A
term limit is a legal restriction that limits
the number of
terms a person may
serve in a particular elected office. Term limits are found usually
in
presidential and
semi-presidential systems as a
method to curb the potential for dictatorships, where a leader
effectively becomes "
president for
life". There are different types of term limits. Sometimes,
there is an absolute limit on the number of terms a person can
serve, while, in other cases, the restrictions are merely on the
number of
consecutive terms a person can serve.
Use of term limits
Ancient history
Term limits have a long history.
Ancient
Greece and
Ancient Rome, two early
civilizations which had
elected offices,
both imposed limits on some positions. In ancient
Athenian democracy, no citizen could
serve on the council of 500, or
boule, for two consecutive
annual terms, nor for more than two terms in his lifetime, nor be
head of the
boule more than once. In the
Roman Republic, a law was passed imposing a
limit of a single term on the office of
censor. The annual magistrates—
tribune of the plebs,
aedile,
quaestor,
praetor, and
consul—were
forbidden reelection until a number of years had passed. (see
cursus honorum,
Constitution of the Roman
Republic).
Modern history
Many modern
presidential
republics employ term limits for their highest offices.
The
United
States
placed a limit of two terms on its presidency by means of the
22nd
Amendment to the Constitution in 1951.
There are no term limits for
Vice Presidency,
members of Congress—
Representatives and
Senators, although there have
been calls for term limits for those offices. Under various
state laws some
state governors and
state legislators have
term limits. Formal limits in America date back to the 1682
Pennsylvania Charter
of Liberties, and the colonial
frame of government of
the same year, authored by
William Penn
and providing for triennial rotation of the provincial council, the
upper house of the
colonial
legislature. (See also
term limits in the United
States).
The
Russian Federation
has a common rule for head of state which allows
the President of Russia to serve
more than two terms if they're not consecutive. For
governors of
federal
subjects, the same two-term limit existed in the 1990s, but
since 2004 there have been no term limits for governors.
Term limits are also common in
Latin
America, where most countries are also presidential republics.
Early in the last century, the Mexican revolutionary Francisco
Madero popularized the slogan
Sufragio Efectivo, no
Reelección (effective suffrage, no reelection). In keeping
with that principle, members of the
Congress of Mexico (the
Chamber of Deputies and
Senate) cannot be reelected for the
next immediate term under article 50 and 59 of the
Constitution of Mexico, adopted in
1917. Likewise, the
President of
Mexico is limited to a single six-year term. This makes every
presidential election in Mexico a non-incumbent election.
Countries which operate a
parliamentary system of government are
less likely to employ term limits on their leaders. This is because
such leaders rarely have a set "term" at all: rather, they serve as
long as they have the
confidence of the
parliament, a period which could potentially last
for life. Nevertheless, such countries may impose term limits on
the holders of other offices—in republics, for example, a
ceremonial presidency may have a term limit, especially if the
office holds
reserve powers.
Categories
Term limits may be divided into two broad categories: consecutive
and lifetime. With consecutive term limits, a legislator is limited
to serving a particular number of years in that particular office.
Upon hitting the limit in one office or chamber, a legislator may
run for election to the other chamber or leave the legislature.
After a set period of time (usually two years), the clock resets on
the limit, and the legislator may run for election to his/her
original seat and serve up to the limit again.
With lifetime limits, on the other hand, once a legislator has
served up to the limit, she/he may never again run for election to
that office. Lifetime limits are much more restrictive than
consecutive limits.
Offices of local government, such as a
mayoralty, may also have term limits.
Examples include
Philadelphia
, PA, New York City
and Los Angeles, California
.
See also
References
- Robert Struble, Jr., Treatise on
Twelve Lights, chapter six, part II, "Rotation in History."
- Francis N. Thorpe, ed., The Federal and State
Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and other Organic Laws..., 7
vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1909) 5:3048,
3055-56, 3065.
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