Bicameral System

bicameral system (bīkăm`ərəl), governmental system dividing the legislative function between two chambers, an "upper," such as the U.S. Senate and the British House of Lords, and a "lower," such as the U.S. House of Representatives and the British House of Commons. Although the term bicameral was coined by Jeremy Bentham as recently as 1832, division of the legislative branch of government according to function and composition is of long standing. The division of the English Parliament into separate houses of Lords and Commons in the 14th cent. may have arisen simply for the sake of convenience in transacting business; however, this division came to represent the historic cleavage of interest between nobles and commoners, with the balance of power, especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the gradual development of cabinet government in the 18th cent., shifting more and more to the commoners. The powers of the House of Lords were drastically reduced by the Parliament acts of 1911 and 1949, and though the house continues to debate and vote on bills, its function has become essentially advisory. The British colonies in North America gradually adopted the bicameral system; the upper chamber, whether elective or appointive, came to represent the colony as a whole, while delegates to the lower house were attached to particular constituencies. According to modern scholars, the adoption of the same system for the Congress of the United States reflected colonial practice, British example, and the widespread differences in property qualification for suffrage and office-holding purposes current at the time. In France some 18th-century theorists, such as Montesquieu, favored a bicameral legislature based on the British example, but the "natural rights" philosophers, such as Rousseau, opposed such a system. France experimented with various forms of legislature during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods but thereafter, despite numerous constitutional changes, retained a bicameral system. Where bicameral legislatures exist, the two chambers are based on different principles of representation in addition to possessing separate functions. After World War I the unicameral legislative system made headway in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and parts of the British dominions. The only U.S. state to have a unicameral legislature is Nebraska, which adopted it in 1934.

Bibliography

See D. Schaffter, The Bicameral System in Practice (1929); J. A. Corry, Elements of Democratic Government (4th ed. rev. 1964); S. H. Beer, Patterns of Government (3d ed. 1973).

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bicameral system

System of government in which the legislature comprises two houses. It originated in Britain (see Parliament), where eventually it served to represent the interests of both the common people and the elite and to ensure deliberation over legislation. In the U.S. the bicameral system is a compromise between the claims for equal representation among the states (each state is represented by two members of the Senate) and for equal representation among citizens (each member of the House of Representatives represents roughly the same number of people). Each house has powers not held by the other, and measures need the approval of both houses to become law. Many contemporary federal systems of government have bicameral legislatures. All U.S. states except Nebraska have bicameral legislatures. See also Canadian Parliament; Congress of the United States; Diet.

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Bicameral System 

in state law, the structure of a legislative body that consists of two parts (chambers). The supreme representative body in the USSR, the Supreme Soviet, has two chambers: the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities. The bicameral structure of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR expresses the multinational character of the Soviet state and ensures representation of the common interests of all the working people of the USSR, as well as the specific national interests of all the nation’s peoples. Both chambers are formed democratically by direct elections, and they have equal rights: they are elected at the same time and for the same terms, they have equal rights of legislative initiative, and laws are considered adopted only after they have been approved by both chambers.

In capitalist countries both federal and unitary states have bicameral parliaments. The bicameral system first arose in England in the 14th century as a compromise between the commercial bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. After granting the franchise to the so-called Third Estate, whose representatives met in the elected lower chamber, the aristocracy created an upper chamber as a bulwark of its power. The upper chamber was not democratically elected and could delay the adoption of legislative acts that had been approved by the lower chamber. The bicameral system was retained after the bourgeoisie had established its power, and the upper chamber continued to act as a brake on the decisions of the lower chamber.

In the capitalist states different rules govern the formation of the two chambers. As a rule, the lower chamber is elected by the people in accordance with election laws, and the members of the upper chamber are either appointed by the head of state or chosen by indirect elections. In federal states the upper chamber is usually elected from the federal units (Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany and states in the USA). The number of deputies may be the same for each unit, or it may be proportional to the population of each unit. Deputies to the upper chamber must satisfy higher property, age, and other qualifications.

As a rule, the two chambers do not have equal rights: the upper chamber is usually granted broader powers. The US Senate, for instance, has the exclusive right to confirm appointments to some important government posts and to ratify international treaties. (The consent of the House of Representatives is not required in these cases.)

REFERENCE

Parlamenty. Moscow,1967.

F. I. KALINYCHEV