Association Of Secretaries General Of Parliaments
The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments is an international association which associates the top civil servants of National Parliaments of over 150 countries in the world. Membership is destined to the secretaries general and clerks and the deputy secretaries general and deputy clerks of (Houses of) Parliaments (Upper House and Lower House). The association, founded in 1939, is a consultative mechanism of the Interparliamentary Union in accordance with Section VIII, Article 27 of the Statutes of the Union. It aims: * to facilitate personal contacts between its members * in conjunction with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, to cooperate with those parliaments which request legal and technical assistance and support * to study the law, practice and procedure of Parliament * to propose measures for improving the working methods of the different parliaments * to secure co-operation between the services of different parliaments Members of the association publish communicat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Upper House
An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, 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 unicameralism, unicameral. History While the Roman Senate, senate of the ancient roman kingdom 755 BC was the first assembly of aristocrats counseling the king, the first upper house of a bicameral legislature was the medieval House of Lords consisting of the archbishops, bishops, abbots and nobility, which emerged during the reign of King Edward III around 1341 when the Parliament clearly separated into two distinct Debating chamber, chambers, the House of Commons of England, House of Commons, consisting of the shire and borough representatives, and the House of Lords. 1808 Spain adopted ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lower House
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence. Common attributes In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary by jurisdiction). Powers In a parliamentary system, the lower house: * In the modern era, has much more power, usually due to restrictions on the upper house. ** Exceptions to this are Australia, Italy, and Romania, where the upper and lower houses have similar power. * Is able to override the upper house in some ways. * Can vote a motion of no confidence against the government, as well as vote for or against any proposed candidate for head of government at the beginning of the parliamentary term. In a presidential system, the lower house: * Generally has less power th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interparliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development. The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Its founders were statesmen Frédéric Passy of France and William Randal Cremer of the United Kingdom, who sought to create the first permanent forum for political multilateral negotiations. Initially, IPU membership was reserved for individual parliamentarians, but has since transformed to include the legislatures of sovereign states. As of 2020, the national parliaments of 180 countries are members of the IPU, while 13 regional parliamentary assemblies are associate members. The IPU facilitates the development of international law and institutions, str ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Rule Of Law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". According to ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', it is defined as "the mechanism, process, institution, practice, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secures a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power." Legal scholars have expanded the basic rule of law concept to encompass, first and foremost, a requirement that laws apply equally to everyone. "Formalists" add that the laws must be stable, accessible and clear. More recently, "substantivists" expand the concept to include rights, such as human rights, and compliance with international law. Use of the phrase can be traced to 16th-century Britain. In the following century, Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford employed it in arguing a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |