Parliamentary system

Also called: Parliamentary democracy, Cabinet government, Parliamentary executive, Parliamentary form of government · Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 9 "From the Rulers to the Ruled: Types of Governments"; Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 1 "Constitution: Why and How?"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"

Meaning

A parliamentary system is a form of government where the real executive, meaning the Prime Minister (PM) and the Council of Ministers, comes from the legislature and stays in office only while it has the legislature's support. The head of state (a monarch or a President) is only nominal: the head of state acts on the ministers' advice. India adapted this model from Britain and uses it both in the Union and in the states. Exams test it often because India has a President but is not a presidential system. Confusing these two is one of the most common traps.

Explanation

How it works

• Two heads, not one.
• Nominal executive: this is the head of state. Every executive action is taken in this person's name, but they act on the advice of ministers. Examples are India's President and the British monarch.

• Real executive: these are the people who actually use executive power. In India, that is the PM and the Council of Ministers, who command a majority in the Lok Sabha.

• Ministers come from the legislature.

• Ministers are members of Parliament, not outsiders.

• They answer to the legislature every day, and to the people through it.

• The government lasts only while it keeps a majority.

• It has no fixed term that is safe from the legislature.

• If it loses majority support in the Lok Sabha (for example, through a no-confidence motion), it must go.

• Collective responsibility means the whole Council of Ministers rises or falls together. The PM sits at the centre of this team.

Parts of the executive in this system

Part	Who	Role	Answerable to
Political executive	The PM, Union ministers, CMs and state ministers	Overall responsibility for policy. They must face elections, usually every 5 years	The legislature, and through it the people
Permanent executive	Civil servants (IAS, IPS and other services)	Day-to-day administration, over a long career	The ministers

• The executive does more than carry out laws. It also helps make policy. In India, ministers draft most bills before they go to Parliament.
• Class 7 NCERT view: the President and Governors are also part of the political executive, but their role is "mostly formal or symbolic".
• Trap: the Constitution does not define "political executive" or "permanent executive". These are political-science terms.

Variants around the world

• A monarch as head of state: UK, Japan and Canada. Canada's head of state is the British monarch, who today is King Charles III, reigning since September 2022 (NCERT still says Queen Elizabeth II).
• An elected President as head of state: Italy, Portugal and India.
• Germany: the Chancellor is the real executive. Germany also has a President, but it is still a parliamentary system.

Limits and trade-offs

• Strength: the government is accountable every day through questions and no-confidence motions, not just at election time.
• Weakness: governments can be less stable, as India saw in the coalition years, because they depend on keeping a majority.
• The head of state can delay advice only once (see Article 74 below). They cannot override it.

In the Constitution and practice

• Article 53(1): "The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President." The President uses this power directly or through officers below him [2].
• Article 53(2): the supreme command of the Defence Forces also lies with the President. Parliament regulates its use by law [2].

• This is the formal vesting of power. It does not make the President the real executive.

• Article 74(1): the key link

• There shall be a Council of Ministers with the PM at the head to "aid and advise" the President.
• The President "shall… act in accordance with such advice" [3].

• Proviso (an added condition): the President may send the advice back once for reconsideration. After that, the President must act on it [3].

• Article 74(2): no court can ask whether any advice was given to the President, or what that advice was [3].

• Article 75(3): the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This is the core of the parliamentary system.
• States: the same model applies. The Governor acts on the aid and advice of the state's Council of Ministers headed by the CM (Article 163), except in the few areas where the Constitution allows the Governor to act alone.
• Constituent Assembly debate: this was Draft Article 61, debated on 30 December 1948 [3].
• Members suggested capping the Cabinet at 15 ministers and electing ministers by proportional representation. They also asked whether the PM should be named in the Constitution at all.

• The Drafting Committee rejected these ideas. It held that the PM is essential for collective responsibility [3].

• Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974), 7-judge bench:

• The President is the constitutional or formal head of the Union and uses his powers on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers [4].
• A Governor is likewise a formal head, bound by ministerial advice except where the Constitution allows him to act in his discretion [4].

Don't confuse with

• Presidential system (USA): an elected President is both head of state and head of government, has a fixed term and picks a cabinet from outside the legislature. In a parliamentary system, ministers come from the legislature and survive only while they keep its majority.
• Semi-presidential system (France, Fifth Republic, 1958): a powerful, directly elected President shares power with a PM responsible to parliament [5]. In India, the President is only nominal. France can have cohabitation (a President and PM from rival parties, as in 1986-88, 1993-95 and 1997-2002) [5][6]. India cannot.
• Sri Lanka's executive presidency (1978 Constitution): the directly elected President is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief, and can remove the PM and ministers [7]. In India, the President must act on the PM's advice (Art. 74) [3].
• Having a President vs a presidential system: India, Italy and Germany all have presidents, but all three run parliamentary executives.

Prelims Hooks

• Article 74(1): the President may return advice for reconsideration only once, then must act on it [3].
• Article 74(2): courts cannot inquire into what advice ministers gave the President [3].
• Shamsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974), 7 judges: the President and Governors are formal or constitutional heads who act on ministerial advice [4].
• Article 53: executive power and supreme command of the Defence Forces are formally vested in the President [2]. The real executive is still the PM and Council of Ministers.
• Trap: "political executive" and "permanent executive" are not defined in the Constitution.
• Trap: the head of state of Canada (a parliamentary system) is King Charles III (since September 2022), not Queen Elizabeth II.

Mains Points

• Accountability vs stability: India chose the parliamentary system because ministers answer to the Lok Sabha every day, through questions and no-confidence motions. The cost is weaker stability, as seen in the coalition years. The binding advice in Art. 74 [3] and Shamsher Singh (1974) [4] keep the President formal, which avoids two rival power centres.
• The presidential-system debate:
• For: supporters say a fixed term and a cabinet of outside experts bring stability and skill.

• Against: critics warn of an authoritarian President. Sri Lanka's presidential powers swung back and forth: expanded in 2010, curbed by the 19th Amendment (2015), then expanded again by the 20th Amendment (2020) [7].

• Keeping the two executives in balance: a parliamentary system works best when the civil service stays neutral and permanent and ministers stay accountable. Over-politicising the bureaucracy weakens continuity. A bureaucracy that resists ministers weakens democratic control.

Related concepts

• Presidential system
• Semi-presidential executive
• Executive presidency of Sri Lanka
• Nominal executive
• Real executive

Read more

• The executive: meaning, parts and types