Gewaltengliederung

In this work, Christoph Möllers takes the traditional notion of separated powers and tries to modernize it by developing a legitimacy-based model for the legislative, executive and judicial functions. This model is based on the idea of autonomy as the central element for every legal order that claims legitimacy. The institutional implications of the distinction between individual and collective self-determination enable the author to develop certain criteria for the organization of legitimate lawmaking procedures. In this model, the concept of separated powers provides a solution for the perpetual conflict between individual and collective self-determination, both equally accepted by constitutional systems. These criteria can be applied comparatively to traditional problems of separated powers - delegation, constitutional jurisdiction - as well as to problems of multi-level legal systems.