The first constitutional documents covering the principle of separation of powers in the historical process

Bilal, Tunç and Semih, Akbaş and Gürkan, Gündüz and Resul, Narin (2026) The first constitutional documents covering the principle of separation of powers in the historical process. DUNAKAVICS, 14 (1). pp. 43-61. ISSN 2064-5007

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Abstract

This study aimed the historical emergence and constitutionali­zation of the principle of separation of powers through an analysis of the earliest constitutional documents in which this principle was explicitly or implicitly articulated. Focusing on key milestones in constitutional history, the article first evaluated the English experience through the 1689 Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement, which limited monarchical authority and laid the groundwork for legislative supremacy and judicial independ­ence. It then analyzed the American constitutional tradition, beginning with the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Constitution of Virginia, and culminating in the 1787 Constitution of the United States, where the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers was institutionalized within a strict system of checks and balances. The study further explored the continental European dimension by examining the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the 1791 French Constitution, which explicitly defined the separation of powers as a prerequisite for con­stitutional existence. In addition, the 1791 Constitution of the Polish–Lithu­anian Commonwealth was assessed as one of the earliest modern European constitutions embodying this principle. Finally, the 1814 Netherlands Con­stitution wass analyzed as an early constitutional monarchy that contributed to the diffusion of separation of powers in Europe. The article demonstrated that the separation of powers evolved through diverse political contexts into a foundational principle of modern constitutionalism. This study was pre­pared by benefiting several papers protected by copyrights using a qualita­tive research method using document analysis technique.

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