Difference Between Unicameral and Bicameral Legislature

The legislature is an organ of the government which is empowered to make laws and oversee the administration of the government. There are two kinds of legislatures prevalent in the world, i.e. unicameral and bicameral. The unicameral legislature is the system of the government where a single central unit has got the wholesole right to make laws and decide upon government policies.

On the contrary, a bicameral legislature is one where there are two chambers of Parliament, i.e. the Upper house that represents States, and the other is the Lower house that represents people of the country. In this type of legislature, the powers are shared by the two houses. Let’s take a read of this article to understand the difference between unicameral and bicameral legislature.

Content: Unicameral Vs Bicameral Legislature

1. Comparison Chart
2. Definition
3. Key Differences
4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison	Unicameral Legislature	Bicameral Legislature
Meaning	The form of government that consist of only one legislative house or assembly, is called unicameral legislature.	The legislative system of the country, comprising of two-tier assemblies is known as bicameral legislature.
Powers	Concentrated	Shared
System of Government	Unitary	Federal
Decision on Policies	Quick decision making	Consumes time
Deadlocks	Rare	Common
Suitable for	Small Countries	Large Countries

Definition of Unicameral Legislature

When in a parliamentary system there is only one house to perform all the activities of the legislature, i.e. enacting laws, passing a budget, looking after administration, discussion on matters concerning developmental plans, international relations, national plans etc., then this form is called as Unicameral legislature or Unicameralism.

The members in case of a unicameral legislature are directly elected by the people and so it represents all the people. Further, due to its simplicity, there are fewer chances of a deadlock situation.

Some of the countries where the unicameral legislature is practised are New Zealand, Iran, Norway, Sweden, China, Hungary etc.

Definition of Bicameral Legislature

The bicameral legislature, or bicameralism, refers to the lawmaking body of a country that comprises of two separate houses, i.e. the Upper house and the Lower house that shares the powers. Its primary objective is to ensure just and fair representation of all the sectors or groups of the society, in the Parliament.

The bicameral structure is adopted in United Kingdom, United States, India, Canada, Spain, Japan, Italy, etc.

The members of the lower house are elected directly by the people through general elections to represent the general public. On the other hand, the indirect method is used to elect members of the Upper house, which indicates political subdivisions. The composition of the two chambers of the Parliament is different, in the number of seats, powers, voting process and so forth.

Conclusion

The unicameral legislature is prevalent in those countries where there is no requirement of the bicameral legislature, as well as the primary advantage is that lawmaking is easy. A bicameral legislature is adopted by many countries of the world, to give voice to all the social group and sectors. In this way, it assures representation of all the classes of people. Further, it prevents centralization of power but may result in deadlocks, that makes the passage of law difficult.