (1636), New Jersey, and Pennsylvania had similar constitutions – they all separated political powers. (Except for Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony, these English outposts added religious freedom to their democratic systems, an important step towards the development of human rights.[5][6]) Books like William Bradford's History of Plymoth Plantation (written between 1630 and 1651) were widely read in England.[citation needed] So the form of government in the colonies was well known in the mother country, including to the philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). He deduced from a study of the English constitutional system the advantages of dividing political power into the legislative (which should be distributed among several bodies, for example, the House of Lords and the House of Commons), on the one hand, and the executive and federative power, responsible for the protection of the country and prerogative of the monarch, on the other hand. (The Kingdom of England had no written constitution.)[7][need quotation to verify]

text: Montesquieu's separation of powers system[edit]

text: The term "tripartite system" is commonly ascribed to French Enlightenment political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, although he did not use such a term. In reality he referred to "distribution" of powers. In The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Montesquieu described the various forms of distribution of political power among a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. Montesquieu's approach was to present and defend a form of government which was not excessively centralized in all its powers to a single monarch or similar ruler, form of government known then as "aristocracy". He based this model on the Constitution of the Roman Republic and the British constitutional system. Montesquieu took the view that the Roman Republic had powers separated so that no one could usurp complete power.[8][9][10] In the British constitutional system, Montesquieu discerned a separation of powers among the monarch, Parliament, and the courts of law.

text: In every government there are three sorts of power: the legislative; the executive in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive in regard to matters that depend on the civil law.

text: By virtue of the first, the prince or magistrate enacts temporary or perpetual laws, and amends or abrogates those that have been already enacted. By the second, he makes peace or war, sends or receives embassies, establishes the public security, and provides against invasions. By the third, he punishes criminals, or determines the disputes that arise between individuals. The latter we shall call the judiciary power, and the other, simply, the executive power of the state.

text: Montesquieu argues that each Power should only exercise its own functions, it was quite explicit here:

text: When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.

text: Again, there is no liberty if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control; for the judge would be then the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power, the judge might behave with violence and oppression.

text: There would be an end of every thing, were the same man, or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and of trying the causes of individuals.

text: Separation of powers requires a different source of legitimization, or a different act of legitimization from the same source, for each of the separate powers. If the legislative branch appoints the executive and judicial powers, as Montesquieu indicated, there will be no separation or division of its powers, since the power to appoint carries with it the power to revoke.

text: The executive power ought to be in the hands of a monarch, because this branch of government, having need of dispatch, is better administered by one than by many: on the other hand, whatever depends on the legislative power, is oftentimes better regulated by many than by a single person.

text: But, if there were no monarch, and the executive power should be committed to a certain number of persons, selected from the legislative body, there would be an end of liberty, by reason the two powers would be united; as the same persons would sometimes possess, and would be always able to possess, a share in both.

text: Montesquieu did actually specify that the independence of the judiciary has to be real, and not merely apparent.[13] The judiciary was generally seen as the most important of the three powers, independent and unchecked,[14] while also likely to claim to be the least dangerous one.[13]

text: Checks and balances[edit]

text: Checks and balances is the principle that each of the Branches has the power to limit or check the other two and this creates a balance between the three separate powers of the state, this principle induces that the ambitions of one branch prevent that one of the other branches become supreme, and thus be eternally confronting each other and in that process leaving the people free from government abuses. Checks and Balances are designed to maintain the system of separation of powers keeping each branch in its place. This is based on the idea that it is not enough to separate the powers and guarantee their independence but to give the various branches the constitutional means to defend their own legitimate powers from the encroachments of the other branches.[15] They guarantee that the powers of the State have the same weight (co-equal), that is, to be balanced, so that they can limit each other, avoiding the abuse of state power. the origin of checks and balances, like separation of powers itself, is specifically credited to Montesquieu in the Enlightenment (in The Spirit of the Laws, 1748), under this influence was implemented in 1787 in the Constitution of the United States.

text: The following example of the separation of powers and their mutual checks and balances for the experience of the United States Constitution is presented as illustrative of the general principles applied in similar forms of government as well.

text: «But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.»

text: «A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions. This policy of supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the defect of better motives, might be traced through the whole system of human affairs, private as well as public. We see it particularly displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, where the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights. These inventions of prudence cannot be less requisite in the distribution of the supreme powers of the State.»

text:
Legislative (Congress)
Executive (President)
Judicial (Supreme Court)

Passes bills; has broad taxing and spending power; regulates inter-state commerce; controls the federal budget; has power to borrow money on the credit of the United States (may be vetoed by President, but vetoes may be overridden with a two-thirds vote of both houses)
Has sole power to declare war, as well as to raise, support, and regulate the military.
Oversees, investigates, and makes the rules for the government and its officers.
Defines by law the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary in cases not specified by the Constitution.
Ratification of treaties signed by the President and gives advice and consent to presidential appointments to the federal judiciary, federal executive departments, and other posts (Senate only).[17]
Has sole power of impeachment (House of Representatives) and trial of impeachments (Senate); can remove federal executive and judicial officers from office for high crimes and misdemeanors

Is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces
Executes the instructions of Congress.
May veto bills passed by Congress (but the veto may be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both houses)
Executes the spending authorized by Congress.
Declares states of emergency and publishes regulations and executive orders.
Makes executive agreements (does not require ratification) and signs treaties (ratification requiring approval by two-thirds of the Senate)
Makes appointments to the federal judiciary, federal executive departments, and other posts with the advice and consent of the Senate. Has power to make temporary appointment during the recess of the Senate
Has the power to grant "reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."

Determines which laws Congress intended to apply to any given case
Exercises judicial review, reviewing the constitutionality of laws
Determines how Congress meant the law to apply to disputes
Determines how a law acts to determine the disposition of prisoners
Determines how a law acts to compel testimony and the production of evidence
Determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question.

text: Comparison between tripartite and bipartite national systems[edit]

text: Constitutions with a high degree of separation of powers are found worldwide. The UK system is distinguished by a particular entwining of powers.[18] A number of Latin American countries have electoral branches of government.

text: Countries with little separation of power include New Zealand and Canada. Canada makes limited use of separation of powers in practice, although in theory it distinguishes between branches of government.

text: New Zealand's constitution is based on the principle of separation of powers through a series of constitutional safeguards, many of which are tacit. The Executive's ability to carry out decisions often depends on the Legislature, which is elected under the mixed member proportional system. This means the government is rarely a single party but a coalition of parties. The Judiciary is also free of government interference. If a series of judicial decisions result in an interpretation of the law which the Executive considers does not reflect the intention of the policy, the Executive can initiate changes to the legislation in question through the Legislature. The Executive cannot direct or request a judicial officer to revise or reconsider a decision; decisions are final. Should there be a dispute between the Executive and Judiciary, the Executive has no authority to direct the Judiciary, or its individual members and vice versa.

text: Complete separation of powers systems are almost always presidential, although theoretically this need not be the case. There are a few historical exceptions, such as the Directoire system of revolutionary France. Switzerland offers an example of non-Presidential separation of powers today: It is run by a seven-member executive branch, the Federal Council. However, some might argue[weasel words] that Switzerland does not have a strong separation of powers system, as the Federal Council is appointed by parliament (but not dependent on parliament) and although the judiciary has no power of review, the judiciary is still separate from the other branches.

text: Typical branches[edit]

text:
executive
legislative
judicial

tag: ul

text: Additional branches[edit]

text:
auditory
electoral – in which election commissions, tribunals or courts are maintained separately from other branches
prosecutory
civil service commission

text: Three branches[edit]

text: Australia[edit]

text: Australia does not maintain a strict separation between the legislative and executive branches of government—indeed, government ministers are required to be members of parliament—but the federal judiciary strictly guards its independence from the other two branches. However, under influence from the American constitution, the Australian constitution does define the three branches of government separately, and this has been interpreted by the judiciary to induce an implicit separation of powers.[19] State governments have a similar level of separation of power, but this is generally on the basis of convention, rather than constitution.

text: Austria[edit]

text: The Constitution of Austria was originally written by Hans Kelsen, the prominent constitutional scholar in Europe at that time. Kelsen was to serve as a part of the judicial court of review for Austria as part of its tripartite government.

text: Czech Republic[edit]

text: The Constitution of the Czech Republic, adopted in 1992 immediately before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, establishes the traditional tripartite division of powers[20] and continues the tradition of its predecessor constitutions. The Czechoslovak Constitution of 1920, which replaced the provisional constitution adopted by the newly independent state in 1918, was modeled after the constitutions of established democracies such as those of the United Kingdom, United States and France, and maintained this division,[21] as have subsequent changes to the constitution that followed in 1948 with the Ninth-of-May Constitution, the 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia as well as the Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation of 1968.

text: Denmark[edit]

text:
Parliament – legislature
Prime Minister, Cabinet, Government Departments and Civil Service – executive
High Courts and lower courts – judiciary

text: France[edit]

text: According to the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, the government of France[22] is divided up into three branches:

text:
Executive. This includes the popularly elected president as well as the prime minister and cabinet. The French Prime minister is nominated by the president, but the government is responsible to the lower house of the legislature, the National Assembly.
Legislature. A bicameral legislature that includes the Senate (upper house) and the National Assembly (lower house). The relationship between the two houses is asymmetric, meaning that in case of dispute, the National Assembly has the final word according to Article 45[23] of the Constitution.
Judiciary. This includes the judicial and administrative orders. It also includes a constitutional court.

text: Hong Kong[edit]

text: Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region established in 1997 pursuant to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty made between Britain and China in 1984, registered with the United Nations. Currently, Hong Kong has three branches of government as codified in the Basic Law, its constitution, which largely preserved political structures of the British colonial era, under the doctrine of one country, two systems:

text:
Legislative Council – legislature
Government – executive
Judiciary (Court of Final Appeal and other courts and tribunals) – judiciary

text: The Chief Executive, elected by a 1200-member Election Committee which historically was dominated by pro-Beijing establishment members, is both head of the region and head of government, and chairs the Executive Council which is composed of "unofficial" members and government secretaries.

text: The legislature consists of 70 members, 35 of whom are elected by "functional" constituencies represented by members within various industries rather than the public at large.[24] Separation of power between executive and legislature is, therefore, questionable.[25][citation needed]

text: The courts frequently exercise a power of judicial review of administrative actions and also decide matters of constitutionality of legislation, though this power is circumscribed under the power of the People's Republic of China's National People's Congress to make final determinations as to interpretation.[26] Hence, the separation of powers is again structurally weak.

text: It is worth noting that the branches' separation of power may not be intended within the Hong Kong Basic Law as leaders of the PRC have publicly called for the three branches to cooperate and be led by the Chief Executive.[27]

text: Further, Deng Xiaoping was quoted to have categorically dismissed Hong Kong having a "Trias Politica" system.[28]

text: India[edit]

text: India follows constitutional democracy which offers a clear separation of powers. The judiciary branch is fairly independent of the other two branches with the power to interpret the constitution. Parliament has the legislative powers. Executive powers are vested with the President who is advised by the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The constitution of India vested the duty of protecting, preserving and defending the constitution with the President as common head of the executive, parliament, armed forces, etc. not only for the union government but also the various state governments in a federal structure. All three branches have "checks and balances" over each other to maintain the balance of power and not to exceed the constitutional limits.[29]

text:
President can set aside a law passed by the legislative or an advise given by the Union Council of Ministers when it is inconsistent with the constitution of India.
Even president accepts a law passed duly by the legislative, it can be repealed by the Supreme Court after a fair trial if it is against the Basic structure of the constitution. Any citizen of India can approach the Supreme Court directly to repeal the unconstitutional laws made by the legislative or executive.
President can be impeached after conducting a fair trial by the parliament for his unconstitutional orders/decisions.
President can be asked to step down by the judiciary for his unconstitutional orders/decisions on the grounds of losing eligibility criteria of the president.
Parliament can impeach judges of Supreme Court and High Courts of states for their incompetence and mala fides. Higher bench of judges can set aside the incorrect judgements of smaller bench of judges to uphold the constitution.

text: Iran[edit]

text:
Government – Executive
The legislature of Islamic Republic of Iran – Legislative
Judicial system – Judicial

text: Italy[edit]

text: In Italy the powers are separated, even though the Council of Ministers needs a vote of confidence from both chambers of Parliament, that represents a large number of members (almost 1,000).[30]

text: Like every parliamentary form of government, there is no real separation between Legislature and Executive, rather a continuum between them due to the confidence link. By the way, the balance is protected by Constitution also between these two branches.[31] and, obviously, between them and the judiciary branch, which is really independent.

text: Malaysia[edit]

text:
Parliament – legislature
Prime Minister, Cabinet, Government Departments and Civil Service – executive
Federal Courts and lower courts – judiciary

text: Nepal[edit]

text:
Legislative Parliament – Legislature
Prime Minister, Cabinet of Minister and Government Departments – Executive
Supreme Court – Judiciary

text: Norway[edit]

text:
Parliament – legislature
Prime Minister, Cabinet of Norway, Government Departments and Civil Service – executive
High Courts and lower courts – judiciary

text: A note on the status of separation of power, checks and balances, and balance of power in Norway today.[32]

text: In the original constitution of 1814 the Montesquieu concept was enshrined, and the people at the time had the same skepticism about political parties as the American founding fathers and the revolutionaries in France. Nor did people really want to get rid of the king and the Council of State (privy council). King and council was a known concept that people had lived with for a long time and was for the most part comfortable with. The 1814 constitution came about as a reaction to external events, most notable the Treaty of Kiel see 1814 in Norway. There was no revolution against the current powers that had been be the case in the US and France.

text: As there was no election of the executive, the king reigned supremely independent in selecting the members of the Council of State, no formal political parties formed util the 1880s. A conflict between the executive and legislature started developing in the 1870s and climaxed with the legislature impeaching the entire Council of State in 1884. (See Statsrådssaken (Norwegian wikipedia page))

text: With this came a switch to a parliamentary system of government and while the full process takes decades, it has led to a system of parliamentary sovereignty where the Montesquieu idea of separation of powers is technically dead even though the three branches remain important institutions.

text: This does not mean that there are no checks and balances. With the introduction of a parliamentary system, political parties started to form quickly and this led to a call for electoral reform that saw the introduction of a Party-list proportional representation in 1918. The peculiarities of the Norwegian election system generate 6–8 parties and make it extremely difficult for a single party to gain an absolute majority. It has only occurred for a brief period in the aftermath of World War II where the Labour Party had an absolute majority.

text: A multi-party system parliament that must either form a minority executive or a coalition executive function as a perfectly good system of checks and balances even if it was never a stated goal for the introduction of multiparty system. The multiparty system came about in response to a public outcry of having too few parties and a general feeling of a lack of representation. For this reason you'll find very little on the topic of separation of powers or checks and balances in the works of Norwegian political sciences today.

text: Pakistan[edit]

text:
Parliament – Legislative
Prime Minister and his Cabinet – Executive
Supreme Court and lower courts – Judicial

text: United Kingdom[edit]

text:
Parliament – legislature
Prime Minister, Cabinet, Government Departments and Civil Service – executive
Courts – judiciary

text: The development of the British constitution, which is not a codified document, is based on this fusion in the person of the Monarch, who has a formal role to play in the legislature (Parliament, which is where legal and political sovereignty lies, is the Crown-in-Parliament, and is summoned and dissolved by the Sovereign who must give his or her Royal Assent to all Bills so that they become Acts), the executive (the Sovereign appoints all ministers of His/Her Majesty's Government, who govern in the name of the Crown) and the judiciary (the Sovereign, as the fount of justice, appoints all senior judges, and all public prosecutions are brought in his or her name).

text: Although the doctrine of separation of power plays a role in the United Kingdom's constitutional doctrine, the UK constitution is often described as having "a weak separation of powers" A. V. Dicey, despite its constitution being the one to which Montesquieu originally referred. For example, in the United Kingdom, the executive forms a subset of the legislature, as did—to a lesser extent—the judiciary until the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister, the Chief Executive, sits as a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, either as a peer in the House of Lords or as an elected member of the House of Commons (by convention, and as a result of the supremacy of the Lower House, the Prime Minister now sits in the House of Commons) and can effectively be removed from office by a simple majority vote. Furthermore, while the courts in the United Kingdom are amongst the most independent in the world,[citation needed] the Law Lords, who were the final arbiters of judicial disputes in the UK sat simultaneously in the House of Lords, the upper house of the legislature, although this arrangement ceased in 2009 when the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom came into existence. Furthermore, because of the existence of Parliamentary sovereignty, while the theory of separation of powers may be studied there, a system such as that of the UK is more accurately described as a "fusion of powers".[citation needed]

text: Until 2005, the Lord Chancellor fused the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, as he was the ex officio Speaker of the House of Lords, a Government Minister who sat in Cabinet and was head of the Lord Chancellor's Department which administered the courts, the justice system and appointed judges, and was the head of the Judiciary in England and Wales and sat as a judge on the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords, the highest domestic court in the entire United Kingdom, and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the senior tribunal court for parts of the Commonwealth. The Lord Chancellor also had certain other judicial positions, including being a judge in the Court of Appeal and President of the Chancery Division. The Lord Chancellor combines other aspects of the constitution, including having certain ecclesiastical functions of the established state church, making certain church appointments, nominations and sitting as one of the thirty-three Church Commissioners. These functions remain intact and unaffected by the Constitutional Reform Act. In 2005, the Constitutional Reform Act separated the powers with Legislative functions going to an elected Lord Speaker and the Judicial functions going to the Lord Chief Justice. The Lord Chancellor's Department was replaced with a Ministry of Justice and the Lord Chancellor currently serves in the position of Secretary of State for Justice.

text: The judiciary has no power to strike down primary legislation, and can only rule on secondary legislation that it is invalid with regard to the primary legislation if necessary.

text: Under the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, Parliament can enact any primary legislation it chooses. However, the concept immediately becomes problematic when the question is asked; "If parliament can do anything, can it bind its successors?". It is generally held that parliament can do no such thing.

text: Equally, while statute takes precedence over precedent-derived common law and the judiciary has no power to strike down primary legislation, there are certain cases where the supreme judicature has effected an injunction against the application of an act or reliance on its authority by the civil service. The seminal example of this is the Factortame case, where the House of Lords granted such an injunction preventing the operation of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 until litigation in the European Court of Justice had been resolved.

text: The House of Lords ruling in Factortame (No. 1), approving the European Court of Justice formulation that "a national court which, in a case before it concerning Community law, considers that the sole obstacle which precludes it from granting interim relief is a rule of national law, must disapply that rule", has created an implicit tiering of legislative reviewability; the only way for parliament to prevent the supreme judicature from injunctively striking out a law on the basis of incompatibility with Community law is to pass an act specifically removing that power from the court, or by repealing the European Communities Act 1972.

text: The British legal systems are based on common law traditions, which require:

text:
Police or regulators cannot initiate complaints under criminal law but can only investigate (prosecution is mostly reserved for the Crown Prosecution Service), which prevents selective enforcement—e.g., the "fishing expedition" which is often specifically forbidden.
Prosecutors cannot withhold evidence from counsel for the defendant; to do so results in mistrial or dismissal. Accordingly, their relation to police is no advantage.
Defendants convicted can appeal, but only fresh and compelling evidence not available at trial can be introduced, restricting the power of the court of appeal to the process of law applied.

text: United States[edit]

text: The greatest expression of the separation of powers was incorporated in the United States Constitution, the founding fathers included features of many new concepts, including hard-learned historical lessons about the checks and balances of power and the then-new concept of separation of powers. Similar concepts were also prominent in the state governments of the United States. As colonies of Great Britain, the founding fathers considered that the American states had suffered an abuse of the broad power of parliamentarism and monarchy. As a remedy, the US Constitution limits the powers of the federal government through various means, in particular, the three branches of the federal government are divided by exercising different functions, and are separated in origin by separate elections, each branch controls the actions of others and balances its powers in some way.

text: In the United States Constitution, Article 1 Section I gives Congress only those "legislative powers herein granted" and proceeds to list those permissible actions in Article I Section 8, while Section 9 lists actions that are prohibited for Congress. The vesting clause in Article II places no limits on the Executive branch, simply stating that, "The Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."[33] The Supreme Court holds "The judicial Power" according to Article III, and it established the implication of Judicial review in Marbury v. Madison under the Marshall court.[34]

text: The presidential system adopted by the Constitution of the United States obeys the balance of powers sought, and not found, by the constitutional monarchy. The people appoint their representatives to meet periodically in a legislative body, and, since they do not have a king, the people themselves elect a preeminent citizen to perform, also periodically, the executive functions of the State. The direct election of the head of state or of the executive power is an inevitable consequence of the political freedom of the people, understood as the capacity to appoint and depose their leaders. Only this separate election of the person who has to fulfill the functions that the Constitution attributes to the president of the government, so different by its nature, and by its function, from the election of representatives of the electors, allows the executive power to be controlled by the legislative and submitted to the demands of political responsibility.[35]

text: Judicial independence is maintained by appointments for life that makes disappear very soon any sense of dependence on the Executive, with voluntary retirement and a high threshold of dismissal by the Legislature, in addition to a salary that can not be diminished during their service.

text: The federal government refers to the branches as "branches of government", while some systems use "government" to describe the executive. The Executive branch has attempted[36] to claim power arguing for separation of powers to include being the Commander in Chief of a standing army since the American Civil War, executive orders, emergency powers and security classifications since World War II, national security, signing statements, and the scope of the unitary executive.

text: «In order to lay a due foundation for that separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government, which to a certain extent is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation of liberty, it is evident that each department should have a will of its own; and consequently should be so constituted that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others. Were this principle rigorously adhered to, it would require that all the appointments for the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary magistracies should be drawn from the same fountain of authority, the people, through channels having no communication whatever with one another. Perhaps such a plan of constructing the several departments would be less difficult in practice than it may in contemplation appear. Some difficulties, however, and some additional expense would attend the execution of it. Some deviations, therefore, from the principle must be admitted. In the constitution of the judiciary department in particular, it might be inexpedient to insist rigorously on the principle: first, because peculiar qualifications being essential in the members, the primary consideration ought to be to select that mode of choice which best secures these qualifications; secondly, because the permanent tenure by which the appointments are held in that department, must soon destroy all sense of dependence on the authority conferring them.»

text: «It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others, for the emoluments annexed to their offices. Were the executive magistrate, or the judges, not independent of the legislature in this particular, their independence in every other would be merely nominal.»

text: Other systems[edit]

text: Republic of China[edit]

text: According to Sun Yat-sen's idea of "separation of the five powers", the government of the Republic of China has five branches:

text:
Executive Yuan – led by the premier but in actuality it is the president who sets policy – executive
Legislative Yuan – unicameral – legislature
Judicial Yuan – its Constitutional Court (highest) and Supreme Court have different jurisdictions – judiciary
Control Yuan – audit branch
Examination Yuan – civil service personnel management and human resources

text: The president and vice president as well as the defunct National Assembly are constitutionally not part of the above five branches. Before being abolished in 2005, the National Assembly was a standing constituent assembly and electoral college for the president and vice president. Its constitutional amending powers were passed to the legislative yuan and its electoral powers were passed to the electorate.

text: The relationship between the executive and legislative branches are poorly defined. An example of the problems this causes is the near complete political paralysis that results when the president, who has neither the power to veto nor the ability to dissolve the legislature and call new elections, cannot negotiate with the legislature when his party is in the minority.[37] The examination and control yuans are marginal branches; their leaders as well as the leaders of the executive and judicial yuans are appointed by the president and confirmed by the legislative yuan. The legislature is the only branch that chooses its own leadership. The vice president has practically no responsibilities.

text: Belgium[edit]

text: Belgium is currently a federated state that has imposed the trias politica on different governmental levels. The constitution of 1831, considered one of the most liberal of its time for limiting the powers of its monarch and imposing a rigorous system of separation of powers, is based on three principles (represented in the Schematic overview of Belgian institutions):

text: Trias Politica (horizontal separation of powers):

text:
The legislative power is attributed to an elected parliamentary body elected with a representative general election system (one person one vote).
The executive power is attributed to the Council of Ministers. Ministers are formally appointed by the King, though in practice the prime minister decides the composition of his cabinet. The ministers are usually from the elected members of parliament (non-elected people can also be nominated). However, they must first resign from their elected seat.
The judicial power is in the hands of the courts. Magistrates are nominated by the minister (on proposal from a Council of the Magistrates).

Magistrates can be nominated to become a judge (sitting magistrates) or instructing judge (investigating judge) of Procureur (public prosecutor) (the standing magistrates).
The executive branch of the government is responsible to provide the physical means to execute its role (infrastructure, staff, financial means).
Judges and some other people cannot run for elected office while they are nominated to certain positions (military, police-officers, clergy, notaries, bailiffs).

text: Subsidiarity (vertical separation of powers):

text:
Supranational directives (EU legislation) and international treaties are subjected to approval of the federal level (the federal level being Belgium the nation state)
The federal level is composed of the following:

A bicameral parliament (House of Representative and Senate) (in 2014 this will be a directly elected house and an indirectly appointed Senate of the regions)
A federal government (led by the Prime Minister and the ministers and secretaries of state)

Tasked with overseeing justice, defense, foreign affairs, and social security, public health

High Court, Constitutional Court, Cassation Court and Council of State

The regional level is composed of the following:

A monocameral parliament
A regional government led by the minister-president (ministers and secretaries of state) is tasked with regional matters.

Provinces also have similar structures:

A monocameral provincial council
A nominated provincial governor assisted by deputees is tasked with provincial matters.
Appellate Court, Assisses Court

An intermediate level of Arrondissements subdivides the provinces

it has only an executive level with an arrondissemental commissars

City and communal entities:

A city or communal council
A mayor, assisted by aldermen, is tasked with local matters.
Magistrates Court, Correctional Court (three judges).
Justice of the peace and Police Court judges (single judge courts)

text: Secularism (separation of state and religion):

text:
The king, the head of state, holds no political authority and requires executive approval by a minister for every action and statement; he nominates the ministers but he does not choose them (his executive powers); he signs and decrees the laws voted in parliament (his legislative powers);
The head of state is commander in chief of the military (in title only), politically the military depends of the Minister of Defense and the chiefs of staff are responsible towards parliament and take their orders from the Minister of Defense and the government;
Certain functions are deemed incompatible and people must resign from their function if they want to assume responsibilities in another function (military commanders have never been government ministers, even during a war)

text: Costa Rica[edit]

text: In the aftermath of the 43-day civil war in 1948 (after former President and incumbent candidate Rafael Álgel Calderón Guardia tried to take power through fraud, by not recognising the results of the presidential election that he had lost), the question of which transformational model the Costa Rican State would follow was the main issue that confronted the victors. A Constituent Assembly was elected by popular vote to draw up a new constitution, enacted in 1949, and remains in force. This document was an edit of the constitution of 1871, as the constituent assembly rejected more radical corporatist ideas proposed by the ruling Junta Fundadora de la Segunda República (which, although having come to power by military force, abolished the armed forces). Nonetheless, the new constitution increased centralization of power at the expense of municipalities and eliminated provincial government altogether, at the time it increased the powers of congress and the judiciary.

text: It established the three supreme powers as the legislature, executive, and judicial branches, but also created two other autonomous state organs that have equivalent power, but not equivalent rank. The first is the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones de Costa Rica (electoral branch) which controls elections and makes unique, unappealable decisions on their outcomes.

text: The second is the office of the Comptroller General (audit branch), an autonomous and independent organ nominally subordinate to the unicameral legislative assembly. All budgets of ministries and municipalities must pass through this agency, including the execution of budget items such as contracting for routine operations. The Comptroller also provides financial vigilance over government offices and office holders, and routinely brings actions to remove mayors for malfeasance, firmly establishing this organization as the fifth branch of the Republic.

text: European Union[edit]

text: The European Union is a supranational polity, and is neither a country nor a federation; but as the EU wields political power it complies with the principle of separation of powers. There are seven institutions of the European Union. In intergovernmental matters, most power is concentrated in the Council of the European Union—giving it the characteristics of a normal international organization. Here, all power at the EU level is in one branch. In the latter there are four main actors. The European Commission acts as an independent executive which is appointed by the Council in conjunction with the European Parliament; but the Commission also has a legislative role as the sole initiator of EU legislation.[38][39] [40] An early maxim was: "The Commission proposes and the Council disposes"; and although the EU's lawmaking procedure is now much more complicated, this simple maxim still holds some truth. As well as both executive and legislative functions, the Commission arguably exercises a third, quasi-judicial, function under Articles 101 & 102 TFEU (competition law ); although the ECJ remains the final arbiter. The European Parliament is one half of the legislative branch and is directly elected. The Council itself acts both as the second half of the legislative branch and also holds some executive functions (some of which are exercised by the related European Council in practice). The European Court of Justice acts as the independent judicial branch, interpreting EU law and treaties. The remaining institution, the European Court of Auditors, is an independent audit authority (due to the sensitive nature of fraud in the EU).

text:
Council of the European Union – executive and legislative
European Commission – executive, legislative and quasi-judicial
European Council – executive
European Court of Auditors – audit
Court of Justice of the European Union and the General Court – judicial
European Parliament – legislative

text: Germany[edit]

text: The three branches in German government are further divided into six main bodies enshrined in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany:

text:
Federal President (Bundespräsident) – formally executive, but mainly representative in daily politics
Federal Cabinet (Bundesregierung) – executive
Federal Diet (Bundestag) & Federal Council (Bundesrat) – bicameral legislative
Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) – presidential electoral college (consisting of the members of the Bundestag and electors from the constituent states)
Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) – judiciary

text: Besides the constitutional court the judicial branch at the federal level is made up of five supreme courts—one for civil and criminal cases (Bundesgerichtshof), and one each for administrative, tax, labour, and social security issues. There are also state (Länder / Bundesländer) based courts beneath them, and a rarely used senate of the supreme courts.

text: Hungary[edit]

text: This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2014)

text: The four independent branches of power in Hungary (the parliament, the government, the court system, and the office of the public accuser) are divided into six bodies:

text:
Parliament (Magyar Országgyűlés): elected every 4 years by the people in a highly complex, one-round voting system
Government (Magyar Kormány): installed and removed by 50%+1 basic majority vote of the parliament, 4-year terms
Supreme Court (Legfelsőbb Bíróság): Chief justice elected by qualified (2/3) majority of the parliament, no government oversight
Constitutional court (Alkotmánybíróság): members elected by qualified majority of the parliament for 8 years, this body nullifies laws and has no government oversight.
Chief public accuser (Legfőbb ügyész): elected by qualified majority of the parliament, 6-year terms, office budget fixed, no government oversight.
The President of the Republic (Köztársasági Elnök) is elected by qualified majority of the Hungarian parliament for 5-year terms (cannot be reelected more than once). The President's task is to oversee the functioning of the democracy. Most of his/her powers are ceremonial only: like signing laws into power and commanding the military in time of peace. But before signing, once he/she can also return accepted bills with advices to the Parliament for reconsideration, he/she can also request nullification in advance from the Constitutional Court. He can negotiate with civil/professional unions regarding the bills. Without the President's permission, the country can neither declare war nor deploy the armed forces.

text: The independent pillar status of the Hungarian public accuser's office is a unique construction, loosely modeled on the system Portugal introduced after the 1974 victory of the Carnation Revolution. The public accuser (attorney general) body has become the fourth column of Hungarian democracy only in recent times: after communism fell in 1989, the office was made independent by a new clausule XI. of the Constitution. The change was meant to prevent abuse of state power, especially with regards to the use of false accusations against opposition politicians, who may be excluded from elections if locked in protracted or excessively severe court cases.

text: To prevent the Hungarian accuser's office from neglecting its duties, natural human private persons can submit investigation requests, called "pótmagánvád" directly to the courts, if the accusers' office refuses to do its job. Courts will decide if the allegations have merit and order police to act in lieu of the accuser's office if warranted. In its decision No. 42/2005 the Hungarian constitutional court declared that the government does not enjoy such privilege and the state is powerless to further pursue cases if the public accuser refuses to do so.