Bicameralism

In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a parliament or legislature which consists of two Chambers or Houses.

The relationship between the two Chambers varies; in some cases, they have equal power, while in others, one Chamber is clearly superior in its powers. It is also commonplace in most federal systems to have a bicameral legislature, with the second chamber representing the constitutent states, such as the United States Senate

Some political scientists believe that bicameralism makes meaningful political reforms more difficult to achieve and increases the risk of deadlock (particularly in cases where both Chambers are powerful). Others argue strongly for the merits of the checks and balances provided by the bicameral model, which they believe helps prevent the passage into law of ill-considered legislation.

Examples

Examples include:

• Parliament in the United Kingdom which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

• Congress in the United States which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives; all of the state legislatures except Nebraska's are also bicameral.

• Parliament in Canada, which consists of the House of Commons and the Senate

• Parliament in Australia, which consists of House of Representatives and Senate; all of the state parliaments except Queensland's are also bicameral.

• Oireachtas Éireann in the Republic of Ireland which consists of Dáil Éireann (the House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Senate)

• Parliament in India, which consists of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States).

• Parliament in the Fifth French Republic which consists of the National Assembly and the Senate

See also: Unicameralism, List of national legislatures