Legislature 44421 218268892 2008-06-09T22:02:08Z Cyfex 75788 /* National */ Added entry for Greece {{unreferenced|date=December 2007}} ''{{Legislature}} A '''Legislature''' is a type of representative [[deliberative assembly]] with the power to create, amend and ratify [[law]]s. The law created by a legislature is called [[legislation]] or [[statutory law]]. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common being [[parliament]] and [[congress]], although these terms also have more specific meanings. The main job of the legislature is to make and amend laws. In [[parliamentary system]]s of [[government]], the legislature is formally supreme and [[appoint]]s the [[executive branch|executive]]. In [[presidential system]]s of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to [[Act of Parliament|enacting]] laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise [[tax]]es and adopt the [[budget]] and other [[money bill]]s.'' The primary components of a legislature are one or more ''chambers'' or ''houses'': assemblies that [[debate]] and [[vote]] upon [[bill (proposed law)|bill]]s. A legislature with only one house is called [[unicameral]]. A [[bicameral]] legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which often differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members. Much rarer have been [[tricameral]] legislatures; the most recent existed in the waning years of [[Tricameral Parliament|white-minority rule]] in [[South Africa]]. In most [[parliamentary system]]s, the lower house is the more powerful house while the upper house is merely a chamber of advice or review. However, in [[presidential systems]], the powers of the two houses are often similar or equal. In [[federation]]s it is typical for the upper house to represent the component states; the same applies to the supranational legislature of the [[European Union]]. For this purpose the upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as is the case in the [[European Union]] and in [[Germany]] and was the case in the [[United States]] before 1913, or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in [[Australia]] and the modern [[United States]]. ==Lists of titles of legislatures== [[Image:Unibicameral Map.png|400px|thumb|{{legend|#38b4d8|Nations with [[Bicameralism|bicameral legislatures]].}}{{legend|#f09c30|Nations with [[Unicameralism|unicameral legislatures]].}}{{legend|#a0989f|No legislature.}}]] ===National=== *[[Assembly of the Republic|Assembleia da República]] — [[Portugal]] *[[Assembly of Albania]] — [[Albania]] *[[Bundestag]] — [[Germany]] *[[Dewan Rakyat]] — [[Malaysia]] *[[Legislative Yuan]] — [[Republic of China]] *[[United States Congress|Congress]] — [[United States]] *[[Cortes Generales]] — [[Spain]] *[[Eduskunta]] — [[Finland]] *[[Federal Assembly]] — [[Russia]], [[Switzerland]] *[[Folketing]] — [[Denmark]] *[[Knesset]] — [[Israel]] *[[Majles Al-Ummah]] — [[Kuwait]] *[[Majlis Permusyawaratan Rakyat]] — [[Indonesia]] *[[Tithe an Oireachtais]] — [[Republic of Ireland]] *[[Riksdag]] — [[Sweden]] and [[Finland]] *[[Narodna Skupština]] — [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]] *[[States-General of the Netherlands|Staten-Generaal]] — [[Netherlands|The Netherlands]] *[[Stortinget]] — [[Norway]] *[[Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State]] — [[Vatican City]] *[[Sabor]] — [[Croatia]] and [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] *[[Riigikogu]] — [[Estonia]] *[[National Council of Austria|Nationalrat]] — [[Austria]] *[[Saeima]] — [[Latvia]] *[[Narodno Sabranie]] — [[Bulgaria]] *[[Hellenic Parliament]] — [[Greece]] ===Sub-National=== *[[List of state legislatures of the United States]] — [[United States]] ** Legislature — Various, including [[Nebraska]] **General Assembly / Assembly — Various ** General Court — [[Massachusetts]] and [[New Hampshire]] **House of Delegates — [[lower house]]s of [[Maryland]], [[Virginia]] and [[West Virginia]] *[[Landtag]] — [[Germany]], [[Austria]] *[[Legislative Assemblies of Canada's provinces and territories|Canada]] **Legislative Assembly — All [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces and territories]] except: **National Assembly — [[Quebec]] **House of Assembly — [[Nova Scotia House of Assembly|Nova Scotia]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] *[[Parliaments of the Australian states and territories|Australia]] ** Legislative Assembly - All States and Territories except: ** House of Assembly - [[South Australia]] and [[Tasmania]] ** Legislative Council - All States except [[Queensland Legislative Council|Queensland]] *[[United Kingdom]] **[[Scottish Parliament|Scottish Parliament/Pàrlamaid na h-Alba]] — [[Scotland]] **[[Northern Ireland Assembly]] — [[Northern Ireland]] **[[National Assembly for Wales]] — [[Wales]] ===Regional=== *[[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]] — [[Hong Kong]] *[[Legislative Assembly of Macau]], Macau {{law}} [[Category:Legislatures| ]] [[ar:هيئة تشريعية]] [[zh-min-nan:Li̍p-hoat]] [[be:Заканадаўчая ўлада]] [[be-x-old:Заканадаўчая ўлада]] [[ca:Poder legislatiu]] [[da:Lovgivende magt]] [[de:Legislative]] [[et:Seadusandlik võim]] [[es:Poder legislativo]] [[eo:Leĝdona povo]] [[fr:Pouvoir législatif]] [[id:Legislatif]] [[is:Löggjafarvald]] [[it:Potere legislativo]] [[he:פרלמנט]] [[lb:Legislativ]] [[lt:Įstatymų leidžiamoji valdžia]] [[mk:Законодавна власт]] [[ms:Legislatif]] [[nl:Wetgevende macht]] [[ja:立法府]] [[no:Politisk forsamling]] [[nn:Lovgjevande forsamling]] [[pl:Władza ustawodawcza]] [[pt:Poder legislativo]] [[ru:Законодательная власть]] [[bg:Законодателна власт]] [[simple:Legislature]] [[sl:zakonodajna oblast]] [[sr:Законодавна власт]] [[sv:Lagstiftande makt]] [[th:อำนาจนิติบัญญัติ]] [[tl:Tagapagbatas]] [[tr:Yasama organı]] [[vi:Lập pháp]] [[zh:立法部門]]