Legislative chamberA legislative chamber or house is a deliberative assembly within a legislature which generally meets and votes separately from the legislature's other chambers. Legislatures are usually unicameral, consisting of only one chamber, or bicameral, consisting of two, but there are rare examples of tricameral and tetracameral legislatures. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the only country documented as having a pentacameral (later hexacameral) legislature.
Upper houseAn upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral. An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: In a parliamentary system, it often has much less power than the lower house.
Chamber of DeputiesThe chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon Restoration, the July Monarchy, and the French Third Republic; the name is still informally used for the National Assembly under the nation's current Fifth Republic.
Women's suffrageWomen's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. In the beginning of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vote, increasing the number of those parties' potential constituencies. National and international organizations formed to coordinate efforts towards women voting, especially the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (founded in 1904 in Berlin, Germany).
House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "Senate". In some countries, the House of Representatives is the sole chamber of a unicameral legislature. The functioning of a house of representatives can vary greatly from country to country, and depends on whether a country has a parliamentary or a presidential system.
Senate of the PhilippinesThe Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: Senado ng Pilipinas, also Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country forms one district in its elections) under plurality-at-large voting. Senators serve six-year terms with a maximum of two consecutive terms, with half of the senators elected in staggered elections every three years.
Parliamentary immunityParliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which political leadership position holders such as president, vice president, minister, governor, lieutenant governor, speaker, deputy speaker, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, senator, member of congress, corporator, councilor etc. are granted full immunity from legal prosecution, both civil prosecution and criminal prosecution, in the course of the execution of their official duties.
Senedd buildingThe Senedd building (ˈsɛnɛð) in Cardiff houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Senedd Cymru; formerly the National Assembly for Wales). The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint David's Day, and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7 million in construction costs. The Senedd building is part of the Senedd estate that includes Tŷ Hywel and the Pierhead Building.
Legislative councilA legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the British (former) colonies. However, it has also been used as designation in other (non-Commonwealth) nations. A member of a legislative council is commonly referred to as an MLC. In the United States, a legislative council has a different connotation, and means a council within a legislature which supervises nonpartisan support staff.
House of AssemblyHouse of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible government, the House of Assembly superseded the (usually unelected) Legislative Council as the colonial legislature, often becoming the lower house.
