by Karl Kurtz
At a workshop for Algerian parliamentarians last week, our faculty team was emphasizing the separation of powers in the American system of government. An attorney for the Algerian Council of Nations (Senate) spoke up and said, "In Algeria, we have a complementarity of powers instead of a separation of powers." In saying this, she was recognizing the strong authority of the executive branch in Algerian government but suggesting that the parliament supplements the work of the executive and makes it more effective.
Her comment was clearly aimed at the Algerian system of government. But the more I reflected on the "complementarity of powers", the more I liked how the phrase captures much of the reality of the relationship between branches of government in our American separation of powers system. The legislative, executive and judicial branches of government often complement each other, perhaps more than they compete.
Two small examples of ways in which the legislative and executive branches of government collaborate came up in our workshop with the Algerians. Minnesota Senate counsel Peter Wattson answered a question about the effective date of new laws by saying that Minnesota has a default effective date of August 1 but that executive agencies, bill authors, committees and staff often communicate about the most appropriate effective date and negotiate a change. Gary Vanlandingham, director of Florida's OPPAGA, pointed out that legislative program reviews of executive agencies are not designed to embarrass the agencies but rather to help them strengthen their programs.



