Editing Parliament (section)

==Development of modern parliaments==
The development of the modern concept of parliamentary government dates back to the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] (1707–1800).

===United Kingdom===
{{main|Westminster system|Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament of the United Kingdom}}
{{see also|Parliament in the Making}}
[[File:1 westminster palace panorama 2012 dusk (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Palace of Westminster]], [[London]]]]

The [[Parliament of Great Britain]] was formed in 1707 by the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] that replaced the former parliaments of England and [[Parliament of Scotland|Scotland]]. A [[Acts of Union 1800|further union in 1801]] united the Parliament of Great Britain and the [[Parliament of Ireland]] into a [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].

The British Parliament is often referred to as the ''[[Mother of Parliaments]]'' (in fact a misquotation of [[John Bright]], who remarked in 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments") because the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] has been the model for most other parliamentary systems, and its [[Act of Parliament|Acts]] have created many other parliaments.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Seidle |first1=F. Leslie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6je60BF-3sC&pg=PA3 |title=Reforming parliamentary democracy |last2=Docherty |first2=David C. |date=2003 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=9780773525085 |page=3}}</ref> Many nations with parliaments have to some degree emulated the British "three-tier" model known as the [[Westminster system]]. Most countries in Europe and the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] have similarly organised parliaments with a largely ceremonial [[head of state]] who formally opens and closes parliament, a large elected lower house and a smaller, upper house.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Julian Go |title=Constitutionalism and political reconstruction |date=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004151741 |editor1-last=Arjomand |editor1-first=Saïd Amir |pages=92–94 |chapter=A Globalizing Constitutionalism? Views from the Postcolony, 1945–2000 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kYmmnYKEvE0C&pg=PA94}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2 December 2013 |title=How the Westminster Parliamentary System was exported around the World |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/how-the-westminster-parliamentary-system-was-exported-around-the-world |access-date=16 December 2013 |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref> The Parliament of the United Kingdom has been described as characterised by the stability of its governing institutions and its capacity to absorb change.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=The House of Lords and the British political tradition |url=https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/3749/ |publisher=University of Birmingham |date=2012 |degree=Ph.D. |language=English |first=Anthony |last=Mc Manamon}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, Parliament consists of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], the [[House of Lords]], and the [[Monarch]]. The House of Commons is composed of 650 members who are directly elected by British citizens to represent single-member constituencies. The leader of a party that wins more than half the seats, or less than half but is able to gain the support of smaller parties to achieve a majority in the house, is invited by the Monarch to form a government. The House of Lords is a body of long-serving, unelected members: [[Lords Temporal]] (92 of whom inherit their titles, of whom 90 are elected internally by members of the House to lifetime seats), 588 of whom have been appointed to lifetime seats, and [[Lords Spiritual]] (26 bishops, who are part of the house while they remain in office).

Legislation can originate from either the Lords or the Commons. It is voted on in several distinct stages, called [[reading (legislature)|readings]], in each house. First reading is merely a formality. Second reading is where the bill as a whole is considered. Third reading is detailed consideration of clauses of the bill.

In addition to the three readings a bill also goes through a committee stage where it is considered in great detail. Once the bill has been passed by one house it goes to the other and essentially repeats the process. If after the two sets of readings, there are disagreements between the versions that the two houses passed it is returned to the first house for consideration of the amendments made by the second. If it passes through the amendment stage [[Royal Assent]] is granted and the bill becomes law as an [[Act of Parliament]].

The House of Lords is the less powerful of the two houses as a result of the [[Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949]]. These Acts removed the veto power of the Lords over a great deal of legislation. If a bill is certified by the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]] as a [[money bill]] (i.e. acts raising taxes and similar) then the Lords can only block it for a month. If an ordinary bill originates in the Commons the Lords can only block it for a maximum of one [[session of Parliament]]. The exceptions to this rule are things like bills to prolong the life of a Parliament beyond five years.

In addition to functioning as the second chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords was also the final court of [[appeal]] for much of the law of the United Kingdom—a combination of judicial and legislative function that recalls its origin in the Curia Regis. This changed in October 2009 when the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] opened and acquired the former jurisdiction of the House of Lords.

Since 1999, there has been a [[Scottish Parliament]] in [[Edinburgh]], and, since 2020, a [[Senedd]]—or Welsh Parliament—in [[Cardiff]]. However, these national, unicameral [[legislature]]s do not have complete power over their respective [[countries of the United Kingdom]], holding only those powers devolved to them by Westminster from 1997. They cannot legislate on defence issues, currency, or national taxation (e.g. VAT, or Income Tax). Additionally, the bodies can be theoretically dissolved, at any given time, by the British Parliament without the consent of the devolved government.

===Sweden===
{{Main|Age of Liberty}}
In [[Sweden]], the half-century period of parliamentary government beginning with [[Charles XII]]'s death in 1718 and ending with [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]]'s [[self-coup]] in 1772 is known as the [[Age of Liberty]]. During this period, [[civil rights]] were expanded and power shifted from the monarch to parliament.

While [[suffrage]] did not become universal, the taxed peasantry was represented in Parliament, although with little influence and commoners without taxed property had no suffrage at all.

===Poland===
Changes in Poland's internal situation in the 1980s led to the Round Table Talks which ended in the signing of the famous Round Table Agreement on 5 April 1989. The Agreement spearheaded the evolutionary transformation of the country's political system; independence was regained once again. The document Position on Political Reforms provided grounds for amending the Constitution. The amended Constitution restored the office of the President of the Polish People's Republic and the Senate – both to be elected in free and democratic elections. In the Sejm, the opposition was allocated 35% of the mandates. Thus the so called "contract" elections could not be fully democratic. The Sejm (first chamber) became superior to the Senate (second chamber). In addition, the institution of National Assembly was established, consisting of the Sejm and the Senate sitting jointly to elect the President of the Polish People's Republic. A declaration of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee heralded the prompt enactment of a new, democratic constitution and electoral law. As a result of Solidarity's success in elections to the Sejm and the Senate, profound reforms of the political system were undertaken by adopting an amendment to the Constitution on 29 December 1989. In the Constitution, the Republic of Poland was defined as a democratic state ruled by law. As the provisional constitution lasted too long, it was decided to adopt a provisional regulation in the form of the so called Small Constitution. The President signed it on 17 October 1992. The Small Constitution regulated above all the relationship between the executive and legislative powers, on the basis of the doctrine of separation of powers. A bicameral parliament was maintained.

After long years of legislative work, on 2 April 1997, the National Assembly adopted The Constitution of the Republic of Poland. It entered into force on 17 October 1997. The new Constitution introduced a "rationalised" parliamentary-cabinet system in Poland. It is the first Constitution of the Third Republic. That was the first Constitution of the Third Republic. The act defined the position of the Sejm and the Senate within the system without using the term "parliament". It adopted the doctrine of separation of powers, which provided for a balance between the legislative and executive powers. In practice the binding provisions of the Constitution ensure the supremacy of the legislative power. Both chambers are autonomous bodies, independent of each other, with their own powers. The Constitution retained the principle of bicameralism of the legislature. The Sejm and the Senate sitting jointly constitute the National Assembly. Characteristically, the new Constitution conferred very extensive powers on the Sejm. On the other hand, the powers of the Senate are limited, as in the Constitutions of 1921 and 1992.