Rubber stamp (politics)

Function

In situations where this superior official's signature may frequently be required for routine paperwork, a literal rubber stamp is used, with a likeness of their hand-written signature. In essence, the term is meant to convey an endorsement without careful thought or personal investment in the outcome, especially since it is usually expected as the stamper's duty to do so. In the situation where a dictator's legislature is a "rubber stamp", the orders they are meant to endorse are formalities they are expected to legitimize, and are usually done to create the superficial appearance of legislative and dictatorial harmony rather than because they have actual power.

In a constitutional monarchy or parliamentary republic, heads of state are typically "rubber stamps" (or figureheads) to an elected parliament, even if they legally possess considerable reserve powers or disagree with the parliament's decisions.

Rubber-stamp legislatures may occur even in democratic countries if the institutional arrangement allows for it.

Examples

In many instances, the refusal of a constitutional monarch to rubber stamp laws passed by parliament can set off a constitutional crisis. For example, when then-king Baudouin of Belgium refused to sign a bill legalizing abortions in April 1990, the Belgian Federal Parliament declared him temporarily unable to reign. That effectively transferred his powers to the Cabinet for a single day, overriding his veto.

Legislatures

One of the most famous examples of a rubber stamp institution is the Reichstag of Nazi Germany, which unanimously confirmed all decisions already made by Adolf Hitler and the highest-ranking members of the Nazi Party. Many legislatures of authoritarian and totalitarian countries are considered as rubber stamps, such as communist parliaments like the Chinese National People's Congress, or the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations during the Fascist regime.

Since the 2003 elections, Russia's Federal Assembly has been similarly referred to as a rubber stamp institution. Russia's State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly) quickly adopted a number of laws proposed by the government without delay. The annexation of Crimea was quickly approved in 2014 with only one deputy, Ilya Ponomarev, voting against. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the legislative approvals of the annexation of occupied territories in late 2022 did not meet any resistance, giving the government full control.

Other suggested examples of rubber stamp legislatures include:

;Historic legislatures

• Nazi Germany Reichstag – Nazi Germany
• Kingdom of Italy Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of Fasces and Corporations – Fascist Italy (1925–1943)
• Ottoman Empire General Assembly – Ottoman Empire
• Soviet Union Congress of Soviets, Supreme Soviet – Soviet Union
• East Germany Volkskammer – German Democratic Republic
• Iran National Consultative Assembly – Imperial State of Iran after the 1953 coup
• Brazil Federal Senate – Brazil under military dictatorship between 1977 and 1985
• Ba'athist Syria People's Assembly – Ba'athist Syria
• ESTLATLTU People's Parliaments – in the Baltic states in the early Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)

;Current legislatures

• Russia Federal Assembly – Russia
• Egypt Parliament – Egypt
• Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts (not a parliamentary chamber but a deliberative body) – Iran
• North Korea Supreme People's Assembly – North Korea
• PRC National People's Congress – China
  • Hong Kong Legislative Council of Hong Kong – Hong Kong
  • Macau Legislative Assembly – Macau
• Rwanda Chamber of Deputies – Rwanda
• Nigeria National Assembly – Nigeria
• Eswatini House of Assembly – Eswatini
• Vietnam National Assembly of Vietnam – Vietnam

Notes

References

References

1. Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition, {{ISBN. 0-671-41809-2 - page 1242 - "*rubber-stamp 2. [Colloq.] to approve or endorse in a routine manner, without thought - *rubber stamp - 2. [Colloq.] a) a person, bureau, legislature, etc., that approves or endorses something in a routine manner, without thought, b) any routine approval"
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