Sistemul Westminster

Elemente importante ale Sistemului Westminster cuprind următoarele aspecte:

• o entitate suverană ori un șef de stat;
• un șef de guvern (ori un șef executiv);
• o ramură executivă de facto a guvernului

Modul de operare al funcțiilor executive în cadrul Westminster System este complex. În esență, șeful statului, de cele mai multe ori un monarh sau un președinte, este o persoană ceremonială, care este teoretic, nominal sau de jure sursa puterii executive a sistemului. În realitate, această învestitură nu conferă puteri executive reale, chiar dacă autoritatea executivă este exercitată în numele său.

Șeful statului sau reprezentatul său special (guvernator general, conform governor-general) invită formal șeful guvernului ca să formeze guvernul (de asemenea numit administrație). În Regatul Unit, această invitație formală este cunoscută sub idiomul "sărutarea mâinilor" (în original, kissing hands). Although the dissolution of the legislature and the call for new elections is formally performed by the head of state, by convention the head of state acts according to the wishes of the head of government.

A president, monarch, or governor-general might possess clearly significant reserve powers. Examples of the use of such powers include the Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 and the Canadian King-Byng Affair in 1926. Either action is likely to bend or break existing conventions. The Lascelles Principles were an attempt to create a convention to cover similar situations, but have not been tested in practice. Because of differences in their written constitutions, the formal powers of monarchs, governors-general, and presidents vary greatly from one country to another. However, as sovereigns and governors-general are not elected, they are often shielded from any public disapproval stemming from unilateral or controversial use of their powers.

In The English Constitution, Walter Bagehot emphasised the divide of the constitution into two components, the Dignified (that part which is symbolic) and the Efficient (the way things actually work and get done), and called the Efficient "Cabinet Government".^[1] Although there have been many works since emphasising different aspects of the "Efficient", no one has seriously questioned Bagehot's premise that the divide exists in the Westminster system.

Countries that use variations on the theme of the Westminster system include the following:

Țară	Parlament	Sistem de guvernare
Antigua and Barbuda	Parlament: Senate House of Representatives	Monarhie
Australia	Parliament: Senate House of Representatives	Monarhie
The Bahamas	Parliament: Senate House of Assembly	Monarchy
Bermuda	Parliament: Senate of Bermuda House of Assembly	Monarchy
Bangladesh	Jatiyo Sangshad	Republic
Barbados	Parliament: Senate House of Assembly	Monarchy
Belize	National Assembly: Senate House of Assembly	Monarchy
Canada	Parliament of Canada: Senate House of Commons	Monarchy
Dominica	House of Assembly	Republic
Grenada	Parliament: Senate House of Representatives	Monarchy
India	Parliament: Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha	Republic
Iraq	Council of Representatives	Republic
Ireland	Oireachtas: Seanad Éireann Dáil Éireann	Republic
Israel	Knesset	Republic
Jamaica	Parliament: Senate House of Representatives	Monarchy
Malaysia	Parliament: Dewan Negara Dewan Rakyat	Monarchy
Malta	Parliament	Republic
Mauritius	National Assembly	Republic
Nauru	Parliament	Republic
New Zealand	Parliament	Monarchy
Pakistan	Parliament: Senate National Assembly	Republic
Papua New Guinea	Parliament	Monarchy
Saint Kitts and Nevis	National Assembly	Monarchy
Saint Lucia	Parliament: Senate House of Assembly	Monarchy
Singapore	Parliament	Republic
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	House of Assembly	Monarchy
Solomon Islands	Parliament of the Solomon Islands	Monarchy
Swaziland	Parliament: Senate House of Assembly	Monarchy
Trinidad and Tobago	Parliament: Senate House of Representatives	Republic
Tuvalu	Parliament	Republic
United Kingdom	Parliament: House of Lords House of Commons	Monarchy
Vanuatu	Parliament	Republic

• The Union of South Africa between 1910 and 1961, and the Republic of South Africa between 1961 and 1984. The 1983 constitution abolished the Westminster system in South Africa.
• Newfoundland between 1907 and 1934 when Newfoundland gave up self-government and reverted to direct rule from London.
• Rhodesia between 1965 and 1979, and Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1987. The 1987 constitution abolished the Westminster system.
• Nigeria following the end of British colonial rule in 1960, which resulted in the appointment of a Governor-General and then a President, Nnamdi Azikiwe. The system ended with the military coup of 1966.
• Ceylon between 1948 and 1972, and Sri Lanka from 1972 until 1978 when the constitution was remodelled into an Executive presidential system.
• Burma following independence in 1948 until the 1962 military coup d'état.
• Ghana between 1957 and 1960.
• Tanganyika between 1961 and 1962.
• Sierra Leone between 1961 and 1971.
• Uganda between 1962 and 1963
• Kenya between 1963 and 1964.
• Malawi between 1964 and 1966.
• The Gambia between 1965 and 1970.
• Guyana between 1966 and 1980.
• Fiji between 1970 and 1987.
• Nepal after Constituent Assembly Elections in 10 April 2008

• EarthGov, guvernul Alianței Pământului din Babylon 5

• Bill of Rights 1689
• Glorious Revolution
• Petition of Right
• Istoria parlamentarismului
• Magna Carta
• Parlamentul Angliei
• Războiul civil englez
• Sistem parlamentar
• Sistem prezidențial

• The English Constitution, Walter Bagehot, 1876. ISBN 0-521-46535-4, ISBN 0-521-46942-2.
• British Cabinet Government, Simon James, Pub Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-17977-7.
• Prime Minister & Cabinet Government, Neil MacNaughton, 1999. ISBN 0-340-74759-5.

• The Twilight of Westminster? Electoral Reform & its Consequences, Pippa Norris, 2000.