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A rubber stamp is a political metaphor, referring to a person or institution with considerable de jure power but little de facto power — one that rarely or never disagrees with more powerful organizations.[1] Historian Edward S. Ellis used the term toy parliament to describe a rubber-stamp legislature.
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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.
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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, because of his religious objections, 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, consequentially overriding his veto.[2]
Legislatures
Historian Edward S. Ellis described Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II's General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire as a toy parliament. It was created in 1876 with the sole purpose of appeasing the European powers.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] Many legislatures of authoritarian and totalitarian countries are considered[by whom?] as rubber stamps, such as communist parliaments like the Chinese National People's Congress,[3][4][5] or the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations during the Fascist regime.[citation needed]
Since the 2003 elections, Russia's Federal Assembly has been similarly referred to as a rubber stamp institution.[6][7][8] Russia's State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly) quickly adopted a number of laws proposed by the government without delay.[9] The annexation of Crimea was quickly approved in 2014 with only one deputy, Ilya Ponomarev, voting against.[10][11] 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.[12]
Other suggested examples of rubber stamp legislatures include:
- Historic legislatures
National Consultative Assembly – Imperial State of Iran[13][better source needed]
Federal Senate – Brazil under military dictatorship between 1977 and 1985[14]
People's Assembly – Syrian Arab Republic[15][16][17][18]
- Current legislatures
Federal Assembly – Russia[6][7][8][12]
Parliament – Egypt[19][20][21]
Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Assembly of Experts (not a parliamentary chamber but a deliberative body) – Iran[22][unreliable source?][23][additional citation(s) needed]
Supreme People's Assembly – North Korea[24]
National People's Congress – China
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