LEGISLATURE- AN ORGAN OF THE GOVERNMENT
"The legislative function is the great and overruling power in every free government."
Evolution of Legislature
C.F. Strong says, "The legislature is that department of Government concerned with the making of laws, in so far as the law requires statutory force." Logically, law making Precedes its execution, and therefore the legislature is, at first sight, of greater importance than the executive which administers the law or the judiciary which punishes its transgressors.
But, this is not always the case, since, as we will see later, the powers of the legislature to control the other two departments vary. None the less, we may agree with the American Authority who has described the legislature function as the great and overruling power in every free government."
The State is a politically organised society and government is its machinery. A modern government has three branches—legislature, executive and judiciary. Among the three branches, according to Gilchrist, "the legislative authority forms the major premises, the judiciary the minor and the executive, the conclusion." The legislature in every modern democratic State is elected by and is responsible to the people.
It is an indispensable part of the democratic machinery. The legislature is law-making branch. It expresses the will of the State and the laws that it makes serve as a vehicle to the sovereignty of the State. It provides a basis for the working of the executive and the judiciary. Unless laws are made, the question of enforcing them or interpreting them does not arise. Hence, the legislature occupies the first place among the three organs of government.
The legislative branch of modern government is of recent origin. The earliest known legislature was the assembly In England. It used to be a council of wise men, whose consent would be necessary to levy new taxes. The executive, i.e., the King, the divine force were supposed to interpret the laws and apply them. Law was viewed as divine in origin, or as existing in long standing and traditions.
The King was all in all. Whenever the King was in need of money, he used to call the assembly and get his needs fulfilled. The assembly represented estates or classes, not the as a whole. It was the assembly which gradually developed into the Great Council of the Kingdom, and finally into the first national legislature in Britain.
In in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries the idea of a representative assembly emerged. The King felt the necessity of providing representation to various classes in society to sanction him more money. This ultimately paved the way for the formation House of Lords and House of Commons within the British Legislature which is called 'Parliament'. The original function of the Legislature was only to sanction money required by the ent.
But, in course of times, the British Parliament was able to acquire the power not only of sanctioning the money required by the King, but also the power to sanction expenditure. Later Parliament demanded new powers, which are granted by the King in the form of statutes. Later, the Parliament itself formulated the statutes and presented them to the King for his assent. In later times, the King lost even his power of veto. The law enacted by Parliament and the Parliament has become all in all.
Function of Legislature
The modern legislature, i.e., the Parliament in U.K., India, etc. and Senate in the U.S.A. perform a variety of functions. They are the law-making functions, the deliberative function, the financial function, the administrative function, the judicial function, the constituent function, the electoral function and the miscellaneous functions.
(1)Law-making Function -
The primary function of the legislature is to make laws. It changes and removes old and unnecessary laws and makes new laws to meet present requirements. Law is the expression of the will of the people. Law must be consistent with the changing conditions of society and in harmony with the new environments.
In the U.K. the law-making function of the Parliament is not limited by any power or authority. The British Parliament can do Parliament because of its supreme position. Law passed by the earliament cannot be challenged by any other authority, judicial or executive. Whereas in a country like the U.S.A., the law passed by the Congress is subject to the veto of the President, of the U.S.A. , the law can be declared ultra vires by the Supreme Court. The Swiss Assembly is weak due to referendum which makes people the i tirriate judges over a bill.
(2)Deliberative Function -
Generally, the function of drafting of a bill is a function, demanding study and experience. Thus, a small group of experts are made responsible for drafting a bill, the function of deliberation is given to the Parliament. The term 'Parliament' is derived from the French word 'Parlement' which means 'meeting for discussion.' The legislature represents different interests representing different sections of the community and different points of view. It is a forum capable of fruitful discussion. Every legislature follows clearly laid down rules of procedure for conducting a discussion. It acts as a deliberative body of home and foreign policy of the nation.
(3)Financial Function (Control over Purse) -
'No taxation without representation' is a well-known maxim of democracy. The legislature is the representative body. Every year budget is to be passed by the legislature. The legislature is the manager of national finances. Without the consent of the legislature, money cannot be collected or spent.
According to Crof, Ogg and Zink, "it involves four things :
(i) to raise money;
(ii) to distribute it under various heads;
(iii) to criticise the way in which money is spent;
(iv) to audit and check the accounts of the spending authorities."
The legislature discusses the annual budget which may be defined as the nation's annual statement of accounts. The legislature discusses the estimates of expenditure. This gives the government an opportunity to explain and define their expenditure proposal. In the U.S.A., the executive can only recommend the legislature to reduce, increase or modify the budget figures. Unlike the Upper Houses of other legislatures, the Senate in the U.S.A. has the power to reject or amend in any way a money bill though the bill originates only in the Lower House of the Congress, i.e., the House of Representatives.
(4)Administrative Functions -
Legislative assembly does not directly participate in administration. Its function is confined to superintendence and control. In countries, where a parliamentary system of govern prevails, the legislature plays a very important role. It controls the executive effectively. The executive is responsible to the legislature for all its actions and can be driven out of power by the latter. This control is exercised through questions and interpellations. Besides interrogating the executive, the members of the legislature can also move the vote of censure or vote of no confidence.
Laski says that the real function of a legislature, "is to watch the process of the to safeguard the liberties of private citizens."
In presidential government like that of the U.S.A., the upper chamber (Senate) is given certain specific administrative powers. The Senate shares the power of making all federal appointments President. The appointments made by and the treaties concluded by the President are to be ratified by two-third majority of the Senate. In the U.S.A., legislative control of the executive operate through the Congressional Committee; bearing on legislative proposals including budget and specially by means of operceongressional Investigating Committees. The Senate can go into to administrative corruption. The investigating uses relating 'Committee plays a very important role over controlling the executive.
(5)Judicial function-
Some of the legislatures enjoy judicial powers also. The House of Lords, the Second Chamber in Britain is the highest Court of appeal. In the U.S.A., the Senate sits as a Court of impeachment for the trial of the President and the Vice-President. In Switzerland, both the Houses of the Federal Assembly elect the members of the Federal Tribunal. The Federal Assembly is empowered to give final decisions in matters relating to conflicts of jurisdiction between federal authorities. It also has the power to grant pardons. In India, the U.K. and the U.S.A. legislature can remove judges from authority by following the procedure laid down in the Constitution.
(6)Constituent Functions-
The legislature plays an important role in amending the Constitutions. In a flexible Constitution, the process of amendment to the Constitution will be similar to ordinary law-making. This ,practice is followed in U.K. Even in a rigid Constitution, a legislature plays an active part in amending the Constitution. For example, in the U.S.A., almost all Constitutional amendments have nated in the Congress. The Swiss National Assembly also has important role in initiating proposals for amendments.
(7)Electoral Functions-
Legislatures in some countries have the right to elect the of both by acting as electoral colleges. For example, the members part of both Houses of Indian Parliament and the State Assemblies participate in the election of the President of India. The members of the American Congress also participate in the election of the President and Vice-President when they fail to get elected through the electoral college. The Swiss National Assembly elects the Federal Council (Cabinet) and the Federal Tribunal (Supreme Court) of Switzerland.
(8)Miscellaneous Functions-
(i) The legislature serves as the forum of public opinion on issues. As such public grievances are ventilated through them ern. The Bills passed through them reflect the public mind.
(ii)The legislature determines the structure of the administrative branch of government, its powers and functions.
(iii)The legislature punishes not only the members but also private individuals in case they are found to be guilty of the contempt of the House.
(iv)The legislature conducts various types of inquiries by appointing commissions or committees.
(v)The legislature conducts various types of inquiries by appointing commissions or committees.
(vi)Many politicians and statesmen make their mark in the legislature. It acts as a training ground and a weeding ground for future leadership.
(vii)The American Congress declares war and concludes peace.
(viii)The Indian Parliament is empowered to ratify the emergency proclamation to be issued by the President.
(ix)The debates in the legislature have an educative value for the people and also a sobering and restraining influence on the executive. The free debate in the House instil a sense of responsibility in the ministers and makes them cautious and careful in all their actions. No democratic governments can be secretive.
Conclusion-
The function of the legislation increases with the growing complexity of modern society and with its consequent demands upon the law making authority for the social good. Thus, making it a very important organ of the government.
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