Legislature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A legislature is a type of representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws.

Legislatures are known by many names, the most common are parliament and congress, although these terms also have more specific meanings. In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints the executive. In presidential systems of government, the legislature is considered a power branch which is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills.

Parliament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler (to speak): a parlement is a talk, a discussion, hence a meeting (an assembly, a court) where people discuss matters.

• Albanian Parliament - Single-chamber parliament elected for four years under additional-member system.
• Armenia - National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia - Site lists the members of various committees, with more information in Armenian.
• Australia - Parliament of Australia - Consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
• Austrian Parliament - Österreichisches Parlament, consisting of the Nationalrat (National Council) and the Bundesrat (Federal Council).
• Barbados - Parliament of Barbados - Composed of the 28-member House of Assembly, elected by the first-past-the-post system, and the 21-member appointed Senate.
• Belgium Federal Parliament - Senate and Chamber of Representatives.
• Bulgaria - National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria - Elected for a four-year term and consisting of 240 members.
• Canada - Parliament of Canada - Composed of the Queen, represented by the Governor General, the appointed Senate, and the elected House of Commons.
• Cyprus - House of Representatives - Composed of 80 members, 56 elected by the Greek community and 24 by the Turkish community.
• Czech Republic - Chamber of Deputies - Site has lists of commitees, commissions and delegations, and more in Czech.
• Czech Republic - Senate - Eighty-one member elected body.
• Denmark - Folketinget - Danish parliament of 179 members elected by a variant of an additional member system.
• Estonia - Riigikogu - The Parliament of the Republic of Estonia, elected by proportional representation with a 5% cutoff.
• European Union - European Parliament - Single-chamber body elected by several overlapping systems. Site has content in all EU languages.
• Faroe Islands - Føroya Løgting - Single-chamber elected from seven constituencies, with powers under Denmark's Home Rule Act 1948.
• Finland - Suomen Eduskunta - The Parliament of Finland, a unicameral body of 200 members elected on a proportional basis.
• France - National Assembly - Consists of 577 deputies, each of whom is elected in a constituency either with an absolute majority of votes (more than half the votes) at the first ballot or a relative majority (the largest number of votes) at the second ballot.
• France - Senate - Upper house of the French parliament.
• Georgia - Parliament.
• Germany - Bundesrat - The Federal Council is the Chamber of the Länder, the federal states, such that only one member votes on behalf of each state, casting all the state's votes.
• Germany - Bundestag - The Federal Diet, composed of at least 598 Members, of whom 299 are elected in the constituencies and a further 299 via a list-based additional member system with a 5% cutoff.
• Greece - Hellenic Parliament - Includes a history of the constitution.
• Hong Kong Legislative Council - Consisting of 60 Members, with 24 Members elected from geographical constituencies, 30 Members by functional constituencies, and 6 Members by an Election Committee comprising 800 elected representatives of the community.
• Hungary - Parliament of the Republic of Hungary - Also known as the National Assembly (Az ország háza).
• Iceland - Alþingi - The Icelandic parliament dates back to 930AD, now having 63 members from eight constituencies.
• India - Parliament of India - Composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).
• India - Rajya Sabha - The Council of States elected by the states' assemblies.
• Irish Parliament - Also knowns as the Houses of the Oireachtas; composed of Dáil Éireann (House of Deputies) and Seanad Éireann (Senate).
• Isle of Man - Manx Parliament - The Tynwald, dating back to the eighth century, and composed of the House of Keys and the Legislative Council.
• Italy - Chamber of Deputies - The Camera dei deputati, with content in English, French and Italian.
• Japan - House of Councillors - The Sangiin, the upper house of the National Diet.
• Japan - House of Representatives - The Shugiin, the Lower house of the National Diet.
• Jersey - The States of Jersey - Originally composed of the three estates, the Jurats (justices), the Connétables (the heads of the parishes) and the Rectors (from the churches).
• Latvia - Saeima - Unicameral parliament of 100 members elected by proportional representation.
• Liechtenstein - Diet - Unicameral body elected by proportional representation, with ten members from the Lower Country electoral district and fifteen from the Upper Country.
• Lithuania - Seimas - Composed of 141 members elected for a four-year term.
• Malagasy National Assembly - Chamber of 138 members. Site mostly in French.
• Malta - House of Representatives - Unicameral elected body.
• Micronesia - Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia - Unicameral national legislature consisting of 14 Senators, one from each of the States of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Yap for a four-year term, and ten Members for two years.
• New Zealand - House of Representatives - Elected from 62 General and 7 Maori constituencies, with additional members for proportionality.
• Norwegian Parliament - The Stortinget of 165 members, of which 157 are from constituencies and 8 are additional members.
• Poland - Sejm - Main chamber of the parliament.
• Poland - Senate - Chamber of the parliament.
• Portugal - Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República).
• Romania - Chamber of Deputies - Containing 341 members elected using a proportional list system.
• Romania - Senate - One hundred and forty-three member body elected using a proportional list system. With more content in Romanian.
• Singapore - Parliament of the Republic of Singapore - Elected from multi-member constituencies, with some additional members. Pending bills, publications, member directory, and educational resources available.
• Slovenia - Drzavni zbor - The National Assembly, with more detail in Slovenian.
• South Africa - Parliament of South Africa - Composed of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
• South Korea - National Assembly of the Republic of South Korea - Composed of not fewer than 200 members, elected for four years.
• Spain - Congress - Primary chamber of the Cortes Generales elected by a proportional system.
• Spain - Senate - House of territorial representation of the Cortes Generales, with most provinces electing four senators.
• Sweden - Riksdag - Unicameral body containing 349 members from 29 different constituencies.
• Switzerland - Parliament - Bicameral system consisting of 200-member National Council and 46-member Council of States.
• Thailand - House of Representatives - Composed of 500 members, 400 elected from constituencies and 100 from party lists.
• Thailand - Senate - With lists of committee members and more information in Thai.
• Turkey - Grand National Assembly - Five-hundred-and-fifty-member body elected for a five-year period.
• Uganda - Parliament of Uganda - Includes history and constitution.
• United Kingdom Parliament - Composed of the House of Commons, elected by single-member plurality for a period of not more than five years, and the appointed (and for a few members inherited) House of Lords.
• Viet Nam - National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam - With details of the constitutional status of the Quoc Hoi.