Considered as to their respective dignity, the three powers may be
thus described. The will of the sovereign legislator, in respect of
what constitutes the external mine and thine, is to be regarded as
irreprehensible; the executive function of the supreme ruler is to
be regarded as irresistible; and the judicial sentence of the
supreme judge is to be regarded as irreversible, being beyond appeal.
49. Distinct Functions of the Three Powers.
Autonomy of the State
1. The executive power belongs to the governor or regent of the
state, whether it assumes the form of a moral or individual person, as
the king or prince (rex, princeps). This executive authority, as the
supreme agent of the state, appoints the magistrates, and prescribes
the rules to the people, in accordance with which individuals may
acquire anything or maintain what is their own conformably to the law,
each case being brought under its application. Regarded as a moral
person, this executive authority constitutes the government. The
orders issued by the government to the people and the magistrates,
as well as to the higher ministerial administrators of the state
(gubernatio), are rescripts or decrees, and not laws; for they
terminate in the decision of particular cases, and are given forth
as unchangeable.
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