Bicameralism

Bicameralism

Bicameralism is a way some governments make laws. Instead of just one group deciding everything, they have two separate groups or “chambers.” This is called a bicameral legislature.

Many countries around the world use this two-group system. The two groups are usually chosen in different ways, so they can have different kinds of members.

For a law to be made, often both groups need to agree. This is called a concurrent majority. In some countries, one group can make the final decision, even if the other disagrees. This depends on how the government is set up.

History of bicameral legislatures

Significance of the British Parliament

Main article: Parliament of the United Kingdom

The British Parliament is often called the "Mother of Parliaments" because many other countries have copied its design. The idea of having two groups, or chambers, in a parliament started in 1341 in Britain. This created an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The upper chamber later became known as the House of Lords, and the lower chamber became the House of Commons. Together, they are called the Houses of Parliament.

Debate in the founding of the United States

Main article: Federal government of the United States

See also: Worldwide influence of the Constitution of the United States

The leaders who helped create the United States wanted a parliament with two chambers too. They thought the upper chamber, called the Senate, would be wiser and more stable than the lower chamber, called the House of Representatives. The Senate was meant to help balance decisions made by the lower chamber. Over time, the way senators were chosen changed, and by 1913, people began voting for senators directly.

See also: Commonwealth of Nations

Rationale for bicameralism and criticism

Having two groups of lawmakers can help stop any one group from having too much power. This idea comes from old thoughts on how governments should work.

Some countries with many areas or states choose to have two groups to balance power between these areas and the people.

People have different views on whether having two groups makes it harder to get things done. Some say it slows down important changes. Others believe it helps stop bad decisions by giving each group a chance to review the other's work.

Communication between houses

Different ways help the two parts of a parliament talk to each other. One way is sending messages in writing. This might be about decisions made or new laws suggested.

Another way is having both parts meet together at the same time. Sometimes, special groups from each part work together to solve problems, like when they disagree on a new law.

In the past, some countries had special meetings just for solving these disagreements, but now they usually just send messages to each other.

Examples of bicameralism at the national level

Federal

Some countries link their bicameral systems to their federal political structure. Examples include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States.

In countries like the United States, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Nepal, each state or province has the same number of seats in one house of the legislature, even if the populations of the states or provinces are different.

Australia

The bicameral Parliament of Australia has two Houses: the lower house, called the House of Representatives, and the upper house, called the Senate. The lower house has 151 members, each elected from single areas. The upper house, the Senate, also has members who are elected, with a total of 76 senators.

Canada

Canada's lower house, the House of Commons, has Members of Parliament (MPs) from single areas called "ridings". The Commons is elected every four years. In Canada's upper house, Senators are chosen to serve until age 75 by the Governor General based on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Others

In some countries, the upper houses are closely linked with the federal system. In Germany, India, and Pakistan, the upper houses are chosen by the governments or legislatures of each state or province. Some countries that are not federations also have upper houses with representation based on areas. For example, in South Africa, the National Council of Provinces has members chosen by each province's legislature.

In Spain, the Senate is the upper house. The European Union has a legislative system with the European Parliament, which is elected, and the Council of the European Union, which has one representative from each member country's government.

Aristocratic and post-aristocratic

House of Lords of the United Kingdom

The British House of Lords is a well-known example. It includes some hereditary peers. The House of Lords used to have more power, but now its ability to block laws is limited.

Japan's former House of Peers

Japan once had a House of Peers, which was abolished after World War II and replaced with the present House of Councillors.

Unitary states

Many unitary states have bicameral systems. Examples include Italy, France, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ireland and Romania. In these countries, the upper house usually reviews and can sometimes stop decisions made by the lower house.

Italian Parliament

In Italy the Parliament has two chambers with the same role and power: the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The main difference is how the members of each chamber are chosen.

Indirectly elected Upper Houses (France, Ireland, Netherlands)

In some of these countries, the upper house members are chosen indirectly. In France and Ireland, members of the Senate and the Seanad Éireann are chosen by groups of elected officials. In the Netherlands, the Senate members are chosen by members of provincial assemblies.

Semi-bicameral (Hong Kong, Northern Ireland; earlier in Norway, the Netherlands)

In Hong Kong, members of the Legislative Council must vote separately on some matters since 1998.

In Northern Ireland, special voting rules are used when needed.

Norway once had a semi-bicameral legislature with two parts within the same elected body, the Storting. These parts were called the Lagting and the Odelsting, but they were abolished after the 2009 election.

Examples of bicameralism in subnational entities

In some countries with federal systems, individual states like those of the United States, Argentina, Australia and India may also have bicameral legislatures. A few such states like Nebraska in the U.S., Queensland in Australia, Bavaria in Germany, and Tucumán and Córdoba in Argentina have later adopted unicameral systems. (Brazilian states and Canadian provinces all abolished upper houses).

Argentina

Only 8 out of 24 provinces still have bicameral legislatures, with a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies: Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Salta, San Luis (since 1987) and Santa Fe. Tucumán and Córdoba changed to unicameral systems in 1990 and 2001 respectively. Santiago del Estero changed to a bicameral legislature in 1884, but changed back to a unicameral system in 1903.

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.

Beginning in the 1970s, Australian states (except Queensland, which is unicameral) 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), followed by the Single Transferable Vote being introduced for the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1978, the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1987 and the Victorian Legislative Council in 2003.

Nowadays, the upper house both federally and in most states is elected using proportional representation while the lower house uses Instant-runoff voting in single member electorates. This is reversed in the state of Tasmania, where proportional representation is used for the lower house and single member electorates for the upper house.

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. Republika Srpska, the other entity, has a unicameral parliament, known as the National Assembly, but there is also a Council of Peoples who is de facto the other legislative house.

India

Only 6 of the 36 states or Union Territories of India have bicameral legislatures, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, while the rest all have unicameral legislatures. The lower houses are called Legislative Assemblies, and their members are elected by universal adult suffrage from single-member constituencies in state elections, which are normally held every five years called Vidhana Sabha. In the six states with bicameral legislatures, the upper house is called the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) or Vidhana Parishat, one-third of whose members are elected every two years. Members of the Legislative Council are elected in various ways:

• One-third are elected by the members of local bodies in the state such as municipalities, gram panchayats, block development councils and district councils.
• One-third are elected by the members of the state's Legislative Assembly from amongst persons who are not members of the State Legislative Assembly.
• One-sixth are nominated by the governor of the state from amongst persons having knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, arts, the co-operative movement and social service.
• One-twelfth are elected from special constituencies by persons who are college graduates of 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.

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.

Historical

The German federal state of Bavaria had a bicameral legislature from 1946 to 1999, when the Senate was abolished by a referendum amending the state's constitution. The other 15 states have used a unicameral system since their founding.

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.

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

In 2005, a report by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations suggested that Arab countries think about having two groups in their parliaments. This idea was to help protect smaller groups and stop unfair decisions.

In 2002, Bahrain decided to have two groups in its parliament. But some people were unhappy with this change and did not vote in that year's elections.

Romania

In Romania on November 22, 2009, people voted on whether to change their parliament to have just one group instead of two. Most people voted "Yes," but more steps were needed to make this happen.

Ivory Coast

On October 30, 2016, Ivory Coast had a vote on new rules for their country. These rules would change their parliament to have two groups. One group would represent different areas and people living outside the country.

Georgia

In 2017, Georgia planned to change its parliament to have two groups once certain areas are back under Georgia’s control.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh suggested making a second group in its parliament called the Senate of Bangladesh. The members of this group would be chosen by votes from the main parliament and some would be picked by the country's leader. This new group would have 105 seats. A vote in 2026 will decide if this second group will be created.

List of bicameral legislatures

Current

Federal

Unitary

Territorial

State parliaments with limited recognition

List of historical bicameral legislatures