checks and balances

a system, as in the U.S. Constitution, where power is shared between the various branches of government. The newspaper editor claimed that the system of checks and balances built into our Constitution has been subverted by party politics.

rules intended to prevent one person or group from having too much power within an organization A system of checks and balances exists to ensure that our government is truly democratic.

System whereby each branch of an organization can limit the powers of the other branches, as in The union has used a system of checks and balances to prevent any large local from dominating its policies . This system was enacted through the Constitution of the United States in order to prevent any of its three branches from dominating the Federal government. The term is occasionally transferred to other mechanisms for balancing power.