Organisation of the Legislature

While the importance of the legislature is recognised, there is a difference of opinion regarding its organisation. A legislature may consist of a single house of chamber, in which case it is called a unicameral legislature, or it may consist of two houses, when it is called a bicameral legislature. In this case, the popularly elected chamber is called the First Chamber or the Lower House, and the other chamber is called the Second Chamber or the Upper House. In order to know which of the two forms would suit a country, it is necessary to keep the following considerations in view.

A National representative body

Legislature performs essential functions in every country. It must, therefore, be so organised as to represent and reflect all sections and interests in the nation. Every interest must have the opportunity of being heard in the law making body before it makes laws or decides policy of the State. Hence the method of representation must be sound and truly national. Only then the legislature will be a national representative body.

Good Legislative Procedure

The legislature should be so organised as to prevent hasty legislation. Laws affect everyone in the State. They must, therefore, be made only after a thorough and proper discussion and deliberation in the legislative assembly. Laws should be, as Aristotle said, “reason without passion.” For this reason, there must be no hustle or hurry, no emotional outburst, while making laws. The experience of ages has shown that a single-chamber legislature is more exposed to these weaknesses than a two- house legislature. If one house is hasty or emotional the other would not be so. Hence there is a less danger of hasty legislation in a bicameral legislature. In short, full opportunity for a due amount of caution and reflection in legislative work is a prerequisite for the sound organisation of the legislature.

  • Add Your Comment

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.