Legislature
From NSwiki, the NationStates encyclopedia.
Revision as of 17:38, 6 February 2006 by 24.85.231.1 (Talk)
Parliament is one term used for the supreme legislative council or legislature of a State or, less usually, the local legislature of a province or other large sub-division. Parliaments have also historically been courts of justice, whether serving exclusively in that role, such as the pre-Revolutionary Parlement of Paris, whose sole legislative function, beyond administering justice, was to register royal decrees.
Legislatures may have one or more chambers. The head of state may also be an essential part of the legislature, as in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Similar English terms for a legisture are Congress and Diet (-tag), as well as Soviet, Storting, Althing among others.
