Forms Of Government

There are many different forms of government in our present day history. Two examples are democracy and constitutional monarchy. In a democratic government the supreme power is held by the people and used by them directly or indirectly through representation. A constitutional monarchy is a monarchy that shares governmental power with elected legislators or serve manly as a ceremonial leader of their government.

On March 4, 1789 the U.S. constitution had come into effect (CIA). Which is the bases of what we now know as the United States government. The United States of America (U.S.) is an example of a democratic government. It is broken up into different levels of government and has three different branches so that one would not be more powerful than the other. The three branches are executive, legislative, and judicial.

Executive branch consists of the President which is both the chief of state and head of government, Presidents cabinet which would be approved by the Senate, and the Vice President. Legislative branch consists of the Senate. Here the people rule through representatives, whom they have selected. Two representatives are elected by the people in each state, making a 100 seats in the Senate. In the Judicial branch different levels of courts exist. At the top of the Judicial branch is the Supreme Court members of this court are appointed for life by the President with confirmation by the Senate. Followed by United States Courts of Appeal, United States District Courts, State and County Courts (CIA) Each division functions differently according to the type of case presented.

Jordan is an example of a constitutional monarchy. The country is officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The capital, Amman, is located in the northwestern sector of the country. Jordan gained its independence from a League of Nations mandate on May 25,1946, and ratified its constitution in 1952(Hashemite). Its legal system is based on a combination of Islamic law and French codes. Since Jordan is a constitutional monarchy it has no elections, both the prime minister and cabinet are appointed to office. The nation is divided into 12 administrative divisions called governorates. King Abdallah assumed the throne of this small Arab country in 1999, but he is not the sole law maker of the land. Like the U.S. Jordan has different branches; the Executive branch, Legislative branch, and Judicial branch.

The Executive branch includes the Hashemite Monarchy which consists: of the chief of state; King Abdallah II. The King is head of state and is exempt from all liability and responsibility. He approves laws, directs the government to declare and enforce laws and regulations, exercises judicial authority by Royal Decree, orders parliamentary elections, and inaugurates, adjourns, suspends and dissolves the lower house under the constitution. The King appoints the prime minister, and the cabinet ministers upon the prime minister's recommendation.