Written by Bicameral legislature is a form of legislature where there are two houses who carry out legislative functions in the state.
In other words, a bicameral legislature is a legislative body that consists of two chambers or houses.
The most common form of bicameralism is a lower house or chamber and an upper house or chamber.
The specific composition of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature may vary depending on the country and the political system.
The lower house of the bicameral legislature is typically more populous than the upper house.
The representatives in the lower house are typically elected by the people to represent their interests in the law making process.
The lower house of a bicameral legislature is typically more populous than the upper house and less prestigious than the upper house
Members of the lower house is elected by the people through a system of representation, such as a popular vote or proportional representation.
The lower house is called different names in different countries. For example, in Nigeria and USA, the lower house is called the house of representatives.
In Britain, the lower house is called the house of commons.
On the other hand, the upper house of a bicameral legislature is generally smaller in size and more prestigious than the lower house.
It is often referred to as the “Senate” or “House of Lords“.
In a bicameral legislature, the upper house is typically responsible for reviewing and revising legislation passed by the lower house, providing a second level of scrutiny and legislative oversight.
Countries that operate bicameral legislature are France, Nigeria, India, Britain and US.
Advantages of Bicameral Legislature
1. Better representation: Two houses are elected to represent the people in a bicameral legislature.
As a result, the different interests and groups within a society are adequately represented.
The lower house can represent the interests of the general population, while the upper house can provide representation for specific regions, or specific district of a region
2. Better legislation: As is often said, “two heads are better than one”.
Unlike unicameral legislature, two houses carefully review any proposed law before it is passed to law in a bicameral legislature.
Because there are two separate houses, each with its own set of rules and procedures, there is more opportunity for bills to be debated and discussed in detail.
As a result, bicameral legislature make it possible for better laws to be made in the country, since bills are properly and thoroughly debated by the two houses before they are passed into laws.
3. Checks on the power of the executive: The two chambers of a bicameral legislature provide a system of checks and balances on the executive, thus preventing any one group or branch of government from becoming too powerful.
In unicameral legislature, the government can easily control legislative proceedings by getting the majority seats in the single legislative house.
However, in bicameralism, extra checks on the power of the executive are provided by the existence of an additional legislative house since the ruling government have to get majority seat in both houses before it can influence legislative proceedings.
In fact, the existence of two legislative houses guides against the emergence of a dictatorial government.
4 Legislative checks on both houses: Apart from providing adequate checks on the power of the executive arm of government, bicameral legislature also provide legislature checks and balances on the power of each houses.
The upper house act as a safeguard against hasty or misguided legislation passed by the lower house, and the lower house acts as a safeguard against hasty or misguided legislature passed by the upper house.
if one house passes a bill that is deemed flawed or not in the best interest of the country, the other house can act as a check on its power and prevent the bill from becoming law.
5. Reduced workload: Because two legislative houses exist to make laws and perform other legislative activities in the state, the workload is reduced to a great extent.
Disadvantages of Bicameral Legislature
1. Duplication of functions: Since both chambers perform the same function, it can result in unnecessary overlap and redundancy.
Duplication of functions is likely to cause inefficiencies in the legislative process. It is also likely to result in the wastage of public funds as both houses are paid for performing almost similar functions.
2. Expensive to run: Bicameral Legislature is very expensive to operate when compared to unicameral legislature.
Large amount of public funds are required to maintain a bicameral legislature.
This includes the salaries and benefits of the legislators, the costs of maintaining both legislative chambers and the staff that supports them.
This can place an additional burden on taxpayers and may not be feasible for smaller or less developed countries.
3. Delay in law making: For any bill to be passed into law, it must be reviewed and approved by both legislative houses.
This result in a time-consuming and lengthy process, which can delay law making in the country.
4. Not suitability for emergencies: During emergencies, quick decisions are of utmost importance.
Bicameral legislature is not suitable for emergencies since it require lengthy procedures to make laws.
5. Difficulty in reforming the legislative process: It is very difficult to reform or change a bicameral legislature.
The existence of two separate legislative houses create an extra layer of complexity and inertia that must be overcome in order to change the legislative process or structure.
Because of this, it is very difficult to implement important legislative reforms in bicameral legislature.
Also, the difficulty in implementing important legislative reforms may hinder the government ability to adapt to emerging challenges.
Conclusion
In conclusion, bicameral legislature ( or bicameralism) is a form of legislature where legislative functions are carry out by two chambers or houses.
Bicameral legislature has both advantages and disadvantages.
While it can provide better representation, better legislation, checks on the power of the executive, legislative checks on both houses, and reduced workload, bicameral legislature can also result in duplication of functions, delay in law making, difficulty in legislative reforms and higher cost of governance.
