Parliament
A legislature representing the electorate and making laws.
A parliament is a legislature, meaning it is the part of a state that creates laws. It generally serves three main purposes: representing the people who vote, making laws, and keeping an eye on the executive branch through hearings and investigations. Its function is comparable to that of a senate, synod, or congress. A parliament is the specific institutional form found in parliamentary systems, which are based on the fusion of powers. The word is most often used in countries that are or were monarchies. Historically, parliaments could be deliberative, consultative, or judicial assemblies.
- Field
- Legislature
- Known for
- Representing the electorate, making laws, overseeing executive government
- Earliest known example
- Cortes of León (1188)
- Notable early form
- English Parliament (1265)
Lore & Background
Historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies. Parliamentary gatherings in the Middle Ages began to establish that monarchs were subject to law and first summoned representatives of common people, notably the Cortes of León in 1188, and an English parliament in 1265, which developed into an enduring House of Commons. During the early modern period, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain was a key step toward parliamentary sovereignty, though the legal doctrine was more fully articulated later. Many other modern concepts of parliamentary government developed in the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) and were later exported to other countries around the world.
Reader's Guide
The significance of parliament lies in its evolution from medieval advisory councils to a central institution of governance, embodying the principle that monarchs are subject to law. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 in Britain established parliamentary sovereignty, a key concept in the rule of law. The revolutions of 1848 in Europe largely failed to strengthen parliaments in most European countries, as conservative forces regained control and reversed changes, but they made a return to the pre-1848 status quo impossible, leading to gradual, long-term parliamentary development across much of Europe. Expansion of suffrage in the 19th and 20th centuries led to many parliaments around the world becoming democratically elected. The English term derives from Anglo-Norman and dates to the 14th century, coming from the 11th century Old French word parlement 'discussion, discourse', from parler, 'to talk'. By the 15th century, in Britain, it had come to specifically mean the legislature. The Parliament of England is unique by retaining the same parliamentary structure from its establishment in 1265 to the present, almost without interruption.
Did You Know?
- The term parliament derives from the Old French word parlement, meaning 'discussion, discourse'.
- The Cortes of León in 1188 is noted as an early parliamentary gathering that summoned representatives of common people.
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