形式主義的分權學說,以"保衛自由"為正當性基礎,強調國家權力之間邊界清晰地分立,反對權力混合。但在實踐中卻遭遇到挑戰。德國戰后發展出的"功能適當原則",在關注個人自由保障的同時,同樣重視國家權力行使的"正確性",主張應將國家職能配置給在組織、結構、程序、人員上具有優勢,從而最有可能做出最優決定的機關;同時也不再教條化地強調權力的分立和對抗,國家職能的最優化實現同樣構成權力配置方案的正當性基礎。功能適當原則修正了傳統的分權學說,對于我國優化國家機構設置和職能配置的改革,也具有參考價值。

The formalist theory of "separation of powers"justified by the defense of liberty emphasizes that the state powers should be separated clearly and cannot be mixed. But this theory has been facing the challenges in practice. The Functional Propriety Doctrine( Funktionell-Rechtlicher Ansatz)developed since World War II in German,which gives equal attention to both liberty protection and the"correctness of the exercise of the state power",requires that the various state functions should be assigned to those institutions which dispose of the best organizational,structural,procedural and personnel capacities in order to get the best decisions. In the meantime,the Functional Propriety Doctrine does not pay much attention to the separation and opposition of the state powers dogmatically and holds that the optimization of the state function can also justify the distribution of the state powers. The Functional Propriety Doctrine revises the traditional theory of "separation of powers",and can contribute to the reform of government institutions and allocation of state functions in China.