An international parliament or world parliament or supranational legislature is a theoretical or hypothetical concept that envisions a

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

with representatives from different countries or sovereign entities, similar to a

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

but at international level for

global governance Global governance (or world governance) refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnationality, transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly ...

, thus establishing a

world government World government is the concept of a single political authority governing all of Earth and humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. There has ...

. It's a hybrid system of

intergovernmentalism In international relations, intergovernmentalism treats states (and national governments in particular) as the primary actors in the integration process. Intergovernmentalist approaches claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change i ...

and

supranationalism A supranational union is a type of international organization and political union that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to states. A supranational organization involves a greater transfer ...

which could be based on a predecessor

inter-parliamentary institution An inter-parliamentary institution (also known as Inter-parliamentary assembly) is an organization of more than one national legislatures (parliament, assembly, council and other types). Most of the inter-parliamentary institutions are part of a ...

or a newly established organization-level legislature.

European Parliament

European Parliament is the closest thing to an International parliament in current systems. Inter-parliamentary institutions generally do not have

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

s; an exception is the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, which has legislative powers in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. While the European Parliament does represent citizens from different

EU member states The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated population of over 449million as of 2024. The EU is often de ...

, it is not a global or international parliament in the sense of representing countries from all over the world. So, while the European Parliament is a type of supranational parliament at the regional level, the broader idea of an international parliament that encompasses all countries globally is yet to be realized.

Transitional international parliament

Provisional World Parliament

The Provisional World Parliament (PWP) is a transitional international parliament operating under the Constitution for the Federation of Earth, which emerged from the most comprehensive efforts made since late 1950s for the establishment of a world constitution and a democratic federal

. In response to a world-wide call for a world constitutional convention, over 200 participants from 27 countries gathered in the sessions of the World Constitutional Convention and the Peoples World Parliament held in Interlaken,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and Wolfach,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in 1968. These sessions further held as World Constituent Assemblies in 1977, 1978-79 and 1991 and from them, a world constitution, Constitution for the Federation of Earth, was developed. Under this constitutional framework, the Provisional World Parliament convenes to work on global issues, gathering delegates from different countries.

Proposals

The idea of an international parliament or a world parliament has been around for many years, and various organizations and movements advocate for its establishment. The ultimate goal is to have a directly elected or representative global body that can address global challenges and promote

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

, security, and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

on a worldwide scale. Following are the few prominent proposals:

United Nations Parliamentary Assembly

The relationship between the UNPA and the concept of an "International Parliament" is that the UNPA would effectively serve as a form of international parliamentary body. It would bring together representatives from different countries to discuss global issues, propose resolutions, and offer recommendations to the existing UN bodies such as the General Assembly, the Security Council, and other specialized agencies.

References