Abstract
In countries governed by democracy, while the budget is prepared and implemented by the executive, the legislature undertakes a task that checks and balances the executive in the budget process. The legislature fulfills this duty with its budgetary power. The budgetary power of the legislature ensures that the executive prepares and implements the budget in accordance with the will of the people, applicable legislation, and budgetary principles such as accountability and financial transparency. Since the relations between the legislative and executive powers in parliamentary and presidential systems are established differently from each other, this situation has also affected the budgetary power of the legislature. Apart from government systems, various political, legal and institutional/structural factors also affect the use of the budgetary power of the legislature and the shaping of the content of this power. In this study, the budgetary power of the legislature in different government systems is examined and it is concluded that country-specific political, legal and institutional/structural factors are more decisive in shaping the budgetary power of the legislature compared to the government system. In addition, in the last part of the study, proposals are submitted for increasing the budgetary power of the legislature in Turkey.