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The Separation Of Powers As A Safeguard Of Nationalism, Carlos Manuel Vázquez
The Separation Of Powers As A Safeguard Of Nationalism, Carlos Manuel Vázquez
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The separation of powers does not necessarily protect the states from having their law displaced by the federal government. Sometimes it does the opposite – it operates to perpetuate the existence of federal laws displacing state law. In such circumstances, the separation of powers is an obstacle to the devolution of legislative authority to the states. Consider the requirements of bicameralism and presentment. Bradford Clark is correct to note that the procedural requirements specified in the Constitution for federal law-making were designed to give a large voice to the states. At the beginning of our history, when the only laws …