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POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS & ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Introduction

Legislature and Parliament Used interchangeably

Despotic or Autocratic Government The legislature is without any power to make laws

Functions of Legislature

 The function is to make laws and passes new laws, or amend or repeal
Legislation
old ones, when they become obsolete or when so required.
 It goes through several stages of debate and deliberation in the
legislature, called the legislative procedure.
 It is placed before the head of the state for his signature and becomes
an act or law.

Financial  Control over national finances.

Functions  It has the power to grant money to the government, which cannot
collect taxes without its previous approval.
 It supervises the revenue and expenditure of the government and
reviews them by discussing and passing the national budget,
presented in the legislature before the beginning of a new financial
year.

 Controls the executive in the cabinet or parliamentary form of

government.
Administrative  If the cabinet fails to satisfy the members, they can pass a vote of
Functions censure or lack of confidence in case the ministry has to resign.

Amendment of  In the case of the flexible British constitution, Parliament has the
the power to change the constitution. Even in states with written and
Constitution rigid constitutions, the legislature has the
 Power to amend the constitution partly or wholly, as in the American
and Pakistan constitutions.
Debating  No limitation on its power of discussion.
Function  Members are free to speak on any matter without fear.
 Parliament to analyze any or every issue that faces the nation.

 Many legislatures have the power to impeach the presidential head

Other of state.
Functions
 Some legislatures have the duty to decide election disputes.
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Organization of the Legislature

consist of  single house of the chamber called a Unicameral Legislature

 consist of two houses called a Bicameral Legislature
Chamber  Elected chamber is called the First Chamber or the Lower House
 the other chamber is called the Second Chamber or the Upper House
Forms
A National  Organized to represent and reflect all sections and interests in the
Representative nation.
Body  The method of representation must be sound and truly national.
 Only then the legislature will be a national representative body
Good  Organized to prevent hasty legislation.
Legislative  Laws affect the state so make them a thorough and proper discussion
Procedure and deliberation in the legislative assembly.
 Aristotle said, "Reason without passion."
 There is less danger of hasty legislation in a bicameral legislature
Structure of Legislatures
Depends organization of the legislature on the number of members who would sit in
Essential The number of persons should be large enough to represent all important sections,
interests, and classes in the nation
Better have two houses to distribute them in two places

What Does The Committees of Parliament Do?

Significant Feature The legislative process is the appointment of committees for various
legislative purposes.
Parliament Meets During sessions, it has very limited time at its disposal. This in turn
demands more attention and time.
Merits of Bicameralism or Demerits of Unicameralism
The merits or advantages of a bicameral legislature.
Prevents hasty  Must be made after proper deliberation and reflection.
legislation organization of legislature into two houses, along with such
other methods as a legislative procedure, constitution
 Easily swayed by emotions or passions and satisfied with
incomplete and hasty generalizations.
 Members of the two houses are different in habits, attitudes,
education, interests, and social origins
Bicameralism provides  Makes it possible for the proper representation of all national
a proper interests, classes, and minorities.
representation of  The Lower House is popularly elected, while the Second
national interests and Chamber or the Upper House represents special interests and
minorities classes, such as the richer classes, labor, educational
institutions, industry
 In a unicameral system, these sections and interests would
remain unrepresented. Moreover, the two Houses, being
differently constituted act differently in matters of
legislation.
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A check on legislative  J. S. Mill said, if there is only one House in a legislature,

despotism there will be no check on its despotic tendency to take too
much power into its own hands.
Reduces the pressure of  The existence of the Second Chamber enables the work to be
work distributed between the two Houses.
 More important work is performed by the Lower House,
while the less important tasks are handed over to the other
House.

Bicameralism secures  There are men of ability, experience, and talent who have
the election of able and achieved fame and recognition in some fields of national life,
experienced men  For example, in science, arts, civil service, and politics.
 There is only one House in the legislature, and their abilities,
experience, and talent would not be of any use to the nation
 The bicameral legislature, it is possible to enable them to
become its members and thereby, serve the country.
Bicameralism is not  The advocates of unicameralism point out that in modern
necessary even in a time’s members of the legislatures vote on party lines and not
federal state as representatives of a unit or locality.
 The interests of the component units in a federation can be
safeguarded by the power of judicial review by the federal
court
Bicameralism is  In a Federation, the country is viewed from two angles:
necessary for a  As a whole and
Federation for the  As consisting of federating units.
representation of  The Lower House represents the country or federation as a
component units whole
 Second Chamber may represent the component units.
A bicameral legislature  Two Houses elected at different times and on a different basis
is a correct barometer of representation
of public opinion  A single chamber elected at one time may lose touch with
public opinion by the time its term comes to an end

Arguments against Bicameralism, or In Favour of Unicameralism

 The manifold advantages or merits of bicameralism, it has been reservedly 18th and the
first half of the 19th century.
 Opinion swung in favor of unicameralism, though at present it is again out of favor.
 Many advantages of unicameralism are pointed out.
Unicameralism is  It is said that there is only one will of the state and there should be
democratic: one House alone to Franklin compared express it. Democracy, it is
Bicameralism argued, should not speak in two voices.
divides  The existence of a Second Chamber is against the spirit of
responsibility democracy and the unity and sovereignty of the state
merits
The second  The real difficulty with a bicameral legislature is how to organize
Chamber is either it.
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mischievous or  If they are equal, divisions, discord, and, deadlocks between them
superfluous are inevitable.
Unicameralism  The system of two- chamber legislature duplicates the work of law-
prevents making It means, a loss of time, energy, and money for the nation.
duplication and  Laski is of the opinion that single-chamber legislature seems best
wastage to answer the needs of the modern state
An ideal Second  Prolonged controversy over schemes to devise an ideal upper
Chamber is house.
impossible  A satisfactory Second Chamber would be one that revises hasty
legislation.
Defects of the  Certain defects and flaws lie in the very nature of a Second
Second Chamber Chamber and conservative.
 It seeks to protect minority interests at the expense of national or
common interests.
The defects of  A single-chamber legislature tends to become despotic and
Unicameralism endeavors to control
are remediable or  Lastly and ill-considered legislation can be remedied by further
non-existent amendment.
Bicameralism is  The advocates of unicameralism point out that in modern times
not necessary members of the legislatures vote on party lines and not as
even in a federal representatives of a unit or locality.
state

Conclusion
Leacock Said  Have been used to secure in the work of legislation, a due amount of
caution and reflection, the most important is the division of the
legislature into two Chambers.
WEH Lecky  All forms of government that are possible among mankind, there is
none that is likely to be worse than the government of a single
omnipotent democratic chamber

Functions of the Second Chamber

Examine and Revise  Bills brought from the Lower House
Bills Dealing  politically unimportant and noncontroversial nature should be
initiated in House before going to the Lower House
 helpmate of the more important House
Interpose so Much  passing of a bill into law as may be needed to enable the opinion
Delay of the nation
 Delaying but not an obstructing body
 Be a bulwark and not a barrier against democracy, reform, and
progress.
Afford Full And  should possess lesser and more limited powers, and its position
Free Discussion should be subordinate, and not equal and coordinate with the
Lower House
 foreign policy and the sounding board of public opinion without
endangering the life of the ministry
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Composition and Representation

 Three principles for constituting the second chamber.
 It goes without saying that the two houses must be constituted on different bases
Principle of  The British House of Lords is a hereditary chamber
Heredity  It provides representation to men o leisure, wealth, intellect, and
experience
 Antidemocratic and anachronistic outdated.
Principle of  Nominates men of ability and character to the legislature who would
Nomination not like to fight an election to a popular house
 Applied to the Canadian Senate
 Suffers from two defects
 Firstly, the nominations are not always made on merits but sometimes
on party considerations or the like.
 Secondly, the nominated chamber is much weaker than the elected
house.
Principle of  The second chamber may be directly or indirectly elected.
Election  The American Senate is directly elected by the 50 States of the USA on
the basis of two members from each State
 The French Senate is indirectly elected.
 The indirectly elected chamber may include competent men and women
because they are elected by fewer competent electors.
Direct Legislation by the People
Modern Devices for Direct Democracy
Theoretical reason
 Sovereignty Belongs to the people
 Sovereign power No intermediaries, like the representatives, between them and the
law-making
Practical reason  Distrust of the legislatures
 The dislike for representative democracy

Ways of Direct participation of the people in legislation

4. Recall (add
1. Referendum 2. Initiative 3. Plebiscite in differenet
nature)

Referendum
Define  'Referendum' means "must be referred."
 It means a device to allows the people to express their approval of a law that
has already been adopted but not passed by the legislature
Example Exists in Switzerland, Australia, and certain States of the USA
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Method
Method of Referendum

Compulsory Optional

All bills must first be submitted to popular assent before they become laws

Plebiscite
Define  Not a law but some question is submitted by popular vote.
 Usually undertaken to allow a nationality or a minority group to determine
their political destiny.
Example  The UN has decided that the people of Jammu and Kashmir question the
people's votes.
 Determines whether they should decide by a plebiscite whether choose
Pakistan or India
Initiative

Define  To overcome the apathy or the refusal of the legislature to enact such laws
for which there is a popular demand.
 Initiative means the right of the people to make a law on the proposal of a
prescribed number of citizens as laid down by the constitution

Method Both direct and indirect.

Direct Initiative Indirect Initiative

First placed before the
legislature by the prescribed
Proposed law is directly
number of citizens, which
submitted to the popular vote
prepares the law and then
submits it to the popular vote

Demerits of Direct Legislation

Undermines the  The laws are ultimate to be referred to and voted upon by the people,
prestige of the they do not feel the same sense of responsibility for the laws.
legislatures  It makes them careless and even timid in proposing progressive laws
lest they should be rejected by the people.

The people are  Some laws, like those relating to banking, currency, public control
unfit to pronounce of industry, and free trade, are such intricate matters that even well-
complex problems informed citizens cannot grasp their implications.
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 A simple 'yes' or 'no' to intricate questions and complicated details

of laws is not the best means of expressing the will of the people.
 Laski said, "Which direct government involves is the final
difficulty; that it is by its nature to crude an instrument to find
room for the nice distinctions inherent in the art of government."

The electorate is  The advocates of direct legislation are wrong in asserting that the
exposed to the same people are not exposed to the propaganda of the parties, newspapers,
propaganda and demagogues.
pressures as the  When political parties and groups with vested interests once come to
legislatures know that all depends upon the popular vote, they become so
organized and skillful in propaganda techniques

People do not take  A number of those who actually vote at the referendum is often less
much interest in than 50% of the qualified votes called "Electoral Fatigue"
direct legislation  The small percentage of voters implies that the bills actually adopted
by direct legislation do not secure the approval of the people as a
whole.

Direct legislation  An affirmative vote by a small majority is open to much doubt and
vitiates the danger.
majority principle  Nobody cares much for the size of the majority in favor of a bill
passed by a legislature.
 A bill adopted by a majority of, say, 53% votes in a referendum
implies that millions of voters have rejected it.

People are  Experience in Switzerland and elsewhere has led that the people are
conservative in conservative in temperament
temperament  Readily fall victim to the propaganda of the conservative and even
reactionary classes and sections of the nation.
 Direct legislation has not led to social improvement and progress
anywhere.

Direct legislation is  Parliamentary form of government, like Britain, direct legislation

unfit for will be a source of confusion.
parliamentary and  Upset the principle of cabinet responsibility, directly to the
for large states
parliament and indirectly to the people.
 undermine the sovereignty of the parliament.
 An appeal to the electorate over the heads of the members of
parliament will reduce their importance and prestige
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Conclusion

Direct Legislation Success Not been anywhere except Switzerland

Lord Bryce Its success bespeaks of the Swiss people's intelligence and
knowledge of public matters and their conservative nature

Prof. Laski Direct legislation has no special contribution to make to our

problems. All the advantages which could be derived from it can
be secured by improving the present political institutions and
practices

 "It improves nothing; neither the laws nor the people. It disturbs everything without
providing solutions."