The Spirit of the Laws

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The Spirit of the Laws (French: De l'esprit des lois) is a book on political theory by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, published in 1748. It was originally published anonymously. It was of great influence, notably on Catherine the Great in her Nakaz and the framers of the United States Constitution.

In De l'esprit des lois, Montesquieu suggested that the governing body of a nation should be divided into three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, possibly the first to ever suggest this. In the United Kingdom, these roles are played by the Cabinet, Parliament (both the House of Lords and the House of Commons) and the legal system, respectively; in the US, these roles are fulfilled by the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court. This concept is called the Theory of the Separation of Powers.