Separation of powers: how the split protects freedom

Montesquieu thought it, Germany perfected it: LEGISLATIVE (Bundestag + Bundesrat write laws), EXECUTIVE (Bundesregierung + ministries execute), JUDICIAL (judges interpret and protect). Checks: courts strike laws against GG. Bundestag removes the chancellor via no-confidence vote (2024 — Scholz). Free press = “fourth power”, unofficial but real.

• ●Judges are independent: cannot be fired for inconvenient rulings
• ●Bundesrat blocks: no federal laws without the states
• ●Press is free: critical reporting protected by Art. 5