Parliament

I

Introduction

Parliament, legislative or deliberative assembly. The original idea of parliament was of a place where talking took place. The name derives from the French verb parler—to talk. In practice, talking is only one, and now not necessarily the most important, of the functions which parliaments perform. The terms used to describe parliament also vary: congress, legislature, and assembly being among the more common.

II

Origins

The roots of parliaments are many and diverse. The oldest surviving parliament is generally regarded as being the Althing in Iceland, but a break in its function in the 19th century means that the longest continuous parliament is the Tynwald of the Isle of Man. Among the oldest is the British Parliament, which has probably been the most influential in developing the traditions of parliamentary government. Its roots lie with the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot and the advisory council of the Norman kings, the Curia Regis. As a recognizable parliament, however, it goes back at least to the mid-13th century.

III

Development

Parliaments in England were called originally because monarchs needed help with raising money. The tradition quickly developed that before any taxation was agreed, grievances would be presented; not surprisingly, monarchs tried to manage without parliaments when they could. By the early 17th century the English Parliament had embarked on a struggle for supremacy with the Crown. The English Civil War was the result. A further struggle between Crown and Parliament was required later in the century to resolve the dispute fully. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 it became clear that monarchs ruled with the assent of Parliament, and power gradually passed from the monarch to ministers responsible to Parliament, though in an age of limited franchise and with no secret ballot the monarch was able to have a substantial influence on the outcome of elections. In the course of the 18th and 19th centuries the power of the monarch waned and Parliament became accepted as the sovereign body.

IV

Types

Parliaments in the modern world fall into a variety of categories. Some are involved in policy-making, as with the Congress of the United States; others are policy-influencing bodies, as with the parliaments in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. In some countries the parliament may be essentially decorative, a rubber-stamping body with no independent existence. This was commonly the role performed by parliaments in communist systems, as with the Supreme Soviet in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics prior to the collapse of that state, and is currently the case with the world's largest parliament, the National People's Congress in China (though that body has recently been exhibiting greater autonomy).