Law

=== Legislature ===
{{main|Legislature}}
[[File:Chamber of the House of Representatives of Japan.jpg|thumb|The Chamber of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], the [[lower house]] in the [[National Diet]] of [[Japan]]]]

Prominent examples of legislatures are the [[Houses of Parliament]] in London, the [[United States Congress|Congress]] in Washington, D.C., the [[Bundestag]] in Berlin, the [[Duma]] in Moscow, the [[Parliament of Italy|Parlamento Italiano]] in Rome and the [[National Assembly of France|''Assemblée nationale'']] in Paris. By the principle of representative government people vote for politicians to carry out ''their'' wishes. Although countries like Israel, Greece, Sweden and China are [[unicameralism|unicameral]], most countries are [[bicameralism|bicameral]], meaning they have two separately appointed legislative houses.{{sfn|Riker|1992|p=101}}

In the 'lower house' politicians are elected to represent smaller [[constituency|constituencies]]. The 'upper house' is usually elected to represent states in a [[Federal republic|federal]] system (as in Australia, Germany or the United States) or different voting configuration in a unitary system (as in France). In the UK the upper house is appointed by the government as a [[House of Lords|house of review]]. One criticism of bicameral systems with two elected chambers is that the upper and lower houses may simply mirror one another. The traditional justification of bicameralism is that an upper chamber acts as a house of review. This can minimise arbitrariness and injustice in governmental action.{{sfn|Riker|1992|p=101}}

To pass legislation, a majority of the members of a legislature must [[vote]] for a [[bill (proposed law)]] in each house. Normally there will be several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions. If a country has an entrenched constitution, a special majority for changes to the constitution may be required, making changes to the law more difficult. A government usually leads the process, which can be formed from Members of Parliament (e.g. the UK or Germany). However, in a presidential system, the government is usually formed by an executive and his or her appointed cabinet officials (e.g. the United States or Brazil).{{efn|About "cabinet accountability" in both presidential and parliamentary systems, see Shugart–Haggard, ''Presidential Systems'', 67 etc.}}