EXTRAORDINARY POWERS: DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The extraordinary powers are the powers granted legislative power to the executive to address more effectively if a situation arises. These powers are in effect for the duration of the emergency.

Extraordinary powers exceed the normal powers of the executive branch. Therefore, they are granted temporarily. In this case, the president or the governor act by delegation of power from Congress, which invests them with extraordinary powers to face the emergency.

Congress Square. Argentinian republic.

However, some legal writers point out that the ruler does not act by delegation of power, but rather that it is his constitutional power.

A famous case of granting extraordinary powers to a governor was presented in Argentina in 1929. It was the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel de Rosas.

Following his appointment as governor, Rosas received extraordinary powers from the legislature. The granting of extraordinary powers to this ruler marked a milestone in Argentine constitutional law.

Definition of extraordinary powers

The extraordinary powers are attributions that the governor receives from the legislative power, whose objective is to attend more effectively an emergency or supervening situation.

The extraordinary laws that were granted to the rulers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were related to the maintenance of public order. In general, they were issued to governments to face uprisings and uprisings.

Some constitutions of Latin American countries contemplated extraordinary laws in their respective constitutions, others did not.

This was due to the fact that the extraordinary powers were already established in the powers of the president of the republic or the governors.

Constitutional function theory

This theory considers that the extraordinary powers that the ruler receives are a constitutional power that he has. But, it requires a mandate or law of the legislative power to activate.

According to this theory of constitutional law, once the president receives the mandate from the legislative power, it acquires a power equal to or, on occasions, greater than that of the Congress that granted it.

The legislative power then before the acts of government of the president, could only modify said acts or repeal them.

In the event that the president exceeds the exercise of his functions, he would not only be violating the law that granted him extraordinary powers, but actually the constitution itself, because he is acting under its authority.

When an uprising occurs, for example, the executive is authorized to declare a state of exception. While the emergency lasts, some individual guarantees may be temporarily suspended or restricted.

These are part of the extraordinary powers that the executive branch (president of the republic) receives.

They limit individual constitutional rights. Therefore, they must be exercised within a regulated and delimited legal framework, to avoid excesses in their application.

characteristics

-It is a legally established norm to attribute a power of attorney.

-The power that is granted is limited.

-The application of the standard is done directly.

-The decrees issued by the government in the exercise of extraordinary powers and the decrees of the states of exception have the rank, force and value of law.

-The law that attributes it has a specific mandate and is directed to a particular public body, different from other laws whose content is abstract.

-The granting of extraordinary powers to a ruler is a request that Congress makes to the government to collaborate in the restoration of constitutional order.

Extraordinary powers of Juan Manuel de Rosas

Already in August 1829, after the Barrancas Treaty was signed, it was obvious that the one who had political power in the province of Buenos Aires was Juan Manuel de Rosas.

His appointment as governor in December of that same year by the restored legislature was actually considered an act of mere formality.

All considered his appointment necessary, after the end of the interim government of Mariano Severo Balcarce, son-in-law of the liberator José de San Martín.

The climate of unrest and instability generated by the murder of the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Manuel Dorrego, a year earlier, still persisted.

However, what did generate a deep debate in the Chamber of Representatives was the granting of extraordinary powers. Although it was not the first time that these special powers had been granted to a ruling power.

The extraordinary powers, also called "full of powers", were granted for the first time in 1811. The Executive Triumvirate awarded them through the Provisional Statute of that same year.

In other Argentine provinces, the governors - caudillos received them from the respective boards of representatives.

Justification

The extraordinary faculties were justified by the state of agitation and uneasiness that still existed after the assassination of Dorrego.

These, plus the power he held, allowed him to govern in a discretionary and authoritarian manner. For this reason, he is considered a dictator. In this way he faced the constant crisis and political instability typical of the time.

Rosas was chosen for having the popular pulse necessary for the moment and for his qualities of a serious man, of action and work.

Its mission was to restore the laws violated by the May Revolution. He was officially christened the "Restorer of Laws."

The importance of the extraordinary powers approved to the provincial governor Juan Manuel Rosas lies in the fact that they are considered the first antecedent of the state of siege, regulated in Article 23 of the Argentine Constitution.

Restrictions

The only restrictions that were imposed on Rosas in the law that granted him extraordinary powers were:

• Preserve, defend and protect the Catholic religion
• Defend and sustain federalism as a form of government.

The governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel Rosas, ruled the province of Buenos Aires during the periods 1829-1832 and 1835-1852.

During his mandate, mandatory conscription was created for all, without distinction of class. The number of soldiers was also raised to 10,000 men.

References

1. Herrán Ocampo, V. (2001). The granting of extraordinary powers (PDF). Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá. Retrieved on February 12, 2018 from books.google.co.ve.
2. Lorenzo, CR Manual of constitutional history of Argentina. books.google.co.ve
3. Lamas, A. Historical notes on the aggressions of the Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas. Consulted of books.google.co.ve.
4. Juan Manuel de Rosas. Consulted of es.wikipedia.org
5. Biography of Juan Manuel de Rosas. Consulted of biografiasyvidas.com.