Lower house
A
lower house is one of two chambers of a
bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the
upper house.
Despite its theoretical position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power. The supremacy of the lower house usually arises from special restrictions placed (either explicitly by legislation or implicitly by convention) on the powers of the upper house, which often can only delay rather than veto legislation or has less control over
money bills. Under
parliamentary systems it is usually the lower house alone that designates the
head of government or
prime minister, and may remove them through a
vote of no confidence. There are exceptions to this however, such as the
Prime Minister of Japan, who is formally selected with the approval of both houses of the
Diet. A legislature composed of only one house is described as
unicameral.
In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display the certain characteristics:
*Given greater power, usually based on restrictions against the upper house.
*Directly elected (
apportionment is usually based on population).
*Given more members.
*Elected more often, and all at once.
*Given total or original control over budget and monetary laws.
*Able to override the upper house in some ways.
*In a
presidential system, given the sole power to impeach the executive (the upper house then has to try the impeached).
Common names
*
Chamber of Deputies*
Chamber of Representatives*
House of Assembly*
House of Commons*
House of Representatives*
Legislative Assembly*
National Assembly (hence also
Bundestag, German for
federal assembly)
Many lower houses are named in the following manner: House/Chamber of Representatives/the People/Commons/Deputies.
Less common titles
*
Congress of Deputies -
Spain*
Dáil -
Republic of Ireland*
House of Keys -
Isle of Man*
Lok Sabha (House of the People) -
India*
National Council -
Switzerland,
Austria*
Sejm -
Poland*
State Duma -
Russia*
Tweede Kamer (Second Chamber) -
Netherlands*
List of national legislatures
