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MORAL And Civic Education (MCED)
For all Departments of Freshman
Students

CHAPTER THREE

Prepared By: Bibah

Osisked
 CHAPTER THREE
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING AND MORAL
JUDGEMENT
Introduction
 One has to make decisions about which desire to satisfy and which
to give up or postpone. How to make a right or correct decision
and by what standard that one decision is right and another wrong
is always a mystery.
 One of the functions of morality is to give guidance in dealing with
these puzzles. On the other hand, there are always conflicts among
people. It is always a problem for a society to maintain order and
to prevent or solve the conflicts among people reasonably. Another
function of morality is to provide principles and rules that are
acceptable to everyone and encourage people to live together
peacefully and cooperatively. One also needs to know why one
should be moral. This chapter aims to introduce ethical decision
making process and the need to be moral.
How Can We Make Ethical Decisions And Actions ?
The ethical nature of our action and decision, however, is very
much dependent upon our notion of Good and Bad, Right and
wrong. What things are good or bad? There are things which
we consider good or desirable for their result-for what they
lead to. There are also things which we consider good not
because of what they lead to but because of what they are in
themselves. The first kind of good is called instrumental good
because the goodness of these things lies in their being
instruments towards the attainment of the other things which
are considered good not simply as instruments. The second
category of good is called intrinsic good because we value
these things not for what they lead to but for what they are.
There are things which are instrumentally and intrinsically bad.
Some things can fulfill both qualities.
Ethical Principles and Values of Moral
Judgments
The branch of philosophical study that focuses on ethics‘ is
concerned with studying and/or building up a coherent set of
rules‘ or principles by which people ought to live. Think
about a significant decision that you have made that had an
effect (either for good or bad) on the lives of other people.
This could be a decision about changing a job, moving home,
responding to a dilemma, helping somebody who was in
difficulty, etc. Examples of such underlying principles or
rules might include:
 I should do the best thing for my career in the long run.
 It is OK to tell someone a lie if it prevents someone from
being hurt by the truth.‘
 I should always help someone in difficulty.‘
 Moral intuitions and Critical Reasoning
The study of ethics involves reasoning about our
feelings. In other words, it involves making sense of
and rationalizing our intuitions about what is right‘ or
good‘. Almost all people, to a greater or lesser extent,
are capable of experiencing feelings of empathy
towards others.
Empathy provides us with a sense of what others are
feeling and may thereby allow us to identify with other
people. Empathy therefore gives us what Traer (2013)
refers to as our moral sentiments; and ethical reasoning
about these sentiments gives us our moral principles.
 Cont. …
The integration of these moral sentiments and
principles, is our conscience. Our moral
conscience, then, is based on emotions, but should
also be supported by reason.
All societies are characterized by their own
ethical ideas – expressed in terms of attitudes and
beliefs – and their own customs.
Some of those ethics are formalized in the laws
and regulations of a society, nation or state. Such
customs and laws can influence the consciences
and the moral sentiments of those living in a
society, as individuals acquire ideas and attitudes
from their families and from their wider society.
 Rationalization
Studying ethics, involves attempting to find valid
reasons for the moral arguments that we make. Most
people already have general ideas – or what
philosophers call intuitions‘ or presumptions‘ – about
what they think is right‘ or wrong‘. One common
fault with many arguments about what is right‘ or
wrong‘ – and – involves what is known as a
rationalization.
A rationalization occurs when we use what at first
glance seem to be rational or credible motives to
cover up our true motives.
 Cont. …
But a philosophical approach to ethics requires people to think
critically about the moral ideas that they hold, to support or refute
those ideas with convincing arguments, and to be able to articulate
and explain the reasons and assumptions on which those arguments
are based. In moral philosophy, an argument is not simply about our
beliefs or opinions; instead, it is about the reasons underlying those
beliefs or opinions. This means that the real value of discussing and
debating ethical questions is not to ‘win the argument‘ or to ‘score
points‘ against the other person! It is more important to provide
carefully considered arguments to support our ideas, and to allow
for rational – and deeper – understanding of the reasons underlying
our beliefs, ideas and attitudes.
Crucially, this requires careful listening to, analysis of and learning
from the arguments that others make.
 Types of Reasoning
There are three forms of critical reasoning:
 Reasoning by analogy explains one thing by comparing it
to something else that is similar, although also different. In
a good analogy, the similarity outweighs the dissimilarity
and is clarifying.
Deductive reasoning applies a principle to a situation. For
instance, if every person has human rights, and you are a
person, then you have human rights like every person.‘
 Inductive reasoning involves providing evidence to
support a hypothesis. The greater the evidence for a
hypothesis, the more we may rely on it.‘ The fact that there
is mounting evidence that the burning of fossil fuels is
having a detrimental effect on global climate.
 Cont. …
Reasoninga special kind of thinking in
is
which problems are solved.
It is an art, as well as a science.
An art because it is something we do.
A science because it is something we understand.
Therefore, we engage and practice reasoning in order to
understand and analyze arguments ethially .
Ethics and Religious Faith
 For many people, ‘morality and religious faith go hand in hand‘.
Rather than relying on rational arguments, some people view actions
as being right or wrong in terms of whether they are commanded by
a god. Some moral philosophers do not view arguments based on
religious faith as being rationally defensible. They believe that we
can determine through rational reflection what is right and wrong.
 However, faith-based arguments are relevant to moral philosophy
for several reasons. For a start, people do not always agree on what
is right or wrong. It is not therefore clear that we can determine what
is right and wrong simply through rational reflection. Additionally,
given that so many people in the world do look to religion for moral
guidance, we should not underestimate the ability of the moral
teachings of a religious tradition to persuade the public to embrace a
higher moral standard‘. Religious arguments should not be excluded
from the study of ethics.
Testing moral arguments
 There are three main ways of testing a moral argument. These are :
 (1) Factual accuracy. The 18th century philosopher David Hume
(1711—1776) argued that we should not derive an ought‘ from an is‘.
This means that we cannot say that something is wrong or right simply
based on how things are. This is reasonable, but it does not mean that
ethical discussion should be divorced from fact; the accuracy of the
factual content of a discussion is very important.
 (2) Consistency. Arguments need to be consistent. One can only argue
Consistency that it is morally wrong to kill one person and yet morally
acceptable to kill another, if one can demonstrate that there is a morally
relevant difference between the two individuals.
 (3) Good will. This one is the most difficult criterion to quantify.
While arguments may be factually correct and consistent, they also
need to exemplify good will‘. This involves resorting to our intuitions
and emotions, which are notoriously difficult to integrate with rigorous
theoretical debate.
 Thinking Ethically
A framework for Moral Decision Making
 The first step in analyzing moral issues is obvious but not always
easy:
 Get the facts. Some moral issues create controversies simply
because we do not bother to check the facts. This first step,
although obvious is also among the most important and the most
frequently overlooked. But having the facts is not enough. Facts
by themselves only tell us what is; they do not tell us what ought
to be. There are five different approaches to values to deal with
moral issues are: Fairness and Justice, the common Good, the
Utilitarian the Rights, and the Virtues.
Fairness and Justice Approach. The fairness or justice approach
to ethics has its roots in the teachings of the ancient Greek
philosopher Aristotle who said that "equals should be treated
equally and unequal‘s unequally".
 Cont. …
The Common Good Approach: This approach suggests that the
interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning
and that respect and compassion for all others especially the
vulnerable are requirements of such reasoning. This approach also
calls attention to the common conditions that are important to the
welfare of everyone. This may be a system of laws, effective police
and fire departments, health care, a public educational system, or
even public recreation areas.
The Rights Approach: What makes human beings different from
mere things is that people have dignity based on their ability to
choose freely what they will do with their lives, and they have a
fundamental moral right to have these choices respected. Many
different but related rights exist besides this basic one. The Rights
Approach identifies certain interests tests or activities that our
behavior must respect, especially those areas of our lives that are of
such value to us that they merit protection from others.
The Right to the Truth: We have a right to be told the truth and to be informed
about matters that significantly affect choices.
o The Right of Privacy: We have the right to do, believe, and say whatever we
choose in our personal lives so long as we do not violate the rights of others.
o The Right not to be injured: We have the right not to be harmed or injured
unless we freely and knowingly do something to deserve punishment or we
freely and knowingly choose to risk such injuries.
o The Right to what is agreed: We have the right to what has been promised
those with whom we have freely entered into a contract or agreement
The Rights Approach identifies certain interests tests or activities that our
behavior must respect, especially those areas of our lives that are of such value
to us that they merit protection from others. Each person has a fundamental
right to be respected and treated as free and equal rational person capable of
making his or her own decisions. This implies other rights (e.g. privacy free
consent, freedom of conscience, etc.) that must be protected if a person is to
have the freedom to direct his or her own life.
 To Whom or What Does Morality
Apply?
In discussing the application of morality, four aspects may be
considered: religious morality, morality and nature, individual
morality, and social morality.
Religious Morality
refers to a human being in relationship to a supernatural beings.
In the Jewish and Christian traditions, for example, the first three
of the Ten Commandments (See somwhr) pertain to this kind of
morality.
Morality and Nature
refers to a human being in relationship to nature. Natural morality
has been prevalent in all primitive cultures. … Some see nature as
being valuable only for the good of humanity, but many others
have come to see it as a good in itself, worthy of moral
 Cont. …
Individual Morality
refers to individuals in relation to themselves and to an individual
code of morality that may or may not be sanctioned by any society
or religion..
A person may or may not perform some particular act, not because
society, law, or religion says he may or may not, but because he
himself thinks it is right or wrong from within his own conscience.
Social Morality
concerns a human being in relation to other human beings. It is
probably the most important aspect of morality, in that it cuts
across all of the other aspects and is found in more ethical systems
than any of the others.
 Moral Judgments
Moral judgments refer to deciding what is right and what is wrong
in human relations. Individuals are continually judging their own
conduct and that of their fellows.
They approve of some acts and call them ―right‖ or ―good.
They condemn other acts and call them ―wrong‖ or evil or bad.
Moral judgments always have to do with the actions of human
beings and, in particular, with voluntary actions - those actions
freely chosen. Involuntary actions - those over which people have
no control - are rarely open to moral judgment, as a person usually
is not held responsible for an action that she or he did not initiate.
Moral judgments are evaluative because they place value on things
or relation or human actions; determine what is right or wrong, good
or bad. They are also normative because they evaluate or assess the
moral worth of something based on some norms or standards
 Chapter 4: State and Government

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 Cont. …
 The term state is interchangeably used with nation ,country , land and
government .
 Other would primarily understand the state as synonym for the government or be
careful to distinguish between territorial country and a nation of people.”
 Let us each and examine the difference among them.
Population
The first essential attribute of state is the people who are residing
with in certain area.
 No minimum number is required to constitute the population of a state, but
must certainly be great enough.
Territory
 The second most essential attribute of modern statehood is definite portion of the
earth’s surface marked off from the portion occupied by population of other
states.
 The broad term of the territory embraces not merely the land itself, but also the
air above the land, waters extending outward from its coast.
 -It also includes the lakes and mountains, the natural resources pertaining to the
land.

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 Cont. …
Government
is said to be the soul of the state. It implements the will of
the community. It protects the people against conditions of
insecurity.
A third essential attribute is the possession of agency that is
sufficient to maintain order, to perform required services and to
carryout international obligations.
Sovereignty and Independence
Sovereignty means that the state is the supreme power.
Then, the state can not have rivals with in its own territory as a
law making power and an object of allegiance.
So, the state must be the sole bearer of emporium (rule) with in its own
territories. This is referred as internal sovereignty.
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 Origin and Development of the State
 The emergence of state is linked with a certain level of development of
human society. Since that level of development, human society has
maintained an organized existence.
 In this regard, various historical, archaeological and anthropological
studies indicate the existence of organized societies since the beginning of
human history, at least in their rudimentary forms.
 Such rudimentary(basic) societies include the family, the clan, the tribe etc.
these crude forms of organizations of antiquity had several similar features
and roles with that of the states of modern times.
 From these, some scholars define the state as a historical phenomenon: it is
a product of a human association-of men and women living together in an
organized way; not of nature.
 By historical means, the human existence can be understood only as process
of social development.
 Thus there have been times when the “state” as we know it today did not
exist clan and kinship group in prehistory, semi-nomadic peoples today or
even settled tribes with a very simple form of social organization have all
constituted what we would call a society, with out possessing a state.

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 Cont. …
-It must be assumed from this that they are leaderless or lack
of the means of settling disputes, order and social can be
maintained by means other than that of a centralized
authority or government without forming the basis of
permanent organizations. .
- The origin of state, that advanced civilizations, with their
resultant political organizations in the human society, can be
traced back to the ancient eastern civilizations as far back as
5000 B.C developed particularly in the Tigris, Euphrates and
Nile valleys and later in valley of the Great Rivers of China.
-As there are many places where state emerged, there are also
many contending theories that try to explain the origins and
purposes of the state. We now turn to outline these contending
theories and briefly examine them.
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 A. The Natural or Evolutionary theory
 This theory views the state as result of settled social life.
 state gradually evolve out of earlier forms of settled human communities
such as the family, the clan etc. (this is related to the concept of the state
because of historical phenomenon.).
 It is the oldest state theory.

B. The Divine Right Theory

 -This theory claims the state to be of a divine creation.
 -In this sense, the state is seen as an institution crated by God, and rulers
were regarded as God’s own representatives on earth. .
 -The divine right theory served as a theoretical justification for the power of
the feudal emperors of Europe during the middle ages.
C. Social Contract theory
 -The social contract theory holds that the state is an artificial creation
based on the voluntary agreement of contract among people.
 developed in the revolutions in the fight against the rule of absolute
monarchs.
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 Cont. …
 This theory advocated popular sovereignty, limited government and individual
rights. The major exponents of the social contract theory were the British political
thinkers Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) & the French
thinker Jen-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).
 The state is empowered to secure law and order.

D. The force theory

 This theory associates the emergence of states to wars and conflicts that have been
endemic in the history of human beings. Accordingly, wars of conquest resulted in
the occupation of more and more territories and lead to the rise of states.
E. The Marxist Theory
 According to the Marxist theory, historically, the state originated from the split of
the society into social with sharp & polarized economic interests.
 The formation of social classes is associated with the emergence of private property.
 state in its function is a partisan political organization that stands for the interests of
the rich against the poor.
 European creation. It is traced to the European peace of Westphalia of 1648, which
ended the thirty years’ war.
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 Organs and structures of the state
Structure of the state
Forms of State
The classification about the forms of state is related with structure and
distribution of state power.
The commonly practiced forms of state are unitary, federal and confederations

1. Unitary Form of State

Unitary state (or as the wording of the political philosophy in many instances
used to call it as that of Unitarism) is a form of state that is characterized by
centralization of power and indivisible sovereignty.
The national government is legally supreme over regional or local authorities.
In unitary state, there is only one source of power though territorial units
exist.
They owe their legal existence to it. Their power is increased or diminished
or their legal existence diminished.

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 Advantage Vs Disadvantage of Unitary
Advantage Disadvantage
 It is advantageous to the country  Overburdens the national legislature with

with relatively small area and very very numerous local matters. In fast
changing world, the central authority can
homogenous population not cope up with and maintain pace with
 There is a relatively simple way of the issues prevailing.
organization  Distant authorities may lack an
 Conflict of jurisdiction is avoided adequate knowledge of local conditions
to the determination of policies and the
 Duplication of civil servants and regulation of matters, which may concern
services and comparatively rare only to those of the localities affected
 Uniformity of laws, policy and  Tends to repress the local initiatives and
that of interests in public affairs and
administration can be maintained
impairs the viability of local government
through out the whole state

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 2. Federal forms of state (Federalism)
 Federalism is simply a covenant/ agreement between the pre
existing unit (groups) and the federal government.
 Federal form of state is thus which power is formally divided
between national government and certain sub-national or local
regional governments, each of which is locally supreme in its own
sphere.
 -In federal state, the legislative authority is divided between a
central or federal power and smaller units sometimes called regions,
cantons, states, provinces.

Generally, federalism is a political union of different political units.

As compared to unitary state type, the power of the federating units
and federal government are clearly stated by their constitution
which cannot be changed without the agreement of the federating
unit & the federal government.
 Federalism is state structure in which power is divided between the
federal government and sub-territorial government (local units).
29 12/22/22
 Cont. …
Variations among federal states
-Federal systems may be created by the voluntary agreement of
independent states.
It can also be created after experiencing confederation as in Switzerland,
Germany and USA or through the influence of the mother country when a
number of separate colonies federally united as in Canada and Australia or
by the division of previously unitary states as in Brazil.
Today, Federalism is the basis of political organization of several states.
Distinctive features of federalism
Existence of dual polities- dual form of government federal
Authority ( Government ) and Federal units
Supremacy of Federal constitution
Supremacy of Federal Authority

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 Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism

Advantages
Disadvantages
 It is essential to large states
 Combines national unity and local  There is duplication of
autonomy and the right of self activities and services, which
government. In modern political theory and may result in expense. So, it
practice, federalism is normally linked withis not always very easy to deal
that of democratic institutions and the with a specific situation
protection of the individual and minority  The division of powers
groups
between the federal; units
 Maintains balance between centrifugal and
may lead to conflicts of
that of centripetal force in a given state jurisdiction between national
 Relieves the central legislature and and local officers or a sort of
authorities from the necessity of devoting “no mains land” in which
time and energy, to the solution of local neither authority takes decisive
problems. action.

31 12/22/22
 3. Confederal state:-

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 Organs of the state

33 12/22/22
 The Legislature
 -The legislature is a lawmaking organ. The parliament in
Ethiopia is referred to as the federal house.
 -There are two houses of parliament here in Ethiopia.
 -Many countries have a bicameral parliament that is their
parliaments have two chambers.
 -There are also countries with a unicameral parliament.
 -Although it is conventionally considered that the legislature
is a lawmaking organ, the functions of this organ are more
than that.
 -The legislative functions consist mainly in the enactment of
laws which may be necessary for regulating the society in
general.
34 12/22/22
 Cont. …
 With the complicated nature of politics, ideology, policy and program ,the law
making process is increasingly becoming a parliamentary test of efficiency.
 In a democratic set-up parliament or the state legislature being representative
institution of public will has to play, as such a major role in socio-economic
transformation.
 For better understanding of the functions of the legislative organ, let us see the
issue in relation to Ethiopian parliament.
 Ethiopia has a two chambered parliament, which is composed of the house of
peoples’ representatives and the house of the federation. .
Functions of the House of peoples’ Representatives
 The house of peoples’ representatives is a deliberative and a legislative body.
 Making laws is the house’s major preoccupation. Changing of circumstances
and complex socioeconomic problems constantly demand new laws and thus the
house of peoples’ representatives spends a good deal of its time on legislative
activity.
 The house of peoples’ representatives has the power of legislation in all matters
assigned by the FDRE constitution to federal jurisdiction.
 Matters assigned to the federal jurisdiction are listed down in Article 51 of the
constitution under the head of powers and functions of the federal movement.
35 12/22/22
 Cont. …
 The constitution gave broad legislative competence to the
house on federal jurisdiction and also it is empowered to enact
specific laws on a number of vital areas such as utilization of
land and other natural resources; inter-state commerce and
foreign trade; air, rail, water and sea transport, postal and
telecommunication services; nationality, immigration, passport,
exit from and entry into the country the issuance of major
codes such as labor code, commercial code and penal code are
the powers of this house.
 -The house of peoples’ representatives is also specifically
mandated to decide on the organization of national defense,
public security and national police force, as well as to declare a
state of emergency and proclaim a state of war.
 -To clearly understand the legislative and other functions of the
house of peoples’ representatives, read Article 51 and 55 of the
constitution.

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 Function of the House of Federation
 -Unlike most upper houses of the world, the house of the federation has some vital
functions. -The house of the federation is composed of representatives of nations,
nationalities and peoples.
 -Sovereignty resides in the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. Most of the
functions of the house are related to the rights of the nations, nationalities and peoples
of Ethiopia.
 -The most important function of the house of the federation is interpreting the
constitution. This practice is unusual since in most parts of the world constitutions are
interpreted either by ordinary course or by special constitutional courts.
 - In both cases the courts are staffed with few experts in law. But Ethiopia has opted
for the house of the federation as the interpreter of its constitution. -The reason is that
the constitution is the expression of the sovereignty of nations, nationalities, and
peoples.
 -Another very important power and function of the second house is related with promoting the equality of the
peoples of Ethiopia, consolidating their unity based on their mutual consent. In this line, the house shall
strive to find solutions to disputes or misunderstanding that may arise between different states.
 -This function of the house would make it the protector of the national unity of the country based on equality
and consent of the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. The house of federation is empowered to
decide on the issues relating to the rights of nations, nationalities and peoples to self determination, including
secession.

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 The executive
 In Ethiopia the federal executive consists of the prime minister, the president and the council
of ministers.
 Of the organs of the state, the biggest institution is the executive. It has so many departments
as its functions effectively, the executive is given much power.
 The executive plays vital roles in the governmental activities.
 Since the highest executive powers of the federal government are vested in the prime minister
and in the council of ministers, they are mainly responsible to perform the executive functions
of the federal government.  
 Executive functions of the prime Minster and the council of ministers are
multifarious and it may be difficult to exhaustively list down all of them.
 The government in exercise of its executive power is charged with the duty and
responsibility power may be said to be residuary, that is to say, any function not
assigned to the legislative or the judicial organ may be performed by the executive.
 A primary function of the executive is to administer laws enacted by the legislature, but
executive function is not limited only to this.
 The function of the executive is basically involves enforcing laws passed by the House of
Peoples Representatives.
 The core organ of the executive is the council of ministers. The council of ministers has the
power of to protect patent and copy rights; it shall implement socio-economic policies and
strategies; it shall provide uniform standard of measurement and calendar, it shall formulate
the countries foreign polices and exercise overall supervision over its implementation; it shall
draft laws and submit the same to the House of Peoples Representatives; it shall enact
regulation pursuant to powers vested in it by the House of Peoples Representative

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 The Judiciary
 The judiciary in all democratic countries is independent as far as its structural organization and its functions are concerned. It is
believed that the judiciary is detached from politics and hence expected to act in a neutral manner.
 That is, it is exacted to render impartial decisions, even if one of the disputing parties is the government. The judiciary in a
democratic system is the guardian and defender of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of individuals.
 The very essence of the independence of the judiciary is that, the judiciary is to be directed only by the law and should be free
any influence of the legislative or the executive branches of the state.
 The judges apply the law or rule to particular cases and in that process they have the power to expound and interpret the law.
 Judicial independence may be related with the structural independence and decisional or functional independence. With
respect to structural or organization independence, judicial power have to be vested in the courts.
 With respect to the functional independence, the judges should exercise their functions in full independence without the
intervention of any government official or any other organ. They have to be insulated from politics of any nature.
 In some federal countries, the judiciary is unified and in others it is dual. In countries with unified system of courts, the Supreme Court, the
high courts and the lower courts constitute a single judiciary having jurisdiction over all cases arising under any law whether enacted by the
federal or state legislatures.
 In such countries, there is a supreme court at federal level, which enjoys the top-most position in the judicial hierarchy of the country. The state
judiciary does not have a supreme court. The state judiciary consists of a high court and a system of subordinate courts.
 On the other hand, in other federal systems, like in our country there is a dual system of courts. -In these countries, there are
separate and parallel judicial system at a federal and states. Such countries usually follow the doctrine of judicial federalism.
 - Judicial federalism consists of two policies: namely, preserving the integrity of state law, and respecting institutional
autonomy of state judicial systems.
 -Judicial review means that the constitution is the supreme law of the land and any law inconsistent with the constitution is
void.
 -Courts exercise the power of declaring any law or administrative action which may be inconstant with the constitution as
unconstitutional and hence void.
 - In Ethiopia, the organ empowered to interpret the constitution is the house of the federation.

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 Government
 Definition of Government
 -One and major part of a state is the government. There is a major element
of confusion in the discussion of the nature and incidence of state power;
i.e. the assumption of governmental power being equivalent and state should
often appear as synonymous; for it is the government which speaks on the
states behalf.
 -So, government is the important machinery by means of which state
maintains its existence.
 -Even though, they are not the same, the concept of state and government is
not seen in isolation because if there is no government then there is no state.
Types and Systems of Government
Systems of Government
 Parliamentary system of Government
 -Parliamentary system of government is a government that is led by a party
or a coalition of parties that has the largest number of seats.
 - The parliamentary governments of different countries are not carbon
copies of the British system.
 -They have some differences and departures form the British system. The
FDRE government is a parliamentary system of government.
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 Some Important Features of a parliamentary system of Government
It is the British system that has set an example for the rest of the world as far as the parliamentary
system of government is concerned. Although some differences are expected, the following are
considered to be features of parliamentary system of government.
In a parliamentary system, the president /king/queen is the head of state and s/he is only a formal, not
an effective head of the executive. Although the president/king/ queen are the head of the state, s/he is
not the chief executive.
The prime minister is either appointed by the head of state or elected by the legislature forms the majority party
in the house.
Other ministers are nominated by the prime minister after his/her appointment or election.
In Ethiopia, the prime minister has the power to nominate even those persons who are not members of either of
the houses.
In a parliamentary system, ministers are members of the parliament.

This does not necessarily mean that all the ministers are members of the parliament in all parliamentary systems.

In some countries (e.g. United Kingdom, India) all of them are members of the parliament and in some others (e.g.
Ethiopia), some of the ministers may be not be members of the house.
Members of the government have a double role to play in the parliamentary system. They are not only ministers but
are at the same time members of the parliament.
 Another important feature of a parliamentary system is that the political party or the coalition of political; parties
that has the greatest seats in the parliament makes the government..
In a parliamentary system, the government has no fixed tenure as it may have to go out any moment if the majority
in the parliament withdraws its support.

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 Cont. …
 This could happen when the parliament (house) passes a vote of no confidence with respect to the
policies and programs of the governing party.
 When such circumvent, then the government party shall lose its power and right to lead the executive.
 In this case, the chief executive may resign or may request the president to invite political parties to
form a coalition government.
 Or the house may be dissolved and a new election will be conducted. The governing party rarely
withdraws from its power when we see the practices of many parliamentary countries. Because, in
parliamentary systems, there is a strong party discipline.
 That is members of the governing party or opposition parities have the responsibility and obligation
to support every proposal of their respective parties.
 Therefore, in parliamentary system, there shall hardly be a debate between members of same party.
 Parliamentary systems have collective or collegial executives (e.g. a council of ministers, an organ
which incorporates the prime Minster and his/her cabinet).
 -The executive in parliamentary system is responsible to the legislature. The legislature conducts
control over the executive’s functions nearly on a day-to-day basis..
 -A parliamentary government though directly responsible to the assembly (house), is only indirectly
responsible to the electorate.
 -Many parliamentary democracies possess one ultimate instrument for controlling their governments:
the vote of confidence or of no confidence.
 -In parliamentary systems, parliaments theoretically hold the power of life or death over governments.

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 Advantages and disadvantages of a parliamentary system of Government

Advantages Disadvantages
 The instability of executive in parliamentary  In a parliamentary system, the
system could be considered advantageous in government has no fixed tenure as it
that it may give the system the flexibility to may have to go out any moment if
change the government quickly when the majority in parliament
changes of circumstances or serious withdraws its support.
executive failures call for new leadership.
 -Particularly, when the legislature
 The executive-legislative relation is one of co-
fragmented into many small groups
ordination in a parliamentary government. All
(political, parties), the cabinet
or most ministers are members of parliament
and create an intimate relationship between becomes unstable as it is constantly
the two organs. exposed to the danger of
 -. Moreover, such coordination avoids the
disintegration due to disagreements
amongst the members of the
executive-legislative deadlock that is a basic
disagreement between the executive and the coalition, or constantly changing
legislature, which is a serious problem in a alignments of various parties in the
presidential system. legislature.

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 Presidential system of Government
 Some important Features of a Presidential System of Government
 There are many countries in the world with a presidential type of government
system.
 The presidential systems in different countries have certain differences. Usually,
it is the American presidential system that is taken as a model.
 Parliamentary theory implies that the assembly and government are fused in a
parliament. Presidential theory on the other hand requires the assembly to
remain separate from the government.
 In a presidential system, the president is the head of the state and the effective
head of the executive.
 -The system is known as presidential because the president is the chief
executive. He enjoys ultimate power of decision and, therefore, has complete
political responsibility for all executive actions.
 -In parliamentarianism the prime minister appoints his colleagues who together
with him from the government.
 In presidential systems the president appoints secretaries who are heads of his
executive departments up on the approval of the assembly.
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 Cont. …
 In most of the presidential systems, neither the president nor any of his ministers/secretaries
can be a member of the legislative organ.
 A member of the legislature can join the executive only after resigning his membership in the
legislature.
 In a presidential system, the executive does not depend for its survival on a majority in the
legislative organ.
 That is, the president may be member of the majority party or he may even member of the
minority party in the legislative organ.
 The president has a constitutionally guarantee and fixed tenure and his government has the
same fixed tenure.
 He cannot be removed before the expiry of his term by an adverse vote in the legislative organ.
 -The president shall remain in office until the expiry of his fixed tenure.
 -However, he may be removed from his office only by the highly unusual and exceptional
process of impeachment (Impeachment is a criminal accusation against the president when he
commits a grave crime against the country and constitutional order).
 - Presidents can be removed from office only through death, resignation, inability to discharge
the conviction on charges of treason, bribery, or other serious crimes.

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 Cont. …
 In a presidential system, the president dominates the cabinet completely as the
heads of government.
 The Ministers, Secretaries etc. hold their office entirely at his pleasure and are
accountable to him.
 They are merely the instruments through which the president’s policy is carried
out.
 The cabinet usually is not a device for sharing responsibility among a group.
 The president, in most presidential systems is free to dismiss any of his
ministers as and when he likes.
 The ministers are also neither responsible to the legislature, nor are its members,
nor do their function on the basis of collective responsibility.
 The president is not, like parliamentary government, responsible to the assembly.
Instead, he is responsible to the constitution.
 It is usually the assembly which holds the president ultimately responsible to the
constitution. This does not imply that he/she is responsible to that body in the
parliamentary sense.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of a Presidential System
Advantages Disadvantages

 The first advantage of presidential government is the fact  That is, the president’s fixed term in office breaks the
that the executive is stable, which is based on the president’s political process into discontinuous and rigidly
fixed term of office. . demarcated periods, leaving no room for the continuous
readjustments that events may demand. .
 Since the president can appoint his ministers from people
who do not belong to the legislature.  The president rarely has at his disposal the legislative
majority which is available to the prime minister to
 He has wide range of possibilities to elect people of great
enforce discipline voting along party lines.
caliber.
 The president, unlike the prime minister, cannot directly
 Party discipline in the legislature is loose in a presidential ensure that the measures which he desires will be enacted
system and members of the legislature enjoy considerable by the legislature
freedom to oppose or support.  -In a presidential system, there is a chance that the president
 Members of parliament are guided by their conscience rather may belong to minority party in the legislative organ. How
than a strict party discipline. can this take place?
 This could enable them to express their feelings with lesser  -Some people may consider the election of a president by
control of a party whip. the people in presidential systems as an advantage and even
superior to that of the prime minister’s election in a
 - Party whip is usually the feature of a parliamentary system.
parliamentary system.
Party whip is a person who ensures that members of a party
 -They may even consider that the president’s election is
shall have same political opinion in every issue.\
more democratic than that of the prime minister’s election.
 In a presidential system, since the president is the chief
 -However, the prime minister in a parliamentary system is
executive, only the president makes very important
indirectly elected by the people, since he/she is elected by an
executive decisions. This is a different approach from the
organ which is directly elected by the people. Hence, such
parliamentary system
election cannot endanger democracy.

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