A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a
president or
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
vetoes a
bill to stop it from becoming
law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
. Veto powers are also found at other levels of government, such as in state, provincial or local government, and in international bodies.
Some vetoes can be overcome, often by a
supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
vote:
in the United States, a two-thirds vote of the
House and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
can override a presidential veto.
[ Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 of the ]United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
Some vetoes, however, are absolute and cannot be overridden. For example,
in the United Nations Security Council, the permanent members (
China,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
) have an absolute veto over any Security Council
resolution.
In many cases, the veto power can only be used to prevent changes to the status quo. But some veto powers also include the ability to make or propose changes. For example, the
Indian president can use an amendatory veto to propose amendments to vetoed bills.
The executive power to veto legislation one of the main tools that the executive has in the
legislative process
A bill is proposed legislation under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature as well as, in most cases, approved by the Executive (government), executive. Once a bill has been enacted into ...
, along with the
proposal power. It is most commonly found in
presidential
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
and
semi-presidential system
A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...
s.
In
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, t ...
s, the head of state often has either a weak veto power or none at all. But while some political systems do not contain a formal veto power, all political systems contain
veto players, people or groups who can use
social and political power to prevent policy change.
The word "veto" comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
for "I forbid". The concept of a veto originated with the
Roman offices of
consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...
and
tribune of the plebs. There were two consuls every year; either consul could block military or civil action by the other. The tribunes had the power to unilaterally block any action by a
Roman magistrate or the
decrees passed by the
Roman Senate.
History
Roman veto
The institution of the veto, known to the Romans as the ''intercessio'', was adopted by the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...
in the 6th century BC to enable the tribunes to protect the mandamus interests of the
plebeians (common citizenry) from the encroachments of the
patricians, who dominated the Senate. A tribune's veto did not prevent the senate from passing a bill but meant that it was denied the force of law. The tribunes could also use the veto to prevent a bill from being brought before the plebeian assembly. The consuls also had the power of veto, as decision-making generally required the assent of both consuls. If they disagreed, either could invoke the ''intercessio'' to block the action of the other. The veto was an essential component of the Roman conception of power being wielded not only to manage state affairs but to moderate and restrict the power of the state's high officials and institutions.
A notable use of the Roman veto occurred in the
Gracchan land reform, which was initially spearheaded by the tribune
Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC. When Gracchus' fellow tribune
Marcus Octavius vetoed the reform, the Assembly voted to remove him on the theory that a tribune must represent the interests of the plebeians. Later, senators outraged by the reform murdered Gracchus and several supporters, setting off a period of internal political violence in Rome.
Liberum veto
In the constitution of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 17th and 18th centuries, all bills had to pass the ''Sejm'' or "Seimas" (parliament) by
unanimous
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
consent, and if any legislator invoked the ''
liberum veto'', this not only vetoed that bill but also all previous legislation passed during the session, and dissolved the legislative session itself. The concept originated in the idea of "Polish democracy" as any Pole of noble extraction was considered as good as any other, no matter how low or high his material condition might be. The more and more frequent use of this veto power paralyzed the power of the legislature and, combined with a string of weak figurehead kings, led ultimately to the
partitioning and the dissolution of the Polish state in the late 18th century.
Emergence of modern vetoes
The modern executive veto derives from the European institution of
royal assent, in which the monarch's consent was required for bills to become law. This in turn had evolved from earlier royal systems in which laws were simply issued by the monarch, as was the case for example in England until the reign of
Edward III in the 14th century. In England itself, the power of the monarch to deny royal assent was not used after 1708, but it was used extensively in the British colonies. The heavy use of this power was mentioned in the
U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Following the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
in 1789, the royal veto was hotly debated, and hundreds of proposals were put forward for different versions of the royal veto, as either absolute, suspensive, or nonexistent. With the adoption of the
French Constitution of 1791,
King Louis XVI lost his absolute veto and acquired the power to issue a suspensive veto that could be overridden by a majority vote in two successive sessions of the Legislative Assembly, which would take four to six years.
With the abolition of the monarchy in 1792, the question of the French royal veto became moot.
The presidential veto was conceived in by
republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the 18th and 19th centuries as a counter-majoritarian tool, limiting the power of a legislative majority. Some republican thinkers such as
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...
, however, argued for eliminating the veto power entirely as a relic of monarchy. To avoid giving the president too much power, most early presidential vetoes, such as the
veto power in the United States, were qualified vetoes that the legislature could override. But this was not always the case: the Chilean constitution of 1833, for example, gave that country's president an absolute veto.
Types
Most modern vetoes are intended as a check on the power of the government, or a
branch of government, most commonly the legislative branch. Thus, in governments with a
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typica ...
, vetoes may be classified by the branch of government that enacts them: an executive veto,
legislative veto, or
judicial veto
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudication, adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and app ...
.
Other types of veto power, however, have safeguarded other interests. The denial of
royal assent by governors in the British colonies, which continued well after the practice had ended in Britain itself, served as a check by one level of government against another. Vetoes may also be used to safeguard the interests of particular groups within a country. The veto power of the ancient Roman tribunes protected the interests of one social class (the plebeians) against another (the patricians). In the transition from
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, a "white veto" to protect the interests of
white South Africans was proposed but not adopted. More recently,
Indigenous veto
Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is aimed to establish bottom-up participation and consultation of an indigenous population prior to the beginning of development on ancestral land or using resources in an indigenous population's territory. I ...
es over industrial projects on Indigenous land have been proposed following the 2007
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which requires the "free, prior and informed consent" of Indigenous communities to development or resource extraction projects on their land. However, many governments have been reluctant to allow such a veto.
Vetoes may be classified by whether the vetoed body can override them, and if so, how. An absolute veto cannot be overridden at all. A qualified veto can be overridden by a
supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
, such as two-thirds or three-fifths. A suspensory veto, also called a suspensive veto, can be overridden by a simple majority, and thus serves only to delay the law from coming into force.
Types of executive vetoes
A package veto, also called a "block veto" or "full veto", vetoes a
legislative act
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred t ...
as a whole. A partial veto, also called a
line item veto, allows the executive to object only to some specific part of the law while allowing the rest to stand. An executive with a partial veto has a stronger negotiating position than an executive with only a package veto power.
An amendatory veto or amendatory observation returns legislation to the legislature with proposed amendments, which the legislature may either adopt or override. The effect of legislative inaction may vary: in some systems, if the legislature does nothing, the vetoed bill fails, while in others, the vetoed bill becomes law. Because the amendatory veto gives the executive a stronger role in the legislative process, it is often seen as a marker of a particularly strong veto power.
Some veto powers are limited to budgetary matters (as with line-item vetoes in some US states, or the financial veto in New Zealand). Other veto powers (such as in Finland) apply only to non-budgetary matters; some (such as in South Africa) apply only to constitutional matters. A veto power that is not limited in this way is known as a "policy veto".
One type of budgetary veto, the reduction veto, which is found in several US states, gives the executive the authority to reduce budgetary appropriations that the legislature has made. When an executive is given multiple different veto powers, the procedures for overriding them may differ. For example, in the US state of Illinois, if the legislature takes no action on a reduction veto, the reduction simply becomes law, while if the legislature takes no action on an amendatory veto, the bill dies.
A
pocket veto
A pocket veto is a legislative maneuver that allows a president or other official with veto power to exercise that power over a bill by taking no action (keeping it in their pocket), thus effectively killing the bill without affirmatively vetoing i ...
is a veto that takes effect simply by the executive or head of state taking no action. In the United States, the pocket veto can only be exercised near the end of a legislative session; if the deadline for presidential action passes ''during'' the legislative session, the bill will simply become law. The legislature cannot override a pocket veto.
Some veto powers are limited in their subject matter. A constitutional veto only allows the executive to veto bills that are
unconstitutional; in contrast, a "policy veto" can be used wherever the executive disagrees with the bill on policy grounds.
Presidents with constitutional vetoes include those of Benin and South Africa.
Legislative veto
A legislative veto is a veto power exercised by a legislative body. It may be a veto exercised by the legislature against an action of the executive branch, as in the case of the
legislative veto in the United States, which is found in 28 US states. It may also be a veto power exercised by one chamber of a
bicameral legislature against another, such as was formerly held by members of the
Senate of Fiji
The Senate of Fiji was the upper chamber of Parliament. It was abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, after a series of military coups. It was the less powerful of the two chambers; it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or veto ...
appointed by the
Great Council of Chiefs.
Veto over candidates
In certain political systems, a particular body is able to exercise a veto over candidates for an elected office. This type of veto may also be referred to by the broader term "
vetting".
Historically, certain European Catholic monarchs were able to veto candidates for the
papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, a power known as the ''jus exclusivae''. This power was used for the last time in 1903 by
Franz Joseph I of Austria.
In Iran, the
Guardian Council has the power to approve or disapprove candidates, in addition to its veto power over legislation.
In China, following a pro-democracy landslide in the
2019 Hong Kong local elections, in 2021 the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2,9 ...
approved
a law that gave the
Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, appointed by the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the power to veto candidates for the
Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Balance of powers
In presidential and semi-presidential systems, the veto is a legislative power of the presidency, because it involves the president in the process of making law. In contrast to proactive powers such as the
ability to introduce legislation, the veto is a reactive power, because the president cannot veto a bill until the legislature has passed it.
Executive veto powers are often ranked as comparatively "strong" or "weak". A veto power may be considered stronger or weaker depending on its scope, the time limits for exercising it and requirements for the vetoed body to override it. In general, the greater the majority required for an override, the stronger the veto.
Partial vetoes are less vulnerable to override than package vetoes,
and political scientists who have studied the matter have generally considered partial vetoes to give the executive greater power than package vetoes. However, empirical studies of the line-item veto in US state government have not found any consistent effect on the executive's ability to advance its agenda. Amendatory vetoes give greater power to the executive than deletional vetoes, because they give the executive the power to move policy closer to its own preferred state than would otherwise be possible. But even a suspensory package veto that can be overridden by a simple majority can be effective in stopping or modifying legislation. For example, in Estonia in 1993, president
Lennart Meri
Lennart Georg Meri (; 29 March 1929 – 14 March 2006) was an Estonian politician, writer, and film director. He served as the second president of Estonia from 1992 to 2001. Meri was among the leaders of the movement to restore Estonian independ ...
was able to successfully obtain amendments to the proposed Law on Aliens after issuing a suspensory veto of the bill and proposing amendments based on expert opinions on European law.
An amendatory veto
Worldwide
Globally, the executive veto over legislation is characteristic of
presidential
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
and
semi-presidential system
A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...
s, with stronger veto powers generally being associated with stronger presidential powers overall.
In
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, t ...
s, the veto power of the head of state is typically weak or nonexistent. In particular, in
Westminster systems and most
constitutional monarchies
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
, the power to veto legislation by withholding
royal assent is a rarely used
reserve power of the monarch. In practice, the Crown follows the convention of exercising its prerogative on the advice of parliament.
International bodies
* : The five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
have an absolute veto over Security Council resolutions, except for procedural matters.
Every permanent member has used this power at some point.
A permanent member that wants to disagree with a resolution, but not to veto it, can abstain.
The first country to use this power was the
USSR in 1946, after its amendments to a resolution regarding the withdrawal of British troops from Lebanon and Syria were rejected.
*:
* : The members of the
EU Council
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
have veto power in certain areas, such as foreign policy and the accession of a new member state, due to the requirement of unanimity in these areas. For example, Bulgaria has used this power to block
accession talks for North Macedonia, and in the 1980s, the United Kingdom (then a EU member) secured the
UK rebate by threatening to use its veto power to stall legislation. In addition, when the
Parliament and Council delegate legislative authority to the
Commission, they can provide for a
legislative veto over regulations that the Commission issues under that delegated authority.
This power was first introduced in 2006 as "regulatory procedure with scrutiny", and since 2009 as "delegated acts" under the
Lisbon Treaty.
This legislative veto power has been used sparingly: from 2006 to 2016, the Parliament issued 14 vetoes and the Council issued 15.
*:
Africa
*: The
president can return legislation to the
National Assembly for reconsideration within 15 days (or 5 days if the legislation is declared urgent). The National Assemlby can override the veto by passing the legislation once again by an
absolute majority.
If the president then vetoes the legislation a second time, the National Assembly can ask the
Constitutional Court to rule on its constitutionality. If the Court rules that the legislation is constitutional, it becomes law.
If the president neither approves nor returns legislation within the prescribed 15- or 5-day period, this operates as a veto, and the National Assembly can petition the Court to declare the law constitutional and effective.
This occurred for example in 2008, when
President Yayi did not take action on a bill that would set an end date to the "exceptional measures" by which he had kept the National Assembly in session. After pocket-vetoing the bill in this way, the president petitioned the Court for constitutional review.
The Court ruled that once the deadline for presidential action had passed, only the National Assembly could petition for review, which it did (and prevailed).
*:
*: The
president has the power to send bills back to the
Parliament for a second reading.
This power must be exercised within 15 days. On second reading the bill must be passed by an
absolute majority to become law.
*:
*: The
president has package veto and item veto powers under Article 35 of the 1986
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
.
*:
*: The
president has a weak constitutional veto. The president can return a bill to the
National Assembly if the president has reservations about the bill's constitutionality.
If the National Assembly passes the bill a second time, the president must either sign it or refer it to the
Constitutional Court of South Africa for a final decision on whether the bill is constitutional.
If there are no constitutional concerns, the president's assent to legislation is mandatory.
*:
*: The
president has package veto and item veto powers.
This power must be exercised within 30 days of receiving the legislation.
The first time the president returns a bill to the
Parliament, the Parliament can pass it again by a simple majority vote. If the president returns it a second time, the Parliament can override the veto with a 2/3 vote.
This occurred for example in the passage of the Income Tax Amendment Act 2016, which exempted legislators' allowances from taxation.
*:
*: Under the 1996 constitution, the
president had an absolute pocket veto: if he neither assented to legislation nor returned it to parliament for a potential override, it was permanently dead. This unusual power was eliminated in a general reorganization of the Constitution's legislative provisions in 2016.
*:
Americas
* : The
President of the Republic is entitled to veto, entirely or partially, any bill which passes both houses of the
National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures .
Political parties
*Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress
*Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana)
*India: Indian National Congress
*Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...
, exception made to
constitutional amendements. The partial veto can envolve the entirety of paragraphs, articles or items, not being allowed to veto isolated words or sentences. National Congress has the right to override the presidential veto if the majority of members from each of both houses agree to, that is, 257
deputies and 41
senators. If these numbers are not met, the presidential veto stands.
*:
* : The
King-in-Council
The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based so ...
(in practice the
Cabinet of the United Kingdom) may instruct the
governor general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...
to withhold the king's assent, allowing the sovereign two years to disallow the bill, thereby vetoing it. Last used in 1873, the power was effectively nullified by the
Balfour Declaration of 1926. At the province level,
lieutenant governors
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
can reserve royal assent to provincial bills for consideration by the
federal cabinet. This clause was last invoked in 1961 by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan. In addition, the Governor General in Council (federal cabinet) may disallow an enactment of a provincial legislature within one year of its passage.
*:
*: The
president has only a package veto (''observación a la ley''), which must be exercised within 10 days after the legislation is passed.
The veto must include a rationale.
If both chambers of the
Congress of the Dominican Republic
The Congress of the Dominican Republic ( es, Congreso de la República Dominicana) is the bicameral legislature of the government of the Dominican Republic, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Both senators and deput ...
vote to override the veto, the bill becomes law.
*:
*: The
president has powers of package veto and amendatory veto (''veto parcial''). The president must issue a veto within 10 days after the bill is passed. The
National Assembly can override an amendatory veto by a 2/3 majority of all members, but if it does not do so within 30 days of the veto, the legislation becomes law with the president's amendments. The National Assembly overrides approximately 20% of amendatory vetoes. The legislature must wait for a year before overriding a package veto.
*:
*: The
president has both package veto and amendatory veto powers, which must be exercised within eight days of the legislation being passed by the
Legislative Assembly. If the Legislative Assembly does not vote on an amendatory veto, the legislation fails. The Legislative Assembly can either accept or override an amendatory veto by a simple majority. Overriding a block veto requires a 2/3 supermajority.
*:
*: The
president has both package veto and amendatory veto powers, which must be exercised within ten days of the legislation being passed by the
Congress of the Union. Congress may override either type of veto by a 2/3 majority of voting members in each chamber. However, in the case of an amendatory veto, Congress must first consider whether to accept the proposed amendments, which it may do by a simple majority of both chambers.
*:
* : At the federal level, the
president may veto bills passed by Congress, and Congress may override the veto by a 2/3 vote of each chamber. A
line-item veto was briefly enacted in the 1990s, but was declared an unconstitutional violation of the
separation of powers
Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typica ...
by the Supreme Court. At the state level, all 50 state governors have a full veto, similar to the presidential veto.
Many state governors also have additional kinds of vetoes, such as amendatory, line-item, and reduction vetoes.
Gubernatorial veto powers vary in strength. The president and some state governors have a "
pocket veto
A pocket veto is a legislative maneuver that allows a president or other official with veto power to exercise that power over a bill by taking no action (keeping it in their pocket), thus effectively killing the bill without affirmatively vetoing i ...
", in that they can delay signing a bill until after the legislature has adjourned, which effectively kills the bill without a formal veto and without the possibility of an override.
*:
Asia
* : Under the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
, the
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2,9 ...
can nullify regulations enacted by the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative autho ...
. The State Council and
president do not have a veto power.
*:
*: The
president can return a bill to the
parliament with proposed amendments within two weeks of receiving the bill.
Parliament must first vote on the proposed amendments, which can be adopted by the same majority as for the original legislation (for ordinary legislation, a simple majority vote).
If Parliament does not adopt the amendments, it can override the veto by passing the original bill by an
absolute majority.
Before the constitutional reforms of the 2010s, the president had both a package veto and an amendatory veto, which could be overridden only with a 3/5 majority.
*:
* : The
president has three veto powers: absolute, suspension and pocket. The president can send the bill back to parliament for changes, which constitutes a limited veto that can be overridden by a simple majority. But the bill reconsidered by the parliament becomes a law with or without the president's assent after 14 days. The president can also take no action indefinitely on a bill, sometimes referred to as a pocket veto. The president can refuse to assent, which constitutes an absolute veto.
*:
*: Express presidential veto powers were removed from the Constitution in the 2002 democratization reforms. The
president can however enact a "regulation in lieu of law" (''Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang'' or ''perppu''), which temporarily blocks a law from taking effect.
The
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
(DPR) can revoke such a regulation in its next session.
In addition, the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
requires that legislation be jointly approved by the president and the DPR. The president thus can effectively block a bill by withholding approval.
Whether these presidential powers constitute a "veto" has been disputed, including by former Constitutional Court justice
Patrialis Akbar
Patrialis Akbar (born 31 October 1958) is an advocate and politician who was member of the Constitutional Court Justice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court for the period 2013-2017 from Padang, West Sumatra. He has a complete career in three br ...
.
*:
* : The
Guardian Council has the authority to veto bills passed by the
Islamic Consultative Assembly.
This veto power can be based on the legislation being contrary to the constitution or contrary to Islamic law. A constitutional veto requires a majority of the Guardian Council's members, while a veto based on Islamic law requires a majority of its
fuqaha members. The Guardian Council also has veto power over candidates for various elected offices.
*:
*: There is no veto at the national level, as Japan has a
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance
Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, t ...
and the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
does not give the
emperor authority to refuse to promulgate a law. Under the
Local Autonomy Act of 1947, however, the executive of a prefectural or municipal government can veto local legislation. If the executive believes the legislation is unlawful, the executive is required to veto it. The local assembly can override this veto by a 2/3 vote.
*:
* : The
president can return a bill to the
National Assembly for "reconsideration" (재의). Partial and amendatory vetoes are expressly forbidden. The National Assembly can override the veto by a 2/3 majority of the members present. Such overrides are rare: when the National Assembly overrode president
Roh Moo-hyun's veto of a corruption investigation in 2003, it was the first override in 49 years.
*:
*: The
president may refuse to sign a bill, sending the bill back to the house where it originated along with his objections.
Congress can override the veto via a 2/3 vote with both houses voting separately, after which the bill becomes law.
The president may also exercise a
line-item veto on
money bills.
The president does not have a pocket veto: once the bill has been received by the president, the chief executive has thirty days to veto the bill. Once the thirty-day period expires, the bill becomes law as if the president had signed it.
*:
*: The
president has a package veto and an amendatory veto. The Legislative Chamber of the
Oliy Majlis can override either type of veto by a 2/3 vote. In the case of a package veto, if the veto is not overridden, the bill fails. In the case of an amendatory veto, if the veto is not overridden, the bill becomes law as amended. The Senate of the Oliy Majlis has a veto over legislation passed by the Legislative Chamber, which the Legislative Chamber can likewise override by a 2/3 vote.
*:
Europe
European countries in which the executive or head of state does not have a veto power include
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...
, where the power to withhold royal assent was
abolished in 2008. Countries that have some form of veto power include the following:
*: The
president may effectively veto a law adopted by the
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu (; from Estonian language, Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minis ...
(legislature) by sending it back for reconsideration. The president must exercise this power within 14 days of receiving the law.
The Riigikogu, in turn, may override this veto by passing the unamended law again by a simple majority.
After such an override (but only then), the president may ask the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
to declare the law unconstitutional.
If the Supreme Court rules that the law does not violate the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
, the president must promulgate the law.
From 1992 to 2010, the president exercised the veto on 1.6% of bills (59 in all), and applied for constitutional review of 11 bills (0.4% in all).
*:
*: The
president has a suspensive veto, but can only delay the enactment of legislation by three months. The president has had a veto power of some kind since
Finnish independence in 1919, but this power was greatly curtailed by the constitutional reforms of 2000.
*:
*: The
president has a suspensive veto: the president can require the
National Assembly to reopen debate on a bill that it has passed, within 15 days of being presented with the bill. Aside from that, the president can only refer bills to the
Constitutional Council, a power shared with the prime minister and the presidents of both houses of the National Assembly. Upon receiving such a referral, the Constitutional Council can strike down a bill before it has been promulgated as law, which has been interpreted as a form of constitutional veto.
*:
*: The
president has two options to veto a bill: submit it to the
Constitutional Court if he suspects that it violates the constitution or send it back to the
National Assembly and ask for a second debate and vote on the bill. If the court rules that the bill is constitutional, the president must sign it. Likewise, if the president has returned the bill to the National Assembly and it is passed a second time by a simple majority, it becomes law.
*:
*: The
president may refuse to sign a bill, which is then put to
referendum. This right was not exercised until 2004, by President
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who also refused to sign two other bills related to the
Icesave dispute.
Two of these vetoes resulted in referendums.
*:
*: The
president may refuse to grant assent to a bill that they consider to be unconstitutional, after consulting the
Council of State; in this case, the bill is referred to the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, which finally determines the matter.
From 1990 to 2012, this power was used an average of once every three years. The president may also, on request of a majority of
Seanad Éireann (the upper house of parliament) and a third of
Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament), after consulting the Council of State, decline to sign a bill "of such national importance that the will of the people thereon ought to be ascertained" in an
ordinary referendum
An ordinary referendum in Ireland is a referendum on a bill other than a bill to amend the Constitution. The Constitution prescribes the process in Articles 27 ("Reference of Bills to the People") and 47 ("The Referendum"). Whereas a ''constit ...
or a new Dáil reassembling after a general election held within eighteen months. This latter power has never been used because the government of the day almost always commands a majority of the Seanad, preventing the third of the Dáil that usually makes up the opposition from combining with it.
*:
*: The
president may request a second deliberation of a bill passed by the
Italian Parliament
The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitio ...
before it is promulgated. This is a very weak form of veto as the parliament can override the veto by an ordinary majority. While such a limited veto cannot thwart the will of a determined parliamentary majority, it may have a delaying effect and may cause the parliamentary majority to reconsider the matter. The president also has the power to veto appointments of ministers in the
government of Italy, as for example president
Sergio Mattarella did in vetoing the appointment of
Paolo Savona as finance minister in 2018.
*:
*: The
president may suspend a bill for a period of two months, during which it may be referred to the people in a referendum if one-tenth of the electorate requests a referendum. The president may also return a document to the
Saeima
The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...
for reconsideration, but only once. Notably, in 1999, president
Vaira Vike-Freiberga
Vaira is a feminine Latvian given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Vaira Paegle (born 1942), Latvian politician
*Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (born 1937), sixth President of Latvia
The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezident ...
returned the Latvian State Language Law to the Saeima, even though the law had passed by an overwhelming majority the first time; the president used the suspensory veto to point out legal problems with the law, which resulted in amendments to bring it into line with European legal standards.
*:
*: The
president may either submit a bill to the
Constitutional Tribunal if they suspect that the bill is unconstitutional or send it back to the
Sejm for reconsideration.
These two options are exclusive: the president must choose one or the other.
If president has referred a law to the Constitutional Tribunal and the tribunal says that the bill is constitutional, the president must sign it. If the president instead returns the bill to the Sejm in a standard package veto, the Sejm can override the bill by a 3/5 majority.
*:
*: The
president may refuse to sign a bill or refer it, or parts of it, to the
Constitutional Court.
If the bill is declared unconstitutional, the president is required to veto it, but the
Assembly of the Republic can override this veto by a 2/3 majority. If the president vetoes a bill that has not been declared unconstitutional, the
Assembly of the Republic may pass it a second time, in which case it becomes law. However, in Portugal presidential vetoes typically result in some change to the legislation. The president also has an absolute veto over
decree-laws issued by the
government of Portugal. In an
autonomous region such as the
Azores, the
Representative of the Republic
Representative may refer to:
Politics
*Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
*House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
*Legislator, someon ...
has the power to veto legislation, which the regional assembly can override by an absolute majority, and also holds the same constitutional veto power that the president has nationally.
*:
*: The
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
states that "Within two months after receiving the text, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
may, by a message stating the reasons for it, adopt a veto or approve amendments thereto. The veto must be adopted by overall majority". A Senate veto can be overridden by an
absolute majority vote of the
Congress of Deputies. In addition, the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
can block a bill before passage if it entails government spending or loss of revenue. This prerogative is commonly called ("budget veto").
*:
* : The
president may refuse to sign a bill and return it to the
Verkhovna Rada with proposed amendments. The Verkhovna Rada may override a veto by a 2/3 majority. If the veto is not overridden, the President's amendments are subjected to an up-or-down vote; if they attract at least 50% support from the legislators, the bill is adopted with the amendments; if not, the bill fails.
*:
* : The
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
has two methods of vetoing a bill. Any bill that has been passed by both the
House of Commons and the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...
becomes law only when formally approved by the monarch (or their official representative), in a procedure known as royal assent. Legally, the monarch can withhold that consent, thereby vetoing the bill. This power was last exercised in 1708 by
Queen Anne to block the
Scottish Militia Bill 1708
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
. The monarch has additional veto powers over bills which affect the
royal prerogative, such as the war prerogative, or the monarch's personal affairs (such as royal incomes or hereditary property). Those bills require
king's consent before they may even be debated by Parliament, as well as royal assent if they are passed. Queen's consent is not obsolete and is occasionally withheld, though now only on the advice of the
cabinet. An example was the
Military Action Against Iraq (Parliamentary Approval) Bill in 1999, which received a
first reading under the
Ten Minute Rule
The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the introduction of Private Member's Bills in addition to the 20 per session normally permissible. It is one of the ways in whi ...
, but was denied queen's consent for a
second reading.
*:
Oceania
* : According to the
Australian Constitution (sec. 59), the
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
may veto a bill that has been given royal assent by the
governor-general within one year of the legislation being assented to.
This power has never been used. The Australian governor-general himself or herself has, in theory, the power to veto, or more technically, withhold assent to, a bill passed by both houses of the
Australian Parliament, and contrary to the advice of the prime minister.
However, in matters of assent to legislation, the governor-general is advised by parliament, not by the government. Consequently, when a minority parliament passes a bill against the wishes of the government, the government could resign, but cannot advise a veto.
Since 1986, the individual states of Australia are fully independent entities. Thus, the Crown may not veto (nor the UK Parliament overturn) any act of a state governor or state legislature. State constitutions determine what role the state's governor plays. In general, the governor exercises the powers the sovereign would have; in all states except the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
, the governor's assent is required for a bill to become law.
*:
*: The
President can disapprove legislation passed by the
Congress.
The veto must be exercised within 10 days, or 30 days if the Congress is not in session.
The Congress can override the veto by a 3/4 vote of the four state delegations, with each state delegation casting one vote.
*:
*: Under the 2013
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
, the
President has no authority to veto legislation that has been passed by the
Parliament. Under the previous bicameral constitutions, the appointed
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
had veto powers over legislation passed by the elected lower house.
*:
*: Under the Standing Orders of the
House of Representatives, the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
has a
financial veto, under which it can block bills, amendments and motions that would have more than a minor impact on the Government's fiscal aggregates. Bills can be subjected to a financial veto only on third reading, when they have been finalized, but before they have been passed.
The financial veto system was introduced in 1996.
*:
*: The
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
empowers the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...
to withhold royal assent from bills adopted by the
Legislative Assembly. In November 2011, the assembly adopted a bill that reduced the possible criminal sentences for the illicit possession of firearms, an offence for which two members of the assembly had recently been charged. Members of the opposition denounced the bill and asked the King to veto it, and he did so in December 2011.
*:
Veto theories
In political science, the broader
power of people and groups to prevent change is sometimes analyzed through the frameworks of
veto points and
veto players. Veto players are actors who can potentially exercise some sort of veto over a change in government
policy. Veto points are the institutional opportunities that give these actors the ability to veto. The theory of veto points was first developed by
Ellen M. Immergut in 1990, in a comparative case study of healthcare reform in different political systems. Breaking with earlier scholarship, Immergut argued that "we have veto ''points'' within political systems and not veto ''groups'' within societies."
Veto player analysis draws on
game theory.
George Tsebelis first developed it in 1995 and set it forth in detail in 2002 ''
Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work''. A veto player is a political actor who has the ability to stop a change from the status quo. There are institutional veto players, whose consent is required by constitution or statute; for example, in US federal legislation, the veto players are the House, Senate and presidency. There are also partisan veto players, which are groups that can block policy change from inside an institutional veto player. In a
coalition government the partisan veto players are typically the members of the governing coalition.
According to Tsebelis' veto player theorem, policy change becomes harder the more veto players there are, the greater the ideological distance between them, and the greater their internal coherence. For example, Italy and the United States have stable policies because they have many veto players, while Greece and the United Kingdom have unstable policies because they have few veto players.
While the veto player and veto point approaches complement one another, the veto players framework has become dominant in the study of policy change. Scholarship on
rational choice theory
Rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to political economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. The theory postula ...
has favored the veto player approach because the veto point framework does not address ''why'' political actors decide to use a veto point. In addition, because veto player analysis can apply to any political system, it provides a way of comparing very different political systems, such as presidential and parliamentary systems. Veto player analyses can also incorporate people and groups that have ''de facto'' power to prevent policy change, even if they do not have the legal power to do so.
See also
*
Royal assent
*
Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, allowing a temporary legislative override of court decisions
*
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Constitutions cited
*Benin:
**
* Cameroon:
**
* Canada:
* Dominican Republic:
**
* Estonia:
*France:
* Georgia:
* Hungary:
* Indonesia:
* Iran:
* Japan:
**
* Korea, South:
**
* Latvia:
* Micronesia, Federated States of:
* Philippines:
* Poland:
* Portugal:
* South Africa:
* Spain:
**
* Tonga:
* Uganda:
* United States:
* Uzbekistan:
* Zambia:
References
{{Authority control
Latin legal terminology
Latin words and phrases