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The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. It
is used to denote that a certain party has the right to unilaterally stop a certain piece of legislation. A veto thus gives
unlimited power to stop changes, but not to adopt them.
The veto originated with the Roman tribunes who had the power to unilaterally refuse legislation passed by the Roman senate.
In Westminster Systems and most constitutional monarchies, the power to veto
legislation by withholding the royal assent is a rarely-used reserve power of the monarch, representative of the monarch, or figurehead president who has replaced
the monarch. The Queen may veto
a law that has been given royal assent by the Governor-General
within one year of the legislation being assented to.
In the United States, the President is able to veto legislation passed
by the Congress, but this right is not absolute. A 2/3 majority of both houses can
adopt a law even against a presidential veto; however, if the proposed law has only a simple majority, the president's veto is
decisive.
The veto power in the United States Constitution was derived from the British royal assent. On April 5, 1792 President George Washington vetoed a bill
designed to apportion representatives among states. This is the first time the
presidential veto was used in the United States. The US Congress first
overrode a presidential veto on March 3, 1845.
In the UN Security Council, the five permanent members
(the United States, Russia,
People's Republic of China, France and the United Kingdom) have
veto power. If any of these countries votes against a proposal it is rejected, even if all 14 of the other member countries vote
in favor.
Typically, a veto applies to an entire piece of legislation. Some states in the United States have granted their governors the
additional power of a line item veto. This allows them to veto
or "cross out" only certain parts of the legislation, while allowing the rest to pass. Although details vary, it is not uncommon
for a piece of legislation that has undergone a line item veto to be returned to the legislative body for final approval; they
can either accept the amended legislation or decide not to pass it at all in its new form. The line item veto power has been
controversial. Perhaps its most famous abuse was when Governor of Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson,
crossed out individual letters in a bill so that the remaining words comprised entirely different sentences, effectively
introducing a new provision into the bill. Some states permit line item vetoes only in "appropriation bills," or bills granting
money for the various government departments. The United States Congress passed a law authorizing the President to strike out up
to three items of appropriation in a single bill, but the Supreme Court ruled this procedure unconstitutional.
In Poland, the 17th and 18th century constitution had an institution called the
liberum veto. All bills had to pass the Sejm(Parliament) by unanimous consent, and if any legislator
voted no on anything,this not only vetoed that bill but dissolved the legislature itself.
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