independent counsel, in U.S. law, a judicially appointed investigator of charges of misdeeds by high government officials. Originally termed "special prosecutor," the position was first created by the 1978 Ethics in Government Act. Prompted by the Watergate affair, the purpose of the law was to avoid the conflict of interest that might develop if the executive branch (i.e., the Justice Dept.) investigated its own officials. The act expired in 1992, but a new independent counsel law was passed in 1994. The new law also permitted the investigation of members of Congress. The request for an appointment of an independent counsel was made by the attorney general; the counsel was appointed by an independent judicial board. An independent counsel was used to investigate the Iran-contra affair, Whitewater, and the Lewinsky scandal. In 1999, following prosecutor Kenneth Starr's confrontations with President Bill Clinton and the impeachment of the president, the law again expired and was not renewed. The attorney general now has sole responsibility for appointing outside prosecutors.

Philippine Independent Church, religious body that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1902 and rejected the spiritual authority of the pope. It is known popularly as the Aglipayan Church, after its founder Gregorio Aglipay. Initially it drew large numbers as a result of nationalist feelings, but later its membership dwindled significantly. Doctrinal disputes and strong factionalism developed. One group allied with American Unitarians and split into various parties. Another, a trinitarian group, moved toward the Episcopal Church, by which their ministers were ordained after 1948 and with which they were formally united in 1961. In 1965 the Philippine Independent Church joined the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht. (See also Old Catholics.)

Independent Treasury System, in U.S. history, system for the retaining of government funds in the Treasury and its subtreasuries independently of the national banking and financial systems. In one form or another, it existed from the 1840s to 1921.

Origins of the System

After President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Bank of the United States, he transferred (1833) government funds from the bank to state banks (the "pet banks"). Those banks, however, used the funds as a basis for speculation, which was already rampant and was soon to be further increased by the distribution of the federal surplus among the states. The situation was brought to a head by Jackson's issue of the Specie Circular (1836), which led to a drain on the "pet banks" and their collapse in the Panic of 1837. President Martin Van Buren then proposed that an independent treasury be set up that would be isolated from all banks. The proposal met considerable opposition and failed to pass the House of Representatives in 1837 and again in the sessions of 1837-38 and 1838-39.

Creation of the System

In 1840 legislation for an independent treasury was passed and approved by the President; however, the following year the Whigs repealed the law. The intention of the Whigs was to establish a new central bank, but the objections of President John Tyler on constitutional grounds prevented the creation of another Bank of the United States. The Democrats won the presidential election of 1844, and measures were inaugurated to restore the Independent Treasury System.

The act of Aug., 1846, provided that the public revenues be retained in the Treasury building and in subtreasuries (see subtreasury) in various cities. The Treasury was to pay out its own funds and be completely independent of the banking and financial system of the nation; all payments by and to the government, moreover, were to be made in specie. The separation of the Treasury from the banking system was never completed, however; the Treasury's operations continued to influence the money market, as specie payments to and from the government affected the amount of hard money in circulation.

Problems and Its Demise

Although the independent Treasury did restrict the reckless speculative expansion of credit, it also tended to create a new set of economic problems. In periods of prosperity, revenue surpluses accumulated in the Treasury, reducing hard money circulation, tightening credit, and restraining even legitimate expansion of trade and production. In periods of depression and panic, when banks suspended specie payments and hard money was hoarded, the government's insistence on being paid in specie tended to aggravate economic difficulties by limiting the amount of specie available for private credit.

The most serious weaknesses in the system were revealed during the Civil War; under the pressures created by wartime expenditures, Congress passed the acts of 1863 and 1864 creating national banks. Exceptions were made to the prohibition against depositing government funds in private banks, and in certain cases payments to the government could be made in national bank notes.

After the Civil War, the independent Treasury continued in modified form, as each administration tried to cope with its weaknesses in various ways. Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw (1902-7) made many innovations; he attempted to use Treasury funds to expand and contract the money supply according to the nation's credit needs. The Panic of 1907, however, finally revealed the inability of the system to stabilize the money market; agitation for a more effective banking system led to the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. Government funds were gradually transferred from subtreasuries to district banks, and an act of Congress in 1920 mandated the closing of the last subtreasuries in the following year, thus bringing the Independent Treasury System to an end.

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), community of independent nations established by a treaty signed at Minsk, Belarus, on Dec. 8, 1991, by the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Between Dec. 8 and Dec. 21, the three original signatories were joined by Armenia, Azerbaijan (its parliament, however, rejected ratifying its membership until 1993), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. When Georgia joined in 1993 all of the former republics of the USSR except the Baltic states had become members of the CIS. Its headquarters are in Minsk.

The organization was conceived as the successor to the USSR in its role of coordinating the foreign and economic policies of its member nations. The treaty recognized current borders and each republic's independence, sovereignty, and equality, and established a free-market ruble zone embracing the republics' interdependent economies and a joint defense force for participating republics. Strategic nuclear weapons, in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine, were to be under the joint control of those republics, with day-to-day authority in the hands of the Russian president and defense minister; Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, however, no longer possess such weapons. The CIS at first convened only a council of the heads of state of its members, but in 1992 it convened a council of heads of government and a council of foreign ministers.

The republics' level of receptivity to integration with Russia has varied. All CIS nations now have their own currency, and most members have had occasion to criticize Russia for slow implementation of CIS agreements. Ukraine (which had a prolonged disagreement with Russia over the disposition of the Black Sea and remains wary of Russian power, particularly after Russia took sides in the 2004 presidential election), Turkmenistan (whose large gas reserves free it from dependence on Russia), Azerbaijan (whose oil reserves also allow for independence from Russia), and Moldova (which faced an insurgency in the Russian-dominated Trans-Dniester region) have been relatively inactive in the alliance, and in 2005 Turkmenistan became an associate member. Armenia (surrounded by the Muslim nations of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey), Georgia (with separatist movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (vulnerable because of its limited natural resources) accepted Russia's protection under a joint defense system and Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan also signed the Collective Security Treaty, but Azerbaijan and Georgia have since withdrawn from the defense agreement. In 2002 the treaty adherents agreed to establish the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which superseded the CIS as a forum for military cooperation in 2005. Uzbekistan, which had suspended its treaty membership in 1998, joined the CSTO in 2006.

Because the CIS has remained essentially a regional forum, progress toward the integration of its member nations has tended to take place outside the organization. In 1996, Belarus signed a treaty with Russia to coordinate their defense and foreign policy apparatus and to eliminate trade restrictions and eventually unite their currencies. Individual sovereignty is to be maintained, but they created supranational bodies to effect these changes. The two nations have since signed several follow-up agreements, but actual progress toward integration has been slow. They, Kazakhstan (which has a large Russian community), and Kyrgyzstan additionally agreed to pursue economic integration without customs restrictions. Tajikistan later joined the customs union, which became the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) in 2000. Several other CIS members are EurAsEC observers. In 2003, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine agreed to form a Single Economic Space; the treaty was ratified the following year. Meanwhile, concerns over Russian domination of the CIS prompted Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova to establish a loose international association; from 1999 to 2005 Uzbekistan also was a member.

or independent school

In the United Kingdom, any of a small group of tuition-charging secondary schools that specialize in preparing students for university and for public service. The name public school dates from the 18th century, when the schools began attracting students from beyond their immediate environs and thus became “public” as opposed to local. Such schools are thus in fact private schools independent of the state system. Although many schools have become coeducational, only boys attend the historically important schools Winchester (1394), Eton (1440–41), Westminster (1560), and Harrow (1571); well-known girls' schools include Cheltenham (1853), Roedean (1885), and Wycomb Abbey (1896). Public schools cultivated a class-conscious code of behaviour, speech, and appearance that set the standard for British officialdom from the early 19th century. Seealso secondary education.

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Free association of sovereign states formed in 1991, comprising Russia and 11 other republics that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Members are Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova. Its administrative center is in Minsk, Belarus. The Commonwealth's functions are to coordinate its members' policies regarding their economies, foreign relations, defense, immigration policies, environmental protection, and law enforcement.

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