Legislature all notes and exercies

Legislature

It is one of the important organ composed of representatives who are either directly or indirectly elected by the citizens of a country. It is formed to formulate laws of a country.

At present, there is no legislature and it is currently represented by the Constituent Assembly whose task is to draft constitution and enact laws. According to the constitution of 2047 B.S, there was bicameral legislative in which the House of Representatives and National Assembly formed the legislature. But, presently there is no drafted constitution and election for the House of Representatives is not held so only the Constituent Assembly is considered the legislative today.

Criteria to be a candidate for legislative parliament:

1. Citizenship of Nepal
2. 25 years of age
3. Committed to and respect the spirit of mass movement
4. Not in possession of profit oriented organization (office)
5. Not convicted by the criminal court

Functions of Parliament:

1. Enactment of laws: Parliament forms laws and makes sure they are formulated and followed well throughout the country.
2. Financial Control: New taxes cannot be implemented without the approval of legislature, it approves annual budget.
3. Executive function: Council of ministers is responsible to the parliament. The members of parliament who can prove the priority in the parliament recommends and appoints the leader as Prime Minister of Head of the State. Legislature has the power to table the "vote of no confidence". It means that if majority members cast their vote of no confidence against the government then the Prime Minister has to resign and the parliament is dissolved.
4. Amendment of the constitution: Any article of the constitution can be changed or modified with 2/3 (two-third) majority of the legislature.

Executive functions of legislature:

1. Appoints chief of executives
2. Needed for the vote of confidence to sustain the ministry
3. Ministry is responsible to the legislature
4. It controls executive by raising questions and forwarding proposals for vote of confidence.

Bill:

Bill is a draft of law which when discussed and if passed by the parliament becomes formal law for something.

In a democracy, majority decide, but the decisions of the minority are also respected.

1. The minority in the parliament always draw the attention of the majority to bring a new program for people's welfare.
2. Irregularities that may be carried out by the majorities is always exposed by the minority.
3. In a sense, it checks on and controls the majority.
4. Using the rule of law, minority help in the reign of government.
5. Minority makes the activities of the majority transparent and accountable to the people.

Exercise

1.What is parliament?

   Parliament (sansad) is a national body of elected representatives. It legislates (make laws) for the smooth running of the government. So, it is called national legislature. Different names are given to this body of representatives of the people in different countries. It is called congress in the United States of America, 'diet' in Japan, national assembly in France and National people congress in china.

                             

2.What was the major cause behind the end of the tenure of the constituent assembly of Nepal in             Jestha 14, 2069?

The major cause behind the end of the tenure of the constituent assembly of Nepal on Jestha 14, 2069 was the misunderstanding and conflicts among the major political parties which couldn't fulfill the objectives of the constituent assembly.

                                                 

3. How does the legislature perform the functions of formulation of law?           

         The legislature is an institution of the people's representatives. It is given the responsibility of formulating and enacting laws to govern the nation. The members of the legislature are involved in the formulation of law according to the wish and desire of the people. Different proposal are tabled at the meeting of the legislature discussion are held on the proposals in different committees and sub committees formed in the legislature, necessary revisions, modification are made and finally put forth as bills for enactment. After, such bills have been endorsed by the legislature, they become laws. In our country according to the interim constitution, 2063 BS, the president certifies approved bills and they become laws.

4.    Clarify the inter-relationship among legislative, executive and judiciary in accordance with the constitution of Nepal in three points each. 

There are three organs of the state (government). They are legislative, executive, and judiciary. Legislative prepares law for the nation and amends the existing law if necessary. Similarly, executive executes the law prepared by the legislative. Judiciary checks the process of preparing the law and implementing it.

                                                

5. Write the procedure of the formation of constituent assembly in Nepal. Mention two similarities and four differences between legislative parliament and constituent assembly.        

       The election of the constituent assembly was held on 4th Mangsir, 2070 for the second time. Though the election was held for 575 members, there are 601 members in the constituent assembly. Other 26 will be nominated by the government.

There were two different election methods applied. 240 members would be directly elected according to the first-past-the-post method. For this the country was divided into 240 elections constituency with minimum one and maximum 10 in districts. The one who gets the highest votes from among the total candidates registered in the constituency would be declared the winner. For the proportional methods, parties would name the candidate to the percent of total votes they get from the country. 335 members of constituent assembly are elected by this method of election.
The two similarities between the constituent assembly and Legislature Parliament are: 

• The both are formed by the same process of election and nomination.
• The same representatives of people work as the members of legislative Parliament and Constituent Assembly.

There are also differences between the legislative Parliament and constituent assembly. Four of them are mentioned below:

• The constituent assembly plays different roles for drafting new constitution according to the change after 2063 BS in Nepal, but the legislative parliament focuses on the programmes and policies of the government and development of the country.
• There are different committees formed within the CA and all they work for making constitution but legislative parliament is divided into opposition and government in which the opposition provides critical support to the government regarding its work.
• The CA collects public opinion on the issues of making constitution but the legislative parliament goes to the public for evaluating the effectiveness of the government and need of people.
• After promulgating the constitution, the CA gets dissolved or remains passive but the legislative parliament keeps on working till the date it is replaces by new representatives after election held according to the constitution.

                              

6.The parliament nominates from amongst persons of high reputation who have rendered prominent service in various fields of national life. If you wanted to be nominated like that in the future what will you have to do for the nation? Make a yearly plan form class ten. 

   I'm 16 now. I should be 35 to be the member of the national assembly. I will have to render prominent service in various field of national life within 20 years. I will continue my study and complete masters within 8 years. During the period of my study, I will think of and explore the possible areas need that my contribution. My father has enough money for development of my back ward community. After the completion of my study, I will establish a campus in my own land. I will also widen the roads and connect the area with the means of communication. I will also establish a hospital with the assistance of local people. I will also launch afforestation and cleanliness programme and make the area beautiful. Now this area will be attractive for tourists. I will delineate this area as a tourist destination and foster the economy. Then the people will talk of my deeds and the parliament will nominated as a member of the national assembly.

                                             

7.What is sovereignty? Who exercises the sovereign power in Nepal?             

  Sovereignty is the power of the state which manages internal affairs. At the same time it is free from external control. If there is sovereignty in the country, then its people are legally independent of external control and supremacy in internal affairs. Sovereignty has both internal and external aspects. The internal aspects mean that the state is the supreme authority within the territory. The external aspects mean that the state is completely independent of sovereignty. It is exercised only by one state and its government sovereignty is one of the components of state's population, area, government and sovereignty.

                                                

8. Write a paragraph on importance of legislative body in a democratic country.         

  Legislative body is the most vital part of any democratic country. It is a national body of representatives called parliament. Thus, it is in this body that the burning needs and wants of the people are discussed. It is in a way, a guide for the government. Similarly, for passing any bills, voting has to take place in the legislature and it also here that issues of national interest are considered. It is also from legislative body that a government is formed which rules the country. The government in fact, solely depends on the legislature; the parliament can at any time withdraw its support to the government. In that case the government collapses. Legislature has absolute control over the finance of the country. It also exercises procedure. So, legislative body is very important in democratic country.

                                                 

9.Describe the four powers and functions of legislature.                                             

1. Legislature power and functions:The first and foremost function of the representative is entrusted with the task of preparing laws according the needs of tie and amending them according to the changing situation. They make discussions on public, opinions and proposals give them a form of the bills after being divided into a committee and sub-committees. When the parliament approves it through majority, the bills become laws of the country. Thus, parliament is described as a law factory where raw materials of public opinion are converted into statues, resolutions and public policy.
2. Financial powers and functions:Parliament has absolute control over the finance of the country. All democratic countries follow the principle: "No taxation without consent" of the representatives of people. The government has no power to rise and spend a single paisa without the consent and approval of the parliament. The parliament prepares an annual budget every year. The government can spend money in various works as allocated by the parliament. Therefore, legislature is called the boss of national revenue.
3. Administrative powers and functions: 
   In all democratic countries, legislature has complete control over executive. The council ministers remains in power as long as it commands the confidence of the legislature. In a way, the life and death of the council ministers depend upon the parliament. Not only this, all political appointment made by the council of ministers can be questioned in the parliament. In other words, it is a branch of government which is equal to, and independent of executive.
4. Judicial powers and function:The parliament also exercises certain judicial powers. The chief justice and other judges are appointed on the recommendation of the members of parliament. The parliament can also recommend to the council of ministers for their removal incase of their incompetence of misconduct. The British upper house, i.e. the House of Lords is the final court of appeal in the country. Similarly, the American upper house i.e. the state acts as a court of impeachment for the trail of the president and the vice- president in our country, the changes against any high government official can be put in the parliament.

                                                 
10.What is legislature? What does our legislature compose of?                  
 Legislature is an organ of government that prepares the laws. It amends the existing laws according to time and situation. Our country has recently formed Constituent Assembly. It consists of 601 members. The two hundred and forty members are elected from first-past-the post and 335 are selected as proportional representative. Rests of the members are nominated from the parliament.

                          
 11.Describe any three functions of each parliament, executive and legislative. 
     In a democratic country, the pressure of the three organs of the government is very essential. Their independent existence but interrelated functions make democracy stronger. If all the organs legislative. Executive and judiciary work effectively then the country can really gear up its mission of development. In our country, there are the provisions of these organs in our constitution. Their functions are:

Legislative: 
Legislative body directly refers to the parliament system. It may have a unicameral or bi-cameral parliament system. Through the general election, the parliamentarians get elected or nominated and these people discuss on various issues regarding the people and the country. Dedicated parliamentarians can bring great change in the country. Its functions are: 

• Making law: The parliamentarians discuss on various issues. The passed law is previously presented as a bill, if it approved by majority of the present members in the parliament it is made law.
• Formation of the government: Government is made up of political party which has the highest seat in the parliamentary election. Prime Minister has to be formally elected through the election. A majority holding political party in the election can form the government of own; otherwise the maximum seats winner party can make a coalition government in the support of other parties.

Executive: 
This organ is one of the most respect and value owing in the state, it is called the government in another word. It is law enactment body with various administrative, security units throughout the country. The elected highest seat winning political party in the election becomes the "Prime Minister" and appoints other ministers. This body represents the government domestically and internationally. Their functions are:

• Administrative power: There are various regional, zonal, district administrators, heads of the various departments. They can appoint, transfer, and promote them as per their performance. They are given certain authorities.
• Financial function: Within the legal provisions this organ can utilize wider financial acts. Making of budget, proposal tax, use of financial fund as per the need etc are some of its authorities and functions.
• It has its own function to make diplomatic relations elsewhere in the international sector. It appoints the ambassadors, consular.

Judiciary: 
This organ is another very important organ of the state. The law making organ makes it by making authentic real and it is this organ which protects, explains and gives justification over it. It has got a supreme court in power and function. Such as:

• Judicial Function: Its main function is to do judicial work by making a cas study and giving justice to the nascent and punishment to the culprit. Various kinds of cases are given justification.
• Dealing serious cases: There might be some issues within the country on secious economic and political matters. After a detailed study, this organ gives decision by releasing legal complications.
• Favors people's rights: The provisions of fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution are emphasized with decision on their favor, if they are violated. They protect and justify them.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

• Legislature is one of the important organ composed of representatives who are either directly or indirectly elected by the citizens of a country. It formulates laws of a country.
• At present, there is no legislative in Nepal and it is represented by the Constituent assembly.
• Functions of legislative Parliament: Enactment of laws,  Financial Control, Executive function, and Amendment of constitution
• Bill is a draft of law which when discussed and if passed by the parliament becomes formal law for something.