The Fixed-term Parliaments Act of 2011: a model for reform of Greek parliamentarism?

Apostolos Vlachogiannis, Ph.D. in Law – Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II

(under publication in 'European Review of Public Law').
The power of dissolution has undoubtedly evolved over the past century. Through its tactical use, it has nowadays become an important party weapon leading to a great concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister both in the UK and in Greece. The present article, by comparing the Greek and British systems, tries to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which was passed in 2011 by the British Parliament as a response to the abusive recourse to dissolution, and also explain why it is preferable to other alternatives, namely the Swedish system. Finally, the article proposes the transplant of the Act into the Greek constitutional system in order to limit the actual powers of the Prime Minister and thus devise new checks over the executive power appropriate for the new political reality of coalition governments.