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Legislature
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A '''legislature''' is a
governmental
deliberative assembly with the power to adopt
law laws. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being '''''parliament''''' and '''''congress''''', although these terms also have more specific meanings. In
parliamentary system parliamentary systems of
government, the legislature is formally supreme and
appoints the
executive branch executive. In
presidential system presidential systems of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to
enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to
raise taxes and adopt the
budget and other
money bills. The consent of the legislature is also often required to
ratify treaty treaties and
declare war.
Headline text
Chambers
The primary component of a legislature is one or more ''chambers'' or ''houses'': assemblies that
debate and
vote upon
bill (proposed law) bills. Most legislatures are either ''
bicameral'' or ''
unicameral'', although historically there have also been rare incidences of two separate chambers, usually described as an
upper house and a
lower house, which may differ in duties, powers, and methods for the selection of members.
In most
parliamentary systems, the lower house is the most powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However in
presidential systems the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In
federations it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states. For this purpose the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case of
Germany and was the case in the pre-20th century
United States, or to be elected according to a formula that grants disproportionate representation to smaller states, as is the case today in
Australia and the
United States.
Competences
The power of legislatures varies widely from country to country. ''Rubber stamp legislature'' is a derogatory name for a legislature that has no real power but simply approves, by unanimous or near unanimous votes, bills put before it by other institutions. For example, the legislatures of many Communist states were often derided as mere 'rubber stamps' for decisions of the ruling party. The term is not usually used to describe legislatures of
parliamentary system parliamentary systems. Although the final draft of
legislation introduced by the government almost always passes, these legislatures are generally not labelled "rubber stamps" because legislators are involved in the drafting and amendment of bills.-sal
List of titles of legislatures
'''National'''
*
Parliament
*
Congress
*
Diet (assembly) Diet
*
National Assembly
*
Althing —
Iceland
*
Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Assembleia da República —
Portugal
*
Bundestag —
Germany
*
Cortes Generales —
Spain
*
Eduskunta or Riksdag —
Finland
*
Federal Assembly —
Russia,
Switzerland
*
Folketing —
Denmark
*
Knesset —
Israel
*
Kuvendi Popullor —
Albania
*
Legislative Yuan —
Republic of China Republic of China/Taiwan
*
Majles Al-Ummah —
Kuwait
*
Oireachtas —
Republic of Ireland
*
Riigikogu —
Estonia
*
Riksdag —
Sweden
*
Rajya Sabha/
Lok Sabha —
India
*
Croatian Parliament Sabor —
Croatia
*
Saeima —
Latvia
*
Seimas —
Lithuania
*
Sejm —
Poland
*
Skupstina Skupština —
Serbia and Montenegro
*
Estates-General or
Staten Generaal —
Netherlands
*
Storting —
Norway
*
Tynwald —
Isle of Man
*
Verkhovna Rada —
Ukraine
'''Historical'''
*
States-General
*
Dáil Éireann (1919-1922) Dáil —
Irish Republic (1919-1922)
*
Volkskammer —
East Germany (1949-1990)
'''State'''
*
List of state legislatures of the United States —
United States
**General Assembly / Assembly
**Great and General Court / General Court
**House of Delegates
*
Landtag —
Germany,
Austria
See also
*
List of democracy and elections-related topics
*
List of national legislatures
*
Legislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories
*
List of state legislatures of the United States
Category:Legislatures
de:Legislative
es:Poder Legislativo
id:Legislatif
is:Löggjafarvald
it:Potere legislativo
lb:Legislativ
nl:Wetgevende macht
ja:立法府
no:Politisk forsamling
pl:Władza ustawodawcza
pt:Poder Legislativo
sr:Законодавна влаÑ?Ñ‚
simple:Legislature
tl:Tagapagbatas
zh:立法
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