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An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The House is a domain that serves as the center of the universe in the Keys to the Kingdom series by Australian author Garth Nix. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation This is a list of legislatures by country, whether parliamentary or congressional, that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A parliament is a Legislature, especially in those A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Parliamentary group and parliamentary party are terms used to refer to the representation of a Political party or Electoral fusion of parties in a The leader or chairperson of a Parliamentary group holds an influential political post in a parliamentary system with strong Party discipline A congress is a formal meeting of representatives from different countries (or by extension Constituent States, or independent organisations (such as different Trade A Member of Congress is a Politician who is a member of a Congress. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber In contrast to Unicameralism, Multicameralism or 'polycameralism' is the condition of having multiple legislative branches of Government. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral Tricameralism is the practice of having three legislative or Parliamentary chambers Many Parliaments or other Legislatures consist of two chambers (or houses) an elected Lower house, and an Upper house A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house. A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which A city council is a form of Local government, usually covering a City or other Urban area, such as a Town. A councillor or councilor ( Cllr, Coun, Clr or Cr for short is a member of a Local government council such as a In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house.
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Possible specific characteristics
An upper house is usually distinct from the lower house in at least one of the following respects:
- Given less power than the lower house, with special reservations, e. g. only when seizing a proposal by evocation, not on the budget, not the house of reference for majority assent.
- Only limited legislative matters, such as constitutional amendments, may require its approval.
- 'Houses of review', in that they cannot start legislation, only consider the lower houses' initiatives. Also, they may not be able to outright veto legislation.
- In presidential systems, the upper house usually has the sole power to try impeachments against the executive following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. A presidential system is a System of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term separately from the Legislature Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to forcibly remove a Government official In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State.
- Composed of members selected in a manner other than by popular election. Examples include hereditary membership or Government appointment.
- Used to represent the states of a federation. Many countries are made up of a number of subnational entities called states (or related terms in languages other than English A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal"
- Fewer seats than the lower house (or more if hereditary).
- If elected, often for longer terms than those of the lower house; if composed of peers or nobles, they generally hold their hereditary seats for life.
- Elected in portions for staggered terms, rather than all at once.
Powers
Parliamentary systems
In parliamentary systems the upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or "revising" chamber, for this reason its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses:
- Lack of control over the executive branch. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State.
- No absolute veto of proposed legislation (though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states)
- A reduced role in initiating legislation. A veto, Latin for "I forbid" is used to Denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of Legislation.
- It cannot block or modify supply (Though see the Australian Constitutional Crisis of 1975 for an example of an upper house blocking supply). Loss of supply occurs where a government in a Parliamentary democracy using the Westminster System or a system derived from it is denied a supply of treasury or exchequer
It is the role of a revising chamber to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house, and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example is the British House of Lords, which under the Parliament Acts may not stop, but only delay bills. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The Parliament Acts are two Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1911 and 1949 that form part of the Constitution of the United It is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. By delaying but not vetoing legislation, an upper house may nevertheless defeat legislation: by giving the lower house the opportunity to reconsider, by preventing it from having sufficient time for a bill in the legislative schedule, or simply by embarrassing the other chamber into abandoning an unpopular measure.
Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include a means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other.
In recent times, Parliamentary systems have witnessed a trend towards weakening the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been abolished completely (see below); others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct the business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. Alternative meaning Constitutional convention (political meeting A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is These conventions have tended to harden with passage of time.
Presidential systems
In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions:
- It usually has to sign off on appointments the executive makes to the cabinet and other offices. A presidential system is a System of government where an executive branch exists and presides (hence the term separately from the Legislature A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch.
- It frequently has the sole authority to give consent to or denounce foreign treaties. A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations.
Institutional structure
There is great variety in the way an upper house members are assembled. It can be directly or indirectly elected, appointed, selected through hereditary means, or a certain mixture of all theses systems. The German Bundesrat is quite unique as its members are members of the cabinets of the German states, in most cases the state premier and several ministers, they are just delegated and can be recalled anytime. The Bundesrat ("federal council" or "upper house of German parliament" is the representation of the 16 Federal States ( Bundesländer) of A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular A premier is a title for the Head of government in some countries
Many upper houses are not directly elected, but appointed: either by the head of government or in some other way. This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not be returned in an election. For example, members of the Canadian Senate are appointed by the monarch on the direction of the prime minister. The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy of
The seats are sometimes hereditary, as still is partly the case in the British House of Lords, and the Japanese House of Peers (until this house was abolished in 1947). The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" This article is about the Japanese body The British House of Lords is also known as the House of Peers for certain ceremonial purposes.
However, it is also common that the upper house consist of delegates who are indirectly elected by state governments or local officials. For example, in the United States Senate until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The Seventeenth Amendment ( Amendment XVII) of the United States Constitution was passed by the Senate on June 12 1911 and by the House on May 13 1912 Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
In addition, the upper house of many nations is directly elected, but in different proportions to the lower house - for example, the Senates of Australia and the United States have a fixed number of elected representatives from each state, regardless of the population. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Abolition
Many jurisdictions, such as Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, Peru, Venezuela, New Zealand, and most Canadian provinces, once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber Newfoundland had a Legislative Council prior to joining Canada, as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada. The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British dominion from 1907 (before which the territory had the status of a British colony to 1949 A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Province of Upper Canada (French Province du Haut-Canada) was a British colony located in what is now the southern portion of the Province of Ontario Nebraska is the only state in the United States to have a unicameral legislature, which it achieved when it abolished its lower house in 1934. Nebraska ( is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
The Australian state of Queensland also once had a legislative council before abolishing it in 1922; at this time members of the Legislative Council (the formal name of the state parliament) were not elected by the citizenry and so the council was found to be undemocratic and thus unconstitutional. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent As this was a purely internal matter, all other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems.
Titles of upper houses
Common terms
- Senate - By far the most common
- Legislative Council
- Council of States (in a Federation) - Federation Council (Russia), Bundesrat (Germany, Austria), Council of States (Switzerland), Rajya Sabha (or "Council of States," India), Sangi-in (or "House of Councillors," Japan). A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies Federation Council of Russia (Сове́т Федера́ции Sovet Federatsii) is the Upper house of the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The Council of States of Switzerland (Ständerat Conseil des Etats Consiglio degli Stati Cussegl dals Stadis is the smaller chamber of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The Rajya Sabha (meaning the "Council of States" is the Upper house of the Parliament of India. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The is the Upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the Lower house. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.
- Supreme Soviet - as in the ex-Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991
Unique titles
- Seanad Éireann (Irish for 'Irish Senate') in the Republic of Ireland from 1919-Present. Seanad Éireann (ɕan̪ˠad̪ˠ erʲan̪ˠ English Senate of Ireland) also known unofficially as the Senate, is the Upper house of the Oireachtas Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish.
- House of Lords - Seen only in the United Kingdom, previously in Ireland
- Chambre des Pairs (French for 'Chamber of Peers') in France under the restored royal house of Bourbon
- Főrendiház or House of Magnates in the former Kingdom of Hungary, also called simply Felsőház i. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Irish House of Lords (Irish Teach na dTiarnai) was the Upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediæval times until 1800 Peerage of France (Pairie de France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Országgyűlés ( National Assembly) was the name of the Bicameral Parliament of the Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary during the Austro-Hungarian The Kingdom of Hungary (short form Hungary) was a considerable state in Central Europe that existed from 1001 to 1918 then from 1919 to 1946 e. Upper House
- Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Chinese: 中国人民政治协商会议) - People's Republic of China (not officially an upper house and possesses no legislative power)
- Eerste Kamer (Dutch: First Chamber) - (Senaat-Senate is also frequently used) Netherlands
- Shura Council (Consultative Council) - Egypt
- House of Councillors (Japanese: 参議院, Sangi-in) - Japan
- National Council - Slovenia, also the title of the lower house of the Parliament of Austria
- House of Elders - Upper house of the Republic of Somaliland; however, the country is internationally unrecognized. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference ( People's Political Consultative Conference Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Eerste Kamer ( First Chamber) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament the States-General Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands For the Islamist group see Mujahideen Shura Council. For the Saudi legislature see Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The is the Upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the Lower house. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west In the Parliament of Austria ( Österreichisches Parliament) is vested the legislative power of the Republic of Austria. The Parliament of Somaliland ( Baarlamaanka) has two chambers. The house is shaped to resemble the House of Lords in the UK.
See also
This is a list of legislatures by country, whether parliamentary or congressional, that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives A lower house is one of two chambers of a Bicameral Legislature, the other chamber being the Upper house.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic