Unitary System

Meaning, Definition and Characteristics

Aashutosh Aahire/HNLU 1
Unitary State
• Unitary State is that state in which all the powers are vested with one central
government and the local governments exist and operate only in a way as is
desired by the central government.
• It involves the creation of a single integrated system of government vested with
all the powers which it can exercise by itself or through the delegation of some
of these powers to the local governments.
• The local governments work as administrative units of the central government.
• Their powers and role depend upon the wishes of the central government.
• The Centre Government has the power to change, territorial or other features
of the system of local governments.
• Britain, France, Japan, Italy, China and several other countries are unitary
states.

Aashutosh Aahire/HNLU 2
• Since a unitary state is characterised by a single central government, it is
popularly conceptualized as a unitary government.
• On the basis of these definitions, we can define a Unitary state as the one in
which “all powers are possessed by a single central government which creates
and delegates some of its powers to the local governments working in local
areas or provinces of the state.”
• The majority of states in the world have a unitary system of government.
• Of the 193 UN member states, 166 are governed as unitary states.

Aashutosh Aahire/HNLU 3
• A state in which there is no constitutional division of sovereignty, so that all
powers derive from central authority. Sub-national governments, regional or
local, may exist, but they do so only at the behest of the Centre.
• National government can in theory abolish lower levels. Unitary systems normally
exist in relatively homogeneous countries which lack significant ethnic, geographical,
linguistic or religious distinctions.
• Most countries are unitary, examples being ChinaFrance, Israel and the United
Kingdom (UK).
• Countries such as France and the UK are sometimes classified as ‘devolving unitary’
[Link] is some elected regional machinery with a degree of – but not
necessarily uniform – autonomy.
• In the UK, power has been devolved to Scotland, Wales and – when the system is up
and running – Northern Ireland; a system of local government exists too.
• But devolved and local power can be revoked. They operate at the behest of
Westminster, to which they are entirely subordinate.
Aashutosh Aahire/HNLU 4
United Kingdom

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• Devolution: devolution involves the transfer of significant duties and powers from a
higher authority to a lower one – for example, from a central government to subordinate
regional forms. The transfer stops short of any cession of sovereignty, so that powers
devolved can always be taken back by the higher authority. Devolution usually comes about
as a result of dissatisfaction with centralised government when ministers appear to be
unwilling to recognise local needs.
• Since coming to power in 1997, Labour has devolved power on a substantial scale and
several new institutions have been created, notably the Scottish Parliament and the
Welsh National Assembly.
• The changes amount to a fundamental restructuring of the United Kingdom, leading
some to view them as steps along the road to the creation of a federal state.
• But devolution is distinct from federalism,in which sovereignty is shared between a
central or federal government and the provincial governments, their respective powers
being defined by a written constitution. Devolution does not require the introduction of any
such document and there is no sharing of sovereignty.

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• Devolution differs from federalism in that the devolved powers of the
subnational authority ultimately reside in central government, thus the state
remains, de-jure, a unitary state. Legislation cirtain
devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed or amended by central
government in the same way as any statute.
• Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own government or
executive, led by a First Minister (or, in the case of Northern Ireland,
a diarchal First Minister and deputy First Minister), and
a devolved unicameral legislature.
• England, the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved
executive or legislature and is administered and legislated for directly by the
UK's government and parliament on all issues.

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China

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Administrative Divisions of China
Central government

Special administrative Provinces (22)

Prefecture level

County level

Town Level

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• The President is the titular head of state, elected by the National People's Congress.
The Premier is the head of government, presiding over the State Council composed of four
vice premiers and the heads of ministries and commissions. The incumbent president is Xi
Jinping, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and
the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China's paramount leader.
The incumbent premier is Li Keqiang, who is also a senior member of the CPC Politburo
Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body.
• There have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections
are now held at the village and town levels. However, the party retains effective control over
government appointments: in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by
default most of the time
• The People's Republic of China is divided into 22 provinces, five autonomous regions (each
with a designated minority group), and four municipalities—collectively referred to as
"mainland China"—as well as the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong
Kong and Macau.]
• China considersTaiwan to be its 23rd province, although Taiwan is governed by the Republic
of China (ROC), which rejects the PRC's claim. Conversely, the ROC claims sovereignty
over all divisions governed by the PRC.

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➢A Single Central and powerful Government:
• In a unitary state, all the powers are vested with one single central government
whose authority is supreme over all the parts of the state.
• It alone legislates for the entire state.
• Local Governments can make rules under powers specifically delegated to them by
the central government.
• In unitary system, all powers are centralized in the hands of the central government
and only center is the reservoir of all state powers.
• In this system, there is no a province or provincial governments and constitution
empower the central government to legislate, execute and adjudicate with full
might.
• There is no any other institution to share governmental powers with the central
government.
• Although in many unitary States, there is local government system arrangement but
powers are delegated to these units with strict central control or supervision.

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Features:
No Distribution of Powers
• Constitutions of the federal form of state distribute powers between the centre
and the provinces.
• In unitary system, there is no any list of distribution of powers in the
constitution.
• All powers belong to the central government.
• In this system government is not in the grip of powers distribution.

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➢Single Uniform Administration:
• The existence of an all-powerful central government exercising power over all
the people and places leads to the existence of a single, stable and strong
administration for the whole state.
• The administration is simple in organisation and direct in approach towards all
local and national issues.
• It has neither the complexities arising out of double citizenship and dual
administration as characterise a federation.
• It is a system of government run by a single executive, single legislature and
single judicial system.

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➢Local Governments exist at the will of the Central Government:
• In a unitary state, the local governments are created and given powers by the
central government.
• These work as administrative units or as departments of the central
government.
• They operate as the central government directs.
• Their boundaries and powers can be changed at will by the central
government.

Aashutosh Aahire/HNLU 14
➢Single Constitution , Constitution can be Written or Unwritten:
• Since there is no division of powers and all the powers belong to the central
government, there is no special need for a written constitution.
• The constitution can be written or unwritten in accordance with the wishes of
the people.
• Usually, in a federation, the states have the right to frame their own
Constitution separate from that of the Centre.
• US, Swiss. State have their own constitution.
• In India, on the contrary, no such power is given to the states.

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➢Flexibility of the Constitution and Administration:
• The central government alone has the power to amend the constitution and in
this sense the constitution of a unitary state is always flexible.
• The process of constitutional amendment is less rigid than what is found in
other federations.
• The bulk of the Constitution can be amended by the unilateral action of the
Parliament, either by simple majority or by special majority.
• Further, the power to initiate an amendment to the Constitution lies only with
the Centre.
• In US, the states can also propose an amendment to the Constitution.

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Single Citizenship
• In spite of a dual polity, the Constitution of India, like that of Canada, adopted
the system of single citizenship.
• There is only Indian Citizenship and no separate state citizenship.
• All citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the
same rights all over the country.
• The other federal states like US, Switzerland and Australia have dual
citizenship, that is, national citizenship as well as state citizenship.

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Unicameral or Bicameral
• The National People's Congress (usually abbreviated NPC) is the national
legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,980 members in 2018, it is the
largest parliamentary body in the world. It’s a Unicameral Body.
• UK is a bicameral State-
• In the House of Commons there are 650 MPs who are elected by people
throughout the UK to represent their interests and concerns.
• The House of Commons has the final say on laws introduced in Parliament.
• The House of Lords is the second Chamber of the UK Parliament.
• It has around 800 members, hereditary peers, Lords Spiritual and Of the Lords
Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the
advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments
Commission.

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No Special Judiciary:
• there is no need of having a special judiciary with wide powers of judicial veto
in a unitary system. No Judicial review.
Integrated Judiciary
• The Indian Constitution has established an integrated judicial system with the
Supreme Court at the top and the state high courts below it.
• This single system of courts enforces both the Central laws as well as the state
laws.
• In US, on the other hand, there is a double system of courts whereby the
federal laws are enforced by the federal judiciary and the state laws by the state
judiciary.

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Sources:
• [Link]
• Indian Polity By M. Laxmikanth.
• Comparative Politics By Tapan Biswal.

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