In a constitutional democracy, authority does not sit in a single office, institution, or individual. It flows through a system designed to distribute, limit, and channel power.

Understanding how authority flows is essential to understanding how governance is meant to function — and where responsibility lies within the constitutional framework.

In constitutional democracies, the exercise of public authority is organized through a system of institutions. Rather than concentrating power in a single body, the constitution distributes responsibilities among different branches of government.

These branches are commonly described as the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.