Veto

A veto (Latin veto "I forbid") is an objection made within a formally defined framework that can postpone or block decisions altogether.

Contrary to popular belief, however, the term was not yet in use among the Romans; the Latin term for it was intercessio ("intervening") and was a legal consequence of the ius intercedendi, which was available to officials in the magistracy as a legal remedy.

The term first originated in the Polish constitution of the 17th/18th century (see below).

The right of veto usually opens up the possibility for a minority to end a procedure, to prevent a law or a decision from being passed against the will of a majority.

There are two types of veto, depending on the duration of the postponement thus obtained:

Examples

The (usually suspensive) right of veto is one of the prerogatives of many heads of state:

• the King of France owned it under the Constitution of 1791
• the President of the United States may also veto resolutions of Congress which he dislikes, but which may be overridden by a two-thirds majority of both Houses of Congress, whereupon the law enters into force immediately. The Polish and Czech presidents have the same right.
• the governors of the US states also have a veto. Almost all governors also have the option of a line-item veto, which is not available to the president at the federal level. This allows opposition to only individual passages in bills. State legislatures can override gubernatorial vetoes, usually by a two-thirds majority.
• the Prince of Liechtenstein has absolute veto power over parliamentary and popular resolutions.

In the UN Security Council, the five permanent members (the People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the French Republic, the Russian Federation and the United States of America) have an absolute veto.

In Germany, the Bundesrat can veto any law passed by the German Bundestag. For some laws, this veto can be overridden by the Bundestag, this is called a suspensive veto (Einspruchsgesetz), a law requiring approval, on the other hand, has an absolute right of veto. The Federal President of the Federal Republic occupies a special position: he is not explicitly endowed with a veto right by the Constitution, but he can refuse to sign a law he objects to. Since a law can only become legally valid after it has been signed by the Federal President or his deputy, the Federal President thus has a power at least similar to that of a veto. For details and consequences see Federal President (Germany).

Another form of veto is the right of the people, enshrined in Swiss constitutional law, to subsequently force a referendum against decisions by the authorities, which can overturn the offending decision (see referendum). This institution was therefore also called the "people's veto" at the time of its introduction in the 19th century.

In most matters, the Austrian Federal Council has only a suspensive veto, which can be overridden by the National Council by means of an insistence resolution. Only in some matters, e.g. if the rights of the Bundesrat are to be changed, it has an absolute veto (also: right of consent). A veto right of the Federal President is controversial, see Federal President (Austria).

De facto a veto position is held by each participant in a unanimous body. For example, military operations of NATO or within the framework of the European Union can be prevented in the European Council by a single vote against.

In the Sejm, the Polish parliament, there was the so-called Liberum Veto, in which each individual nobleman had a veto, effectively bringing the Sejm to a standstill, as any unpopular decision could be overturned by a single deputy.

See also

• Pocket Veto