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Satyabrata Kar, Lovely Professional University Unit 8: Constitutional Structure: Legislature

Unit 8: Constitutional Structure: Legislature Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
8.1 Composition and Powers of the British Parliament
8.2 US Congress and Swiss Federal Assembly
8.3 Russian and French Parliament and National People’s Congress of China
8.4 Summary
8.5 Key-Words
8.6 Review Questions
8.7 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit students will be able to:
• Describe the composition and powers of the British Parliament
• Know the US Congress and Swiss Assembly
• Explain the Russian and French Parliament and National People’s Congress of China.
Introduction

Traditionally, legislation is considered the only sphere of representative assemblies. Representative
assemblies are in fact referred to as the legislature, although it is always agreed that these assemblies
do not have exclusive control over legislation nor are they concerned only with legislation. Politically
speaking, the function of making laws is nowadays atleast as much carried on by the central
bureaucracy, which drafts all important bills in England, India, U.S.A and other countries. The political
function of representative assemblies today is not so much the initiation of legislation as the carrying
on of popular education and propaganda and the integration and co-ordination of conflicting interests
and viewpoints.
Moreover, the functions of the legislature are not identical in every country. They entirely depend
upon the form of Government. Their functions, their prestige, etc. differ from country to country.
8.1 Composition and Powers of the British Parliament

The British Parliament is a bi-cameral body having monarch and the two chambers — House of
Lords and House of Commons — respectively as the upper and the lower ones. It is, however,
important to note that the House of Lords, despite being the older chamber and one time being the
Parliament of the land, has lost its former power and glory and become hardly anything more than a
revising and delaying institution subservient to the will of the House of Commons. It is rightly
commented that after Monarchy, the House of Lords represents another major institution of the
British government in decline. Though abolished with the Monarchy in 1649 and restored with it in
1660, this House has been in a state of increasing control of the Commons so much so that the Parliament
Act of 1911 (with its amendment in 1949) has clipped its wings and thereby left it in a helpless
situation of being more or less like an ornamental chamber. More astounding is the fact, that unlike
Monarchy, the Lords have not given a tough fight to protect their old rights in the face of their grim
opposition by the people or their popular chamber.

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