The separation of powers is usually understood as a constitutional doctrine that separates government into different institutions which are responsible for performing distinct functions. The doctrine requires the separation of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches.  According to this theory of constitutional law, the legislative body will be entrusted to create laws, the executive authority will enforce laws, and the judiciary will be empowered to interpret laws. However, theoretically each branch is required to perform only its own function independently and one branch should not go beyond the boundary of other branch. This theory is typically based on a system of checks and balances.