Power of Military Command

Almost all countries assign the supreme power of military command to the President as Commander in Chief of the armed forces. This is independent from the nature of the system whether presidential, semi-presidential, parliamentary—republican or parliamentary—or monarchical.^[1035]

The overview of the executive functions of the President (Chap.

Firstly, several constitutions assign to the President in his function as Head of State the role of Commander in Chief but reserve the exercise and use of this power to the Government in general or in certain situations.

Secondly, a few constitutions do not transfer the power to the President but to Government or its members.

Examples relating to the first alternative are Austria (art. 80b, par. 3B-VG);^[1036] Hungary (collective responsibility of several actors: art. 44 par. 2), similarly Lithuania (art. 140 par. 3), Greece (government: art. 45), Georgia (during “martial law” Prime Minister: art. 72 par. 1 before the reform and shift to the Government in 2017), Poland (in peace time minister of defence; in war time nomination of a commander in chief on proposal of government: art. 134 par. 2, 4), Chile (art. 32 No18: “in case of war”).

As far as the second alternative is concerned, few countries do not confer the function of Commander in Chief to the President but reserve it to the executive; e.g. Germany (art. 65a: minister of defence; in “case of defence”, chancellor: art. 115b); Netherlands (government: art. 97par. 2), Sweden (Government in time of war: Chap. 15 Regeringsform).

Thus, the overall picture varies more than the subdivision in monarchies, parlia­mentary republics and presidential systems may suggest. Even if one concedes that parliamentary and monarchical republics confer the military power to the Head of State in a more formal manner than in presidential systems, the examples of Poland or Chile support a nuanced approach by differentiating between peace time and war time.

15.4