The formation of the state took place over a large amount of time. In fact, from the moment humanity reaches the peak of its evolution, it begins to carry out attempts to organize groups. Gradually created formations expand. But in this process, one rather serious problem arose - the regulation of the activities of large social groups. Indeed, as they developed, people were able to create such bulky structures that it became difficult to control their functioning. Therefore, the issue of power in the state began to develop gradually.
It should be noted that the most ancient formations of the state type in most cases were controlled through the power embodied in the person of a single ruler. Minor attempts to create republics, examples of which are Ancient Greece and Rome, were unsuccessful. As a result, the states represented were governed by the power of a single leader.
Such a social management system lasted until the end of the 18th century. At this time, revolutionary movements began in Europe. Unity has fully shown its helplessness in some social matters. Therefore, during this period, the idea of creating a universal collective body that will perform the basic regulatory functions arises .
Today, this structure exists in almost every state. It is called parliament. The functions and tasks of this body have their own specifics. In addition, parliament is a clear manifestation of the principle of separation of powers, which will be discussed in more detail later in the article.
The essence of the separation of powers
The main functions of the parliament and its characteristic features cannot be considered without an analysis of the principle of separation of powers, which was mentioned earlier.
As regards the latter category, it is characterized by the teaching that power in any state should be distributed between the relevant and independent bodies. This will make it possible to coordinate the vital activities of the country's population much more effectively, and also make it possible to avoid abuse of power, which is often seen in states with a monarchical form of government and a totalitarian regime.
The creation of the principle was preceded by a series of important historical events. In addition, the teaching was created on the basis of knowledge and experience of the states of antiquity and the Middle Ages.
The history of the development of the principle of separation of powers
The idea of the separation of powers that today lives in many state structures, scientists borrowed from states such as Ancient Greece and Rome. It was in them that the collective mode of government was invented first of all. For example, Roman power was completely divided between the comitia, consuls and the senate. At the same time, the last element played the role of the modern parliament.
In the Middle Ages, the feudal system dominated , which excluded the presence of collective power. However, during the Enlightenment, scholars such as John Locke and Charles Louis Montesquieu developed the principle of separation of government. According to their teaching, power in the country should exist in the person of three types of bodies:
- executive;
- legislative;
- judicial.
This principle has gained such popularity that it has found its application in many countries. Today, the principle of the separation of powers operates in almost the whole world. At the same time, the parliament is the legislative body. According to many scientists, this is the most important role, because rule-making, in fact, creates acts that directly regulate the activities of the state’s population.
Parliament Features
So, the parliament, whose functions will be considered in the article, is the highest representative body. However, its form of acquisition in this case is not the most important characterizing factor. More important is the fact that the parliament has the ability to issue laws - normative acts of the highest legal force after the constitution of the state.
Today, this body in one form or another exists in almost every state. As for the powers of the legislative body, they can vary depending on the form of government of a particular country. In a classic form, the parliament (its types, functions are presented in the article) can pass a vote of no confidence in the government, which testifies to its control by the central executive body, as well as release the head of state, that is, the president, from his powers by impeachment.
It should be noted that this body can exist in almost any state, regardless of the form of government in it. In other words, even in monarchical powers, the presence of parliament does not cause any bewilderment. An excellent example of this is the parliamentary monarchy. In such states, the power of the head of state is limited to the legislative body, which implements the function of the same name.
If we are talking about the republican form of government, then in this case, the parliament, a structure whose functions may change somewhat, plays a key role. In fact, it is he who is the embodiment of republican democracy, as well as the principles of freedom and equality, because most of the issues are solved collectively by representatives of the people.
As for the political regime in the state, this category influences quite a lot the activities of legislative and other bodies of the state. However, in some cases, it is through the legislative structure that the negative impact of totalitarianism or authoritarianism can be substantially restrained.
The structure of the main legislative body
Parliament, the functions whose powers we are considering, is a fairly complex and efficient structure. In other words, a modern organ of this type is not something like a folk veche. This is a fairly streamlined mechanism, the main purpose of which is the publication of laws, which will be discussed in more detail later in the article. Thus, the parliament has its own internal structure. It should be noted that it can vary, depending on the specifics of the political regime and the territorial features of the state.
In its original, classic form, any parliament has a bicameral structure. It should be remembered that it originated in the UK - the birthplace of world parliamentarism. The bicameral structure was created to ensure a compromise between the bourgeoisie and, of course, the aristocracy - the upper class. In this case, the dual system is fully justified by the need to consider the ideas and views of all classes without exception. After all, the nobility, as the main force of the monarchist system, began to significantly lose their positions during the period of the bourgeois revolution in Europe. Therefore, it was necessary to put up with the influence of this estate.
Under the influence of revolutionary movements, unicameral parliaments appeared in some countries . They are great for mobile solving certain problems, but are often used as a support for a totalitarian leader. Nevertheless, unicameral parliaments exist in the modern world. This begs the quite logical question: "What types of structures exist today?" In the XXI century, the following parliamentary systems can be found in the world, namely:
- Bicameral.
- Unicameral.
The first species is the most popular in the modern world. However, it is worth considering the fact that the chambers have their own clearly delineated powers. Moreover, in the vast majority of cases they are absolutely equal in their legal status.
Features of the bicameral structure
Let's look at a bicameral parliament. Its types and functions have a large number of features. The main one is the process of adopting laws.
For example, the US parliament has a bicameral structure. Its main feature is the fact that any bill should be considered and adopted in both houses. If at least one of them rejects it, then it is not automatically accepted. Thus, a bicameral parliament allows you to take into account the characteristics of almost all social sectors. In addition, in many cases, other specific functions are assigned to each structural element of the legislative body. For example, the lower house may be responsible for financial matters in the state, and the upper one, in turn, appoints people to certain positions, ratifies international acts, impeaches, etc.
It should be noted that all the points presented may differ depending on the particular state. As practice shows, parliaments that are identical in their functions and powers do not exist.
Bicameral structures today for the most part exist in federal states. Given this form of territorial structure, a parliament consisting of two elements is simply necessary. Indeed, in a federation, the second chamber, as a rule, represents the interests of primarily subjects. Such states include Australia, the Russian Federation, India, Mexico, the United States of America, Great Britain, etc.
However, bicameral parliaments can also be found in unitary countries. As a rule, even in such cases, the legislative body is organized on the principle of territoriality, which allows taking into account the interests of individual elements of the state.
Internal organs of the legislative center
It should be noted that the parliament, whose functions will be presented later, is used by internal special forces to implement its main tasks. In most cases, the organization of the structure of these parliamentary departments has common features in many states. It is worth highlighting the main tasks of parliamentary bodies:
- Coordination of the work of the legislative center.
- Organization of all necessary conditions for parliament to exercise its direct functions.
These tasks are key in the activities of the legislature. Their implementation, as already mentioned, rests with the shoulders of the internal departments. The key parliamentary body is the speaker or the chairman. As a rule, the activity of this element is embodied in a separate person, that is, a specific person. At the same time, the role of the speaker is quite important for all the activities of the parliament of a state. It performs a number of special functions, which include the following:
- representation of the legislature in the international arena;
- ensuring the consideration of certain important issues;
- setting the agenda;
- ensuring the consideration of bills;
- identification of specific types of procedures for discussing bills or other issues;
- leadership of parliamentary discussions;
- giving the floor to deputies;
- determination of the type of voting and its results, etc.
A rather important function of the parliamentary chairman is to manage the funds of this body, as well as parliamentary police units. To facilitate the work of the speaker, he is usually provided with deputies - vice-chairmen.
This form of organization of the governing parliamentary body is most often found in bicameral parliaments. In addition, far from all countries, the role of the speaker is so important. For example, in the Swiss Parliament, the chairman and his deputies are elected only for the duration of the respective sessions. In this case, the speaker is not an important political figure at all.
Another important element of the internal organization of the legislature is parliamentary commissions. They are specialized bodies created from deputies. Their main goal is the assessment and direct creation of legislative acts, monitoring the activities of the executive branch, as well as solving specific problems.
In this case, there are two main types of commissions, namely: temporary and permanent. The latter are created for the duration of the respective parliamentary chamber. In the vast majority of cases, standing commissions are created on issues of defense, finance, legislation and lawmaking, international cooperation, etc.
As for the provisional bodies, they are usually engaged in solving specific problems. Such commissions are investigative, special, audit, etc. It should be noted that parliamentary bodies have a wide range of powers. Most often, they appear in the process of lawmaking, because it is in the composition of the commissions that bills are developed, as well as their scientific regulations.
Parliamentary factions
The internal activities of many legislative bodies are ensured by its fractions. They, in fact, are deputy associations. The numerical amount of each individual fraction, as a rule, affects the political program of the state.
After all, the deputies of a party in the legislature are trying to hold bills of interest to them. As for the formation of fractions, this process, as a rule, occurs on the basis of the regulations in each individual state.
Parliament: functions, powers
As the main legislative center of any state, the body presented in the article is endowed with certain powers, and also has a number of specific functions. These categories, in fact, show its real capabilities in a particular state.
But if the main functions of the parliament, as a rule, are almost the same everywhere, then the powers are both full and limited. As a rule, the specific possibilities of parliament are determined by the main state law, that is, the constitution. Based on this, without exception, the powers of the main legislative body can be distributed between three groups:
- Not all parliaments are endowed with unlimited powers. In this case, the legislature can deal with even those issues that are not enshrined in the constitution.
- The opposite of the first kind of bodies are parliaments with limited powers. As a rule, their capabilities are clearly listed in the constitution of the state. These include the parliaments of France, Senegal, and others.
- The most specific form of parliamentary capacity is the advisory powers of the legislature. Similar structures most often arise in the countries of Islamic law. The bottom line is that in them the head of state is the monarch, and parliament exists to help in the process of his rule. In other words, this body only advises the head of the country on some issues and does not fulfill its primary function.
In addition to the classification presented earlier, the functions of parliament can also be divided depending on the areas of activity of this body. For example, the legislative bodies of many countries are endowed with a number of universal opportunities for regulating the financial, tax system, defense, international relations, etc.
In addition to the above powers, it is also necessary to consider the main activities of the legislative body. What are the functions of parliament? In the scientific community, there are many approaches to the consideration of this problem. But in most cases they single out the main powers of this body, consisting of four elements. These include the following:
- The most important function of parliament, of course, is the function of lawmaking. After all, this body was originally created specifically for the creation of normative acts of higher legal force. The function allows you to take into account the opinion of the majority, and also eliminates the possibility of issuing antisocial laws that would oppress the rights of a particular group of people. Moreover, the legislative function of the parliament consists of a number of specific stages, namely: the creation of a bill, discussion, amendments and adoption, coordination of interests and signing. Thus, the process of creating normative acts of higher legal force is of a professional nature. In addition, the legislative function of parliament actually establishes the legal system of the state. .
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