Bicameral system

The bicameral system is a system of organization Politique which divides the Parlement into two distinct rooms, a Upper House and a Lower House. The word, introduced at the 19th century, consists of “Bi” ( two ) and of “camera” ( room in Latin). Different from the bicameral system which is the doctrines of the bicameral system.

The purpose of this system is to moderate the action of the Lower House, elected by the direct suffrage thus representing directly the people, by subjecting all his decisions for the examination by the Upper House, generally elected by the indirect suffrage, and which is more preserving.

The devoted adjectives, in French, to indicate the two types of political system, are: monocameralist, or monocamerist or unicaméral, and bicameral. Monocamerist and bicamerist, as for them, are substantives used to designate the partisans of the systems monocaméral and bicameral.

History

The bicameral system was born in England and is the fruit of a long historical evolution.

Before the 13th century, as in all feudal monarchies, the King was the single decision maker as for the lifting of the tax. Later, it has to consult a Parliament, made up of large kingdom, the “Concilium Magnum”, before making such decisions. The latter will become the House of Lords thereafter. As from this moment, the capacities of the King will be subjected more and more to the agreement of the House of Lords.

As of XIIIe century the King, to compensate for the weight of the “Concilium Magnum”, decides that the boroughs and counties will be also represented within one second Room, the “Concilium Commune”, which will become the House of Commons thereafter. Gradually executive powers, then allotted to the King will be delegated to a Cabinet, which will control in agreement with the Parliament.

This form of aristocratic bicameral system fell today in disuse. Several reforms (in particular both Parliament Act of 1911 and 1949, the Life Peerages Act of 1958 and the House off Lords Act of 1999) of the House of Lords gradually contributed to democratize its composition and to give him a role more and more symbolic system, because certain provisions make it possible to do without their assent, but this procedure is used little. In this respect, certain constitutionnalists vont even until presenting the United Kingdom like a mode monocaméral.

In a general way, one can observe the decline of the bicameral system so much quantitative (institution of a Parliament monocaméral in Sweden) that qualitative (phenomenon of the functional bicameral system, with a purely reflexive Upper House in Norway and Finland).

But the bicameral system resists in the countries where the Upper House has a role of representation of the communities, thus Austrian Bundesrat and the French Sénat.

In several federal states, the Upper House represents, at least theoretically, the constituent states that it is on a levelling basis, as with the the United States or regional, as with the Canada (it is not the case in France which is a decentralized unit State).

If there exists only in Italy and Suisse of case of the perfect or levelling bicameral system, the Poland, the Croatia and the Tchéquie rehabilitated the bicameral system. Its decline thus does not appear inescapable.

In the world

Here a table of some double chamber systems:

In France

The objective of the bicameral system in France east to moderate the action of the Lower House (today National Assembly which is elected with the Vote for all direct), by subjecting all its decisions for the examination by one second room, the Upper House (today the Sénat which is elected with the Vote for all indirect), more preserving.

The bicameral system was introduced in France into the Constitution of the 5 Fructidor year III (the Directoire), in 1795, with two elected assemblies: the the Council of Old the and the the Council of the Five hundred. The rapporteur of the project of this constitution Boissy d' Anglas declares in front of the Constitution: I will stop little time to recall the dangers inseparable from the existence from only one assembly, I have for me your own history and the feeling of your consciences. It is necessary to oppose a powerful dam to the impetuosity of the legislative body, this dam, it is the division of the two Assemblies.

The constitutions of the Consulat (1799) then First Empire (1804) will preserve the principle of it, under the name of preserving Sénat .

In 1814, the Restauration of the dynasty of the Bourbons took as a starting point the British institutions by creating a Chambre of the pars on the British model, of which part of the members was appointed for life and the other on a purely hereditary basis. The Révolution of July 1830 removed the heredity of the pars.

The Constitution of the November 4th 1848 (the Second Republic) briefly removed the principle of the bicameral system, by not expecting that a National Assembly , only holder of the Legislative power.

However, the coup d'etat of the “prince chair”, the December 2nd 1851, allowed the promulgation of the Constitution of the January 14th 1852, which envisaged two rooms of which the Sénat , which was not modified by the restoration of imperial dignity the December 2nd 1852 (the Second Empire).

The constitutional laws of 1875 (the Third Republic), which restored the Republic formally, preserved the principle of a Parliament (called National Assembly ) composed of two rooms, under the name of Sénat and of House of Commons . This bicameral system was levelling: the two rooms had the same capacities.

The constitutional law of the July 10th 1940 (the Mode of Vichy) removed the “Upper House” (all while leaving only few being able with the remaining room).

The Constitution of the October 27th 1946 (the Fourth Republic) restored the principle of two rooms, in their giving the names of National Assembly and Conseil of the Republic . The first had a dominating capacity over the second. The council of the Republic did not have whereas an advisory role.

The Constitution of the October 4th 1958 (the Fifth Republic) maintained this system, while reintroducing the use of the name Sénat , disappeared since July 1940.

In Switzerland

The Swiss Confédération also knows a bicameral federal Parliament: the Lower House, the National council, divides the deputies by canton according to their population, the Upper House, the Conseil of the States, gives two deputies to each canton, and with each demicanton, whatever its geographical size and its population. This system makes it possible to avoid a domination of the large cantons on the small cantons and vice versa.

See too

Reference

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