A
legislature
is
a
type
of
representative
assembly
with
the
power
to
create
,
amend
and
ratify
.
The
law
created
by
a
legislature
is
called
legislation
or
statutory
law
.
In
most
systems
,
however
,
legislatures
also
have
other
tasks
,
such
as
selection
and
criticism
of
the
government
,
supervision
of
administration
,
ratification
of
treaties
,
impeachment
of
executive
and
judicial
officials
.
Legislatures
,
then
,
are
not
simply
bodies
.
In
most
systems
the
executive
has
a
power
of
veto
over
legislation
,
and
even
where
this
is
lacking
,
the
executive
may
exercise
original
or
delegated
powers
of
legislation
.
Legislatures
are
known
by
many
names
,
the
most
common
being
and
.
In
parliamentary
systems
of
government
,
the
legislature
is
formally
supreme
and
appoints
the
executive
.
In
presidential
system
of
government
,
the
legislature
is
considered
a
power
branch
which
is
equal
to
,
and
independent
of
,
the
executive
.
Legislatures
differ
greatly
in
their
size
,
the
procedures
they
employ
,
the
role
of
political
parties
in
legislative
action
.
In
size
,
the
British
House
of
Commons
is
among
the
largest
;
the
Icelandic
lower
house
,
the
New
Zealand
House
of
Representatives
,
and
the
Senate
of
Nevada
are
among
the
smallest
.
The
primary
components
of
a
legislature
are
one
or
more
or
houses
-
assemblies
that
debate
and
vote
upon
bills
.
A
legislature
with
one
house
is
called
.
A
legislature
possesses
two
separate
chambers
,
usually
described
as
an
upper
house
and
a
lower
house
,
which
often
differ
in
duties
and
powers
.
Most
legislatures
are
bicameral
,
although
New
Zealand
,
Denmark
,
the
state
of
Queensland
in
Australia
have
all
abolished
their
second
chamber
.
In
most
parliamentary
systems
,
the
lower
house
is
the
more
powerful
house
while
the
upper
house
is
merely
a
chamber
of
advice
or
review
.
However
,
in
presidential
systems
,
the
powers
of
the
two
houses
are
often
similar
or
equal
.
In
federations
it
is
typical
for
the
upper
house
to
represent
the
component
states
;
the
same
applies
to
the
supranational
legislature
of
the
European
Union
.
For
this
purpose
the
upper
house
may
either
contain
the
delegates
of
state
governments
or
be
elected
according
to
a
formula
that
grants
equal
representation
to
states
with
smaller
populations
,
as
is
the
case
in
Austria
and
the
modern
United
States
.
In
general
,
the
legislature
has
a
role
over
the
actions
of
the
executive
,
and
may
replace
the
Head
of
Government
and
/
or
individual
ministers
by
a
vote
of
(
no
)
confidence
or
a
procedure
of
.
On
the
other
hand
,
it
may
be
dissolved
by
the
Head
of
State
,
leading
to
new
elections
.
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