In what universe is the judiciary not part of the government?

bunderbunder an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Government is a term with multiple senses.

In the US it’s common to only use it to describe the entire apparatus for holding, administering and enforcing state power.

But it can also be used to mean the current ruling power in a parliamentary system together with the administrative bodies under its direct control. So something more akin to just the executive branch in the US system. And then certain state agencies such as the judiciary are meant to be independent of the government under that meaning of the term. I believe this is the most common understanding of the word outside the US.

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edgyquant 43 minutes ago | parent [-]

Its a really weird use of the word government to not actually refer to the government but to the executive and saying the “courts are outside of the government” makes it seem like they aren’t a part of the state.

	▲	bunderbunder 25 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Why is it so weird that a language as widely spoken as English should have dialectical variation? Wait ‘til you find out what some of my friends mean when they say “pavement”.
	▲	flohofwoe 32 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The important point is that courts have the power to overrule unconstitutional or unlawful government decisions.

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flohofwoe an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Germany for instance? Google "Bundesverfassungsgericht". I don't think such a separated checks and balances system is all that unusual in democratic countries. A major task of a "proper" justice system is to keep the government in check.

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sholladay 29 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

It is, but in casual conversation, “government” often means the people/party currently in power (of the executive and/or legislature).

You can see this when people say “[X] is unable to form a government”. They don’t mean unable to form a judiciary.