BICAMERALISM,

Features, Merits & Demerits

 BICAMERALISM: WHAT?
• A bicameral parliament or legislature is one in which two assemblies share legislative power
or practice of having two Houses of Parliament; two legislative chambers or branches.
• Latin: "bi" (two) and "camera" (chamber): Legislature having two houses
• Bicameralism is more common in federal/quasi federal, large and presidential states, while
unicameralism is more common in unitary, small, parliamentary ones.
• The members of lower house chosen by people, whereas the members of the upper house
either elected or appointed.
 WHERE?
• 1st Example of British bicameralism (1341): The Commons met separately from the
nobility and clergy for the first time, an Upper Chamber and a Lower Chamber was
effectively created. Formalized in 17th Century: House of Lords and House of Commons .
House of Lords (weakened subsequently)
• The U.S. adopted a bicameral system after its founding (Declaration of Independence in
1776) . the House of Representatives and the Senate combindly known as Congress(Article
1, Section 1); all the USA provinces excluding Nebraska (effective from 1937)but at city
level Unicameralism
• 80 countries (more than 40 % having legislative organ, still 60 percent Unicameral): India:
Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha; Even a provincial level: Vidhan Parishad (7 Karnataka, Bihar,
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu-Kashmir, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.)
• Other examples: Federal countries like Australia, Brazil & Canada & Quasi-federal like
Germany
Country Lower House (Yr) No. Remarks Upper H. (Yr) No Remarks
UK House of Commons (5) 650 FPTP, Gov. resp. House of Lords (789 Appointed: religious and temporal; number not fixed ,
for it (upto 15 ) at
presen
t

USA House of Representatives 436+6 6 nonvoting Senate (6) 100 Equal repr.
(2)

India Lok Sabha (5) 545 FPTP Rajya Sabha (6) 250 indirect elect, unequal repr

Germany Bundestag (4) (Federal 709 Direct, propot. BUNDESRAT (6) 60 Indirect Elected, equal rpr., advisary
Assembly) Repr.

Brazil Chamber of Deputies 513 propoti Federal Senate (8) 81

(4)
Australia HoR (3) 151 From geo area Senate (6) 76 Direct election, propotional re, 6 from each states and 2
each from National capital and NT

Pakistan National Assembly (5) 342 272 directly, 70 Senate (6) 100 23 each from 4 states and 4 each from FATA &
(Majlise Sura) Aiwān-e-Zairīñ reserved Aiwān-e-Bālā Islamabad

France (1795) National Assembly (5) 577 Single member, Senate 348 Indirect
(Assemblée Nationale) Two round voting (senat)
system

Japan HoR (4) 465 Direct, parallel House of Councilors 245 Direct election (permanent chamber , 50-50 percent 3
(National Diet) (Shūgiin) (mixed)(list: (6) ( Sangiin) years)
176+single
 WHY? ADVANTAGES
• Check and balance inside legislative organ: functional rationale
• Limiting legislative organ’s power
• Sharp social division: historical reason: (the nobility, the clergy) Vs the commoners
• Two treat all the states equally or not (population): USA (Great Compromise): Bicameralism:
people vs state (The USA: HoR proportional representation with California 53 members and
7 states live Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming
only 1; while in senate all the states are represented equally by 2 senates: equal
representation)
• Principle of federalism: State’s say (India), even in USA senates represent provinces
• Preventing quick legislation
• Representation
• Protection of liberty
• Sharing burden of other house
 DISADVANTAGES
• Delay and deadlocks
• Most of the time unnecessary
• expensive
• Lacks unity: Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès : ‘dual will’ of people
CHECK ON POPULARLY ELECTED
LEGISLATURE:
Referendum and Initiative
• The referendum and initiative are elections in which the preferences of the community are
assessed on a particular issue; whereas the former are instigated by those in government, the
latter are initiated by groups of electors.
• In order to infuse some elements of direct democracy
• Referendum: a vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their
opinion about or decide an important political or social question
• Regard to government policy or proposed legislation
• May be obligatory or optional. Obligatory: Constitutional amendments in most of the states are
subject to mandatory referendum); optional: to test public opinion
• Plebiscite: a vote by which the people of an entire country or district express an opinion for
or against a proposal especially on a choice of government or ruler: A plebiscite
conducted in Puerto Rico on Nov. 3, 2020: 52% of residents voted for statehood, while 47%
of residents voted against it
 INITIATIVE
• a specified number of voters may petition to invoke a popular vote on a proposed law or an
amendment to a constitution.
• Direct Initiative (a proposal supported by the required number of voters is submitted directly to a
popular vote for decision) or indirect (the proposal is submitted to the legislature). If an indirect
initiative is rejected, the proposition is submitted to a popular vote, sometimes accompanied on
the ballot by the legislature’s alternative proposal or a statement
• Referendum and the initiative find most widespread use in the United States and the Swiss
cantons, they are also provided for in the constitutions of several European and Commonwealth
countries.

• ( ref: https://www.britannica.com/topic/referendum) & https://

www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science/Functions-of-elections#ref416879
DECLINE OF THE LEGISLATURE AND THE
DELEGATED LEGISLATION
 DELEGATED LEGISLATURE
• Delegated (or Subordinate or Subsidiary) Legislation refers to those laws made by persons
or bodies to whom the legislative body has delegated law-making authority
• Where Acts are made by Parliament, a Principal Act may make provision for Subsidiary
Legislation to be made, and will specify who has the power to do so under that Act
• Delegated Legislation can only exist in relation to an enabling or parent Act
• Delegated Legislation contains the many administrative details necessary to ensure that the
provisions of the Act will operate successfully. It may be administered by Government
Departments, Local Councils or Courts
• Regulations and Statutory Rules are the most common forms of Delegated Legislation.
• (https://guides.library.uwa.edu.au/c.php?g=324818&p=2177280)
 TYPES OF DELEGATED
• Regulation
LEGISLATION
• The most common form of delegated legislation. Used for legislation of general application emanating from a government department.
Published in the Statutory Rules series until 2004 and in the Select Legislative Instrument series from 2005

• Rule
• Legislation specifying procedural formalities, eg court procedures such as the High Court Rules. Published in the Statutory Rules series
until 2004

• Ordinance
• Primary legislation of non self governing territories, made by a federal government department to apply to a particular territory. Also
used for the legislation of some State local government bodies.

• By-law
• Made by a statutory corporation having effect only within the area of responsibility of the authority. Also used for the legislation of
some State local government bodies

• There is also a range of other delegated legislation which includes: Decisions, Declarations, Determinations, Directions, Orders, etc.