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{{short description|Deliberative assembly that makes laws}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Legislature}}
{{Politics sidebar|Organs}}

[[File:Palace of Westminster, London - Feb 2007.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Palace of Westminster]], where the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] meets, in February 2007]]

A '''legislature''' is an [[deliberative assembly|assembly]] with the [[authority]] to make [[law]]s for a [[Polity|political entity]] such as a [[Sovereign state|country]] or [[city]]. They are often contrasted with the [[Executive (government)|executive]] and [[Judiciary|judicial]] powers of government.

Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as [[primary legislation]]. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the [[budget]] involved.

The members of a legislature are called [[legislator]]s. In a [[democracy]], legislators are most commonly popularly [[Election|elected]], although [[indirect election]] and appointment by the executive are also used, particularly for [[bicameralism|bicameral]] legislatures featuring an [[upper chamber]].

== Terminology ==

[[File:Legislation Terminology Map.png|thumb|upright=1.8|right|Map showing the terminology for each country's national legislature]]

The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country.

Common names include:

* Assembly (from ''to assemble'')
* Congress (from ''to congregate'')
* Council (from Latin 'meeting')
* Diet (from old German 'people')
* Estates or States (from old French 'condition' or 'status')
* Parliament (from French ''parler'' 'to speak')

By names:
*[[House of Assembly]]
*[[Legislative assembly]]
*[[Legislative council]]
*[[National Assembly]]

By languages:
* Cortes (from Spanish 'courts')
* [[Duma]] (from Russian ''dúma'' 'thought')
* [[Rada]] (from Ukrainian 'council')
* [[Sejm]] (from Polish 'gathering')
* [[Soviet (council)|Soviet]] (from Russian 'council')
* [[Thing (assembly)|Thing]] (from old Germanic 'assembly')
* [[Veche]] (from old Slavic 'council')

Though the specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for the country.

== History ==
Among the earliest recognised legislatures was the [[Athens|Athenian]] ''[[Ecclesia (ancient Athens)|Ecclesia]].''<ref name=":0" /> In the [[Middle Ages]], European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures.<ref name=":0" /> These were often named [[The Estates]]. The oldest surviving legislature is the [[Iceland]]ic [[Althing]], founded in 930 CE.

== Functions ==
Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Hague, Rod, author.|title=Political science : a comparative introduction|date=14 October 2017|isbn=978-1-137-60123-0|pages=128–130|oclc=961119208}}</ref>

=== Representation ===
There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in a legislature:<ref name=":0" />

* Formalistically: how the rules of the legislature ensure representation of constituents;
* Symbolically: how the constituents perceive their representatives;
* Descriptively: how well the composition of the legislature matches the demographics of the wider society;
* Substantively: how well representatives actually respond to the needs of their constituents;
* Collectively: how well the representatives represent the interests of the society as a whole.

=== Deliberation ===
One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society.<ref name=":0" /> This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, like '''[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]],''' the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate.<ref name=":0" /> In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the [[United States Congress]], deliberation takes place in closed committees.<ref name=":0" />

=== Legislation ===
While legislatures have nominally the sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In [[Westminster system|Westminster-style]] legislatures the executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in [[continental Europe]] and those in [[presidential system]]s of the [[Americas]] have more independence in drafting and amending bills.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hague, Rod, author.|title=Political science : a comparative introduction|date=14 October 2017|isbn=978-1-137-60123-0|pages=130–131|oclc=961119208}}</ref>

=== Authorizing expenditure ===
The origins of the [[power of the purse]] which legislatures typically have in passing or denying [[government budget]]s goes back to the European assemblies of nobility which the [[monarch]]s would have to consult before raising taxes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Hague, Rod, author.|title=Political science : a comparative introduction|date=14 October 2017|isbn=978-1-137-60123-0|pages=131–132|oclc=961119208}}</ref> For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information.<ref name=":1" />

=== Making governments ===
The power of the legislature over the government is stronger.

=== Oversight ===
There are several ways in which the legislature can hold the government accountable, including [[Question time|questioning]], [[Interpellation (politics)|interpellations]], and [[Motion of no confidence|votes of confidence]].

=== Function in authoritarian regimes ===
In contrast to [[Democracy|democratic]] systems, legislatures under [[authoritarianism]] are used to ensure the stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve (cap) by:<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hague, Rod, author.|title=Political science : a comparative introduction|date=14 October 2017|isbn=978-1-137-60123-0|oclc=961119208}}</ref>

* Providing legitimacy;
* Incorporating opponents into the system;
* Providing some representation of outside interests;
* Offering a way to recruit new members to the ruling clique;
* Being a channel through which limited grievances and concessions can be passed.

== Internal organization ==
Each chamber of the legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of [[parliamentary procedure]] to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called a [[quorum]].

Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to [[committee]]s made up of a few of the members of the {{not a typo|chamber(s)}}.

The members of a legislature usually represent different [[Political party|political parties]]; the members from each party generally meet as a [[caucus]] to organize their internal affairs.

==Relation to other branches of government==
Legislatures vary widely in the amount of [[Politics|political]] [[Power (social and political)|power]] they wield, compared to other political players such as [[Judiciary|judiciaries]], [[Military|militaries]], and [[Executive (government)|executives]]. In 2009, political scientists [[Steven Fish|M. Steven Fish]] and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German [[Bundestag]], the [[Italian Parliament]], and the Mongolian [[State Great Khural]] tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's [[House of Representatives (Myanmar)|House of Representatives]] and Somalia's [[Transitional Federal Parliament|Transitional Federal Assembly]] (since replaced by the [[Federal Parliament of Somalia]]) tied for least powerful.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The handbook of national legislatures: a global survey|last1=Fish|first1=M. Steven|last2=Kroenig|first2=Matthew|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-521-51466-8}}</ref>

Some political systems follow the principle of [[legislative supremacy]], which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written [[constitution]]. Such a system renders the legislature more powerful.

In [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] and [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] systems of [[government]], the [[Executive branch|executive]] is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with a [[Motion of no confidence|vote of no confidence]]. On the other hand, according to the [[separation of powers]] doctrine, the legislature in a [[presidential system]] is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the [[Judicial branch|judiciary]] and the executive.<ref>{{cite web|title=Governing Systems and Executive-Legislative Relations (Presidential, Parliamentary and Hybrid Systems) |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |url=http://www.undp.org/governance/docs/Parl-Pub-govern.htm |access-date=16 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017164441/http://www.undp.org/governance/docs/Parl-Pub-govern.htm |archive-date=17 October 2008 }}</ref> Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the [[impeachment]] of the executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour.

Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to [[Administrative agency|administrative]] or [[Executive agency|executive agencies]].<ref name="Schoenbrod">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schoenbrod |first= David |author-link=David Schoenbrod | editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |chapter= Delegation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC |year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publications|SAGE]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA |doi=10.4135/9781412965811.n74 |isbn= 978-1-4129-6580-4 |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 |pages= 117–18 }}</ref>

==Members==
Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as [[legislator]]s, who [[Voting|vote]] on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains a fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for the legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an [[electoral district]] that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases "[[safe seat]]" and "[[marginal seat]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Terminology |url=https://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/Backg/Terminology.htm |website=www.parliament.tas.gov.au |access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref>

After election, the members may be protected by [[parliamentary immunity]] or [[parliamentary privilege]], either for all actions the duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties.

==Chambers==
[[File:Vista panorámica del Hemiciclo de sesiones del Congreso del Peru.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Congress of the Republic of Peru]], the country's national legislature, meets in the [[Legislative Palace (Peru)|Legislative Palace]] in 2010]]

A legislature may [[debate]] and [[vote]] upon [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]]s as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate [[Deliberative assembly|assemblies]], called by various names including [[Chambers of parliament|''legislative chambers'']], [[Debate chamber|''debate chambers'']], and ''houses'', which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as a single unit is [[Unicameralism|unicameral]], one divided into two chambers is [[Bicameralism|bicameral]], and one divided into three chambers is [[Tricameralism|tricameral]].
[[File:House of Commons Chamber 1.png|thumb|left|The British [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]], its lower house]]
In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the [[upper house]], while the other is considered the [[lower house]]. The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by [[administrative division]]s rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of the lower house. In some systems, particularly [[parliamentary system]]s, the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly [[Federation|federal]] [[presidential system]]s, the upper house has equal or even greater power.
[[File:Deutscher Bundestag Plenarsaal Seitenansicht.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Germany|German]] [[Bundestag]], its theoretical lower house]]

In [[federation]]s, the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of the [[European Union]]. The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments{{spaced ndash}}as in the European Union and in Germany and, [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|before 1913, in the United States]]{{spaced ndash}}or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913.
[[File:Senate panorama.jpg|right|upright=1.8|thumb|The [[Australian Senate]], its upper house]]
[[Tricameral]] legislatures are rare; the [[Massachusetts Governor's Council]] still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in [[South Africa]]. [[Tetracameralism|Tetracameral]] legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia.

==Size==
{{Main|List of legislatures by number of members}}
Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among [[List of legislatures by number of members|national legislatures]], China's [[National People's Congress]] is the largest with 2,980 members,<ref name="IPU">{{cite web |title=IPU PARLINE database: "General information" module |url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/mod-general.asp |website=IPU Parline Database |publisher=International Parliamentary Union |access-date=30 April 2019}}</ref> while [[Vatican City]]'s [[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State|Pontifical Commission]] is the smallest with 7.<ref name="Vatican size">{{cite web |title=Vatican City State |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo/struttura-del-governatorato/organigramma/stato-citta-del-vaticano.html |publisher=Vatican City State |access-date=30 April 2019}}</ref> Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the [[National People's Congress]] is [[Indirect election|indirectly elected]] within the context of a [[one-party state]].<ref name="IPU" /><ref name="vatican">{{cite web |author1=Pope John Paul II |author-link1=Pope John Paul II |title=Fundamental Law of Vatican City State |url=http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/3F574885-EAD5-47E9-A547-C3717005E861/2522/FundamentalLaw1.pdf |publisher=Vatican City State |access-date=30 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226203911/http://www.vaticanstate.va/NR/rdonlyres/3F574885-EAD5-47E9-A547-C3717005E861/2522/FundamentalLaw1.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2008 |date=26 November 2000}}</ref>

Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's [[lower house]] tends to be proportional to the [[cube root]] of its [[population]]; that is, the size of the lower house tends to increase along with population, but much more slowly.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Frederick|first=Brian|date=December 2009|title=Not Quite a Full House: The Case for Enlarging the House of Representatives|url=http://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1257&context=br_rev|journal=Bridgewater Review|access-date=15 May 2016}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[List of legislative buildings]]
*[[Election apportionment diagram]]
*[[Evidence-based legislation]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book|title=The least-examined branch: the role of legislatures in the constitutional state|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-521-85954-7|editor-last=Bauman|editor-first=Richard W.|editor-last2=Kahana|editor-first2=Tsvi}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Oxford handbook of political institutions|last=Carey|first=John M.|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-19-927569-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordhandbookof0000unse/page/431 431–454]|chapter=Legislative organization|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhandbookof0000unse/page/431}}
*{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Legislature|last=Garner|first=James Wilford}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rw4NBAAAQBAJ|title=The Oxford handbook of legislative studies|editor-last=Martin|editor-first=Shane|editor-last2=Saalfeld|editor-first2=Thomas|editor-last3=Strøm|editor-first3=Kaare W.|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-191-01907-4|language=en}}
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=As_KBgAAQBAJ|title=Democratic legislative institutions: a comparative view|last=Olson|first=David M.|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-47314-5|language=en}}
{{refend}}

{{Law}}
{{Separation of powers}}
{{World topic|Parliament of|title=Legislatures of World}}
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[[Category:Legislatures| ]]
[[Category:Separation of powers]]

Legislature - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 09:44, 14 August 2023