Bicameralism
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Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2022[update], roughly 40% of the world's national legislatures are bicameral, while unicameralism represents 60% nationally and much more at the subnational level.[1]
Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected by different methods, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This can often lead to the two chambers having very different compositions of members.
History of bicameral legislatures
The British Parliament is often referred to as the "
Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British "three-tier" model. Most countries in Europe and the Commonwealth have similarly organised parliaments with a largely ceremonial head of state who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house, and (unlike Britain) a smaller upper house.[3][4]
The Founding Fathers of the United States also favoured a bicameral legislature. The idea was to have the Senate be wealthier and wiser. Benjamin Rush saw this though, and noted that "this type of dominion is almost always connected with opulence". The Senate was created to be a stabilising force, not elected by mass electors, but selected by the State legislators. Senators would be more knowledgeable and more deliberate—a sort of republican nobility—and a counter to what James Madison saw as the "fickleness and passion" that could absorb the House.[5]
He noted further that "The use of the Senate is to consist in its proceeding with more coolness, with more system and with more wisdom, than the popular branch." Madison's argument led the Framers to grant the Senate prerogatives in foreign policy, an area where steadiness, discretion, and caution were deemed especially important.[5] State legislators chose the Senate, and senators had to possess significant property to be deemed worthy and sensible enough for the position. In 1913, the 17th Amendment passed, which mandated choosing Senators by popular vote rather than State legislatures.[5]
As part of the
Rationale for bicameralism and criticism
A formidable sinister interest may always obtain the complete command of a dominant assembly by some chance and for a moment, and it is therefore of great use to have a second chamber of an opposite sort, differently composed, in which that interest in all likelihood will not rule.
— Walter Bagehot, "The English Constitution", in Norman St John-Stevas, ed., The Collected Works of Walter Bagehot, London, The Economist, vol. 5, pp. 273–274.
Federal states have often adopted it as an awkward compromise between existing power held equally by each state or territory and a more democratic proportional legislature.[6] For states considering a different constitutional arrangement that may shift power to new groupings, bicameralism could be demanded by currently hegemonic groups who would otherwise prevent any structural shift (e.g. military dictatorships, aristocracies).
The growing awareness of the complexity of the notion of representation and the multi-functional nature of modern legislatures may be affording incipient new rationales for second chambers, though these do generally remain contested institutions in ways that first chambers are not. An example of political controversy regarding a second chamber has been the debate over the powers of the
The relationship between the two chambers varies: in some cases, they have equal power, while in others, one chamber (the directly elected lower house with proportional representation
Communication between houses
Formal communication between houses is by various methods, including:[9]
- Sending messages
- Formal notices, such as of resolutions or the passing of bills, usually done in writing, via the clerk and speaker of each house.
- Transmission
- of bills or amendment to bills requiring agreement from the other house.
- Joint session
- a plenary session of both houses at the same time and place.
- Joint committees
- which may be formed by committees of each house agreeing to join, or by joint resolution of each house. The United States Congress has conference committees to resolve discrepancies between House and Senate versions of a bill, similar to "Conferences" in Westminster parliaments.
- Conferences
- Conferences of the Houses of the English (later British) Parliament met in the Painted Chamber of the Palace of Westminster.[10] Historically there were two distinct types: "ordinary" and "free". The British Parliament last held an ordinary conference in 1860—its elaborate procedure yielding to the simpler sending of messages. A free conference resolves a dispute through "managers" meeting less formally in private. The last free conference at Westminster was in 1836 on an amendment to the Municipal Corporations Act 1835;[11] the previous one had been in 1740—with not much more success than ordinary conferences, the free type yielded to the greater transparency of messages.[12] In the Parliament of Australia there have been two formal conferences, in 1930 and 1931, but many informal conferences.[9][13] As of 2007[update] the "Conference of Managers" remains the usual procedure for dispute resolution in the Parliament of South Australia.[14] In the Parliament of New South Wales in 2011, the Legislative Assembly requested a free conference with the Legislative Council over a bill on graffiti; after a year the Council refused, describing the mechanism as archaic and inappropriate.[13] The two houses of the Parliament of Canada have also used conferences, but not since 1947 (although they retain the option).
Examples of bicameralism at the national level
Federal
Some countries, such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States, link their bicameral systems to their federal political structure.
In the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Nepal for example, each state or province is given the same number of seats in one of the houses of the legislature, despite variance between the populations of the states or provinces.
Canada
Canada's elected lower house, the
The Government (i.e. executive) is responsible to and must maintain the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Although the two chambers formally have many of the same powers, this accountability clearly makes the Commons dominant—determining which party is in power, approving its proposed budget, and (largely) the laws enacted. The Senate primarily acts as a chamber of revision: it rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons but does regularly amend them; such amendments respect each bill's purpose, so they are usually acceptable to the Commons. Occasionally, the two houses cannot come to an agreement on an amendment, which results in rare instances of a key Government bill failing.[citation needed] The Senate's power to investigate issues of concern to Canada can raise their profile (sometimes sharply) on voters' political agendas.
Australia
The bicameral
The upper house, the Senate, is also popularly elected, under the
Unlike upper houses in most Westminster parliamentary systems, the Australian Senate is vested with significant power, including the capacity to block legislation initiated by the government in the House of Representatives. This block can however be overridden in a joint sitting after a double dissolution election, at which the House of Representatives has the dominant numbers.
As a result of proportional representation, the chamber features a multitude of parties vying for power. The governing party or coalition, which must maintain the confidence of the lower house, rarely has a majority in the Senate and usually needs to negotiate with other parties and Independents to get legislation passed.[16]
Others
In German, Indian, and Pakistani systems, the upper houses (the
There is also bicameralism in countries that are not federations, but have upper houses with representation on a territorial basis. For example, in South Africa, the National Council of Provinces (and before 1997, the Senate) has its members chosen by each province's legislature.
In Spain, the
The European Union maintains a somewhat close to bicameral legislative system consisting of the European Parliament, which is elected in elections on the basis of universal suffrage, and the Council of the European Union, which consists of one representative for each government of member countries, who are competent for a relevant field of legislation. Though the European Union has a highly unusual character in terms of legislature, one could say that the closest point of equivalency lies within bicameral legislatures.[18] The European Union is considered neither a country nor a state, but it enjoys the power to address national Governments in many areas.
Aristocratic and post-aristocratic
In a few countries, bicameralism involves the juxtaposition of democratic and aristocratic elements.
House of Lords of the United Kingdom
The best known example is the British
Life Peers are appointed either by recommendation of the Appointment Commission (the independent body that vets non-partisan peers, typically from academia, business or culture) or by Dissolution Honours, which take place at the end of every Parliamentary term when leaving MPs may be offered a seat to keep their institutional memory. It is traditional to offer a peerage to every outgoing Speaker of the House of Commons.[19]
Further reform of the Lords has been proposed; however, no proposed reforms have been able to achieve public consensus or government support. Members of the House of Lords all have an aristocratic title, or are from the
Until 2009, 12
Japan's former House of Peers
Another example of aristocratic bicameralism was the Japanese House of Peers, abolished after World War II and replaced with the present House of Councillors.
Unitary states
Many unitary states like Italy, France, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ireland and Romania have bicameral systems. In countries such as these, the upper house generally focuses on scrutinizing and possibly vetoing the decisions of the lower house.
Italian Parliament
On the other hand, in
Indirectly elected Upper Houses (France, Ireland, Netherlands)
In some of these countries, the upper house is indirectly elected. Members of France's
Semi-bicameral (Hong Kong, Northern Ireland; earlier in Norway, the Netherlands)
In
Another similar situation are cross-community votes in Northern Ireland when the petition of concern procedure is invoked.
Examples of bicameralism in subnational entities
In some countries with federal systems, individual states (like those of the
Argentina
Australia
When the Australian states were founded as British colonies in the 19th century, they each had a bicameral Parliament. The lower house was traditionally elected based on the one-vote-one-value principle, with universal male suffrage, later expanded to women, whereas the upper house was either appointed on the advice of the government or elected, with a strong bias towards country voters and landowners. After Federation, these became the state Parliaments. In Queensland, the appointed upper house was abolished in 1922, while in New South Wales there were similar attempts at abolition, before the upper house was reformed in the 1970s to provide for direct election.[25]
Beginning in the 1970s, Australian states began to reform their upper houses to introduce proportional representation in line with the Federal Senate. The first was the South Australian Legislative Council in 1973, which initially used a party list system (replaced with STV in 1982),[26] followed by the Single Transferable Vote being introduced for the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1978,[27] the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1987[28] and the Victorian Legislative Council in 2003.[29]
Nowadays, the upper house both federally and in most states is elected using
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Legislature of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a bicameral legislative body. The House of Representatives has 98 delegates, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation. The House of Peoples has 58 members, 17 delegates from among each of the constituent peoples of the Federation, and 7 delegates from among the other peoples.[31] Republika Srpska, the other entity, has a unicameral parliament, known as the National Assembly,[32] but there is also a Council of Peoples who is de facto the other legislative house.[33]
India
Only 6 of the 36 states or Union Territories of India have bicameral legislatures,
- One-third are elected by the members of local bodies in the state such as district councils.
- One-third are elected by the members of the state's Legislative Assemblyfrom amongst persons who are not members of the State Legislative Assembly.
- One-sixth are nominated by the arts, the co-operative movement and social service.
- One-twelfth are elected from special constituencies by persons who are college graduatesof three years' standing residing in those constituencies.
- One-twelfth are elected by persons engaged for at least three years in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower than secondary schools, including colleges and universities.[34]
From 1956 to 1958 the Andhra Pradesh Legislature was unicameral. In 1958, when the State Legislative Council was formed, it became bicameral until 1 June 1985 when it was abolished. This continued until March 2007 when the State Legislative Council was reestablished and elections were held for its seats. In
United States
During the 1930s, the Legislature of the State of Nebraska was reduced from bicameral to unicameral with the 43 members that once comprised that state's Senate. One of the arguments used to sell the idea at the time to Nebraska voters was that by adopting a unicameral system, the perceived evils of the "
A conference committee is appointed when the two chambers cannot agree on the same wording of a proposal, and consists of a small number of legislators from each chamber. This tends to place much power in the hands of only a small number of legislators. Whatever legislation, if any, the conference committee finalizes is presented in an unamendable "take-it-or-leave-it" manner by both chambers.
During his term as governor of the State of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura proposed converting the Minnesotan legislature to a single chamber with proportional representation, as a reform that he felt would solve many legislative difficulties and impinge upon legislative corruption. In his book on political issues, Do I Stand Alone?, Ventura argued that bicameral legislatures for provincial and local areas were excessive and unnecessary, and discussed unicameralism as a reform that could address many legislative and budgetary problems for states.
Historical
The German federal state of
In the Soviet Union, regional and local Soviets were unicameral. After the adoption of the 1993 Russian Constitution, bicameralism was introduced in some regions. Bicameral regional legislatures are still technically allowed by federal law but this clause is dormant now. The last region to switch from bicameralism to unicameralism was Sverdlovsk Oblast in 2012.
Four Brazilian states (Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco and São Paulo) had bicameral legislatures that were abolished when Getúlio Vargas came to power after the Revolution of 1930.
Reform
Arab political reform
A 2005 report[35] on democratic reform in the Arab world by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations co-sponsored by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged Arab states to adopt bicameralism, with upper chambers appointed on a 'specialized basis'. The Council claimed that this would protect against the 'Tyranny of the majority', expressing concerns that without a system of checks and balances extremists would use the single chamber parliaments to restrict the rights of minority groups.
In 2002, Bahrain adopted a bicameral system with an elected lower chamber and an appointed upper house. This led to a boycott of parliamentary elections that year by the Al Wefaq party, who said that the government would use the upper house to veto their plans. Many secular critics of bicameralism were won around to its benefits in 2005, after many MPs in the lower house voted for the introduction of so-called morality police.
Romania
A referendum on introducing a unicameral Parliament instead of the current bicameral Parliament was held in Romania on 22 November 2009. The turnout rate was 50.95%, with 77.78% of "Yes" votes for a unicameral Parliament.[36] This referendum had a consultative role, thus requiring a parliamentary initiative and another referendum to ratify the new proposed changes.
Ivory Coast
A referendum on a new constitution was held on 30 October 2016. The constitution draft would create a bicameral Parliament instead of the current unicameral. The Senate is expected to represent the interests of territorial collectivities and Ivoirians living abroad. Two thirds of the Senate is to be elected at the same time as the general election. The remaining one third is appointed by the president elect.[37]
Examples
Current
Federal
Country | Bicameral body | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Upper house | Lower house | ||
Argentina | National Congress |
Of the twenty-three provincial legislatures, eight ( Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are unicameral.
| |
Senate | Chamber of Deputies | ||
Australia | Parliament | All of the state parliaments except Queensland's are also bicameral. The legislatures of the NT and the ACT are unicameral. | |
Senate | House of Representatives | ||
Austria | Parliament | All of the Bundesländer have unicameral parliaments.
| |
Bundesrat (Federal Council) |
Nationalrat (National Council) | ||
Belgium | Federal Parliament | All of the community and regional parliaments are unicameral.
| |
Senate |
Chamber of Representatives
| ||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Parliamentary Assembly | The Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also bicameral, while the National Assembly of Republika Srpska is unicameral. | |
House of Peoples | House of Representatives | ||
Brazil | National Congress | All of the 26 state legislatures and the Federal District legislature are unicameral. | |
Senate |
Chamber of Deputies
| ||
Canada | Parliament | All of the provincial and territorial legislatures are unicameral. | |
Senate | House of Commons | ||
Ethiopia | Federal Parliamentary Assembly | Regional Councils are unicameral. Assemblypersons of the Regional Councils are elected directly. | |
House of Federation | House of Peoples' Representatives | ||
Germany | N/A | Technically, Bundestag and Bundesrat form two distinct unicameral legislative constitutional bodies not framed by a comprehensive institution. German jurisprudence doesn't recognise the Bundesrat as a parliamentary chamber, because it consists of members of the state governments. Although it must always be heard in the legislative process, it only has to give consent to bills in certain defined areas. All of the federal states (Länder) today have unicameral Landtage. | |
Bundesrat (Federal Council) |
Bundestag (Federal Diet) | ||
India | Parliament | Six of the State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) respectively. The remaining twenty-two states and the union territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry have unicameral legislatures.
| |
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) | Lok Sabha (House of the People) | ||
Malaysia | Parliament | All the 13 State Legislative Assemblies are unicameral. | |
Dewan Negara (Senate) | Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) | ||
Mexico | Congress |
All the 31 State Congresses and the Congress of Mexico City are unicameral. | |
Senate |
Chamber of Deputies
| ||
Nepal | Parliament |
All of the provincial assemblies are unicameral.[38] | |
Rastriya Sabha (National Assembly) | Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives) | ||
Nigeria | National Assembly | ||
Senate | House of Representatives | ||
Pakistan | Parliament | All of the provincial assemblies are unicameral. | |
Senate | National Assembly | ||
Russia | Federal Assembly | All the regional legislatures are now unicameral while bicameralism in regions is technically allowed by the Federation. | |
Federation Council |
State Duma | ||
Somalia | Parliament | ||
Senate |
House of The People
| ||
Switzerland | Federal Assembly |
All of the cantons have unicameral parliaments. | |
Council of States |
National Council
| ||
United States | Congress | All of the state legislatures, except Nebraska, are also bicameral. The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico is bicameral. The Council of the District of Columbia is unicameral.
| |
Senate | House of Representatives |
Unitary
Historical
Denmark | Rigsdagen | Under the 1849 constitution Rigsdagen was created, with two houses, an upper and a lower house. However, after the 1953 referendum, both Rigsdagen and the Landsting was abolished, making the Folketing the sole chamber of the parliament. | |
Landsting (Upper house ) |
Folketing (Lower house) | ||
Greece | Parliament of the Hellenes | The Kingdom of Greece at 1935.
| |
Gerousia (Senate) | Vouli (Chamber of Deputies) | ||
Hungary | Assembly of the Realm | Between 1608 and 1918 the Hungarian Parliament called Országgyűlés (Assembly of the Realm) had a bicameral structure, both houses having the same rights in legislature. In 1848 the popular representation was introduced for the Lower Table (replacing the representation of the Estates), while with Act VII of 1885 the Upper Table was slightly transformed, but its historical and partly aristocratic nature was preserved. | |
Upper Table (after 1885: House of Lords) | Lower Table (after 1848: House of Representatives) | ||
Assembly of the Realm | Between 1927 and 1944 the Hungarian Parliament became bicameral again, as Act XXII of 1926 reistanted the upper chamber, now simply called Felsőház (Upper House). This new house was partly an elected body: the mid-level local governments (counties) and some corporative, cultural and scientific associations (such as, e.g., the universities or the chamber of commerce) got the right to co-opt deputies from their own members. From 1945 on, the Hungarian Parliament is a unicameral legislative body. | ||
Upper House | House of Representatives | ||
Iceland | Parliament | Once the Icelandic Parliament was restored by royal decree in 1844, it originally operated unicamerally from 1845 to 1874 when it became principally bicameral with an additional third chamber, known as Unified Parliament. However, the third chamber consisted of the union of the other two and deliberated as a single body, which makes some scholars classify it as only a bicameral system. However, the third chamber did have its own speaker distinct from the speakers for the other two chambers. The Icelandic Parliament followed the legislatures of Denmark and Sweden and became unicameral once more in 1991. | |
Upper Chamber | Lower Chamber | ||
Korea, South | National Assembly |
Under the first constitution ( second republic (1960–61), the National Assembly became practically bicameral, but it was overturned by the May 16 coup . The National Assembly has been unicameral since its reopen in 1963.
| |
Senate |
House of Commons
| ||
New Zealand | Parliament | Until 1950, the New Zealand Parliament was bicameral. It became unicameral in 1951, following the abolition of the Legislative Council, leaving the House of Representatives as the sole parliamentary chamber. | |
Legislative Council | House of Representatives
| ||
Peru | Congress | The 1992 autocoup. Later, under the newer 1993 constitution, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral Congress of the Republic .
| |
Senate | Chamber of Deputies | ||
Portugal | Cortes | During the period of Constitutional Monarchy, the Portuguese Parliament was bicameral. The lower house was the Chamber of Deputies and the upper house was the Chamber of Peers (except during the 1838–1842 period, where a Senate existed instead). With the replacement of the Monarchy by the Republic in 1910, the Parliament continued to be bicameral with a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate existing until 1926. | |
Chamber of Peers | Chamber of Deputies | ||
Soviet Union | Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union | The Congress of People's Deputies superseded the Supreme Soviet. The Soviet of the Republics briefly succeeded the Soviet of Nationalities in late 1991. | |
Soviet of Nationalities | Soviet of the Union | ||
Sweden | Riksdagen | Until 1970, the Swedish Riksdag was bicameral. It became unicameral in 1971, but retained the name Riksdag. | |
Första kammaren (Upper house) | Andra kammaren (Lower house) | ||
Yugoslavia | Federal Assembly |
Between 1974 and 1992. | |
Chamber of Republics | Federal Chamber | ||
Turkey | Parliament |
It was established with the 1980 coup d'état in Turkey .
| |
Senate of the Republic | National Assembly | ||
Venezuela | Congress | Under the National Assembly of Venezuela .
| |
Senate | Chamber of Deputies | ||
Fiji | Parliament | Original bicameral system suspended by 2006 coup. 2013 Constitution of Fiji abolished it and replaced it with a single chamber Parliament. | |
Senate | House of Representatives | ||
Mauritania | Parliament |
Under the 2017 Referendum, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral system. | |
Senate | National Assembly | ||
Iran | Parliament | Between 1950 and 1979 | |
Senate | National Assembly | ||
Croatia | Parliament | Between 1990 and 2001 | |
Chamber of Counties | Chamber of Representatives | ||
Republic of Vietnam | National Assembly | Between 1966 and 1975 | |
Senate | House of Representatives | ||
Czechoslovakia | National Assembly | Between 1920 and 1939 | |
Senate | Chamber of Deputies | ||
Federal Assembly | Under the Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation, the Federal Assembly replaced the unicameral National Assembly in 1969. Its two constituent republics, the Czech (Socialist) Republic and the Slovak (Socialist) Republic, had unicameral legislatures (Czech National Council and Slovak National Council). When Czechoslovakia was dissolved at the start of 1993, the Federal Assembly was disbanded. The Czech Republic established their upper house, the Senate, in December 1992. | ||
Chamber of Nations | Chamber of People |
See also
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Further reading
- Aroney, Nicholas (2008). "Four Reasons for an Upper House: Representative Democracy, Public Deliberation, Legislative Outputs and Executive Accountability". Adelaide Law Review. 29. Retrieved 21 February 2021.[permanent dead link]
External links
- Noncontemporaneous Lawmaking: Can the 110th Senate Enact a Bill Passed by the 109th House?, 16 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 331 (2007).
- Against Mix-and-Match Lawmaking Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl, Against Mix-and-Match Lawmaking], 16 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 349 (2007).
- Defending the (Not So) Indefensible: A Reply to Professor Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl, 16 Cornell J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 363 (2007).