Legislature

Meeting chamber of the National Assembly, the lower chamber of the French Parliament.

The legislature is a branch of the running of a nation with the power over legislation. The enacting and alteration of laws is the main duty of a legislature, but it may also be required to perform other tasks such as the election of the head of state, executive or government. Legislatures are usually unicameral (consisting of one chamber) or bicameral (consisting of two chambers), however, rarely, they are tricameral (consisting of three chambers).

In most bicameral systems, the lower house, despite its description of being "below" the upper house, is almost always the most powerful of the two chambers and almost always wholly elected. The upper house, meanwhile, is usually smaller, more restricted in power and designed to be a more deliberative body, and can be either directly elected (e.g. Australian Senate), indirectly elected (e.g. Indian Rajya Sabha), wholly appointed (e.g. Canadian Senate), a mixture of appointed and elected (e.g. Belgian Senate prior to 2014), or consist of members who hold seats by virtue of their position in society (e.g. hereditary and religious peers in the British House of Lords). These can hold office for a fixed term or, rarely, for life.

In countries with federal systems, it is common for the upper house to represent specific geographic areas, often equally in spite of population differences. This is the case for the United States Senate, where each state, regardless of population, returns 2 senators.

Legislatures can be known by many names. Names such as National Assembly, Congress and Parliament are most common. Likewise, there are many names for the individual Houses of the legislature. Senate is the most common name for an Upper House. Unicameral legislatures and lower Houses tend to have names such as Assembly, House of Representatives or Chamber of Deputies. Names are often related to the country, for example, the prefix Bundes- (meaning "federal") is used in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, whilst the word Majlis (meaning "council") is common in Islamic countries.

List of micronational legislatures

Nation	Name of legislature	Name of house(s)	House level	Term	Electoral system	Seats
Aariania	Grand Senate		Unicameral	3 years	First-past-the-post	5
Abelden	Reichsversammlung	Bundesrat	Upper house	Appointed by the states	1 year	6
		Volkstag	Lower house	Party-list proportional representation	6 months	13
Abristan	Royal Council	King of Abristan	Crown-in-Parliament	Head of State	Until Death/Abdication	1
		Chamber of Counselors	Upper house	Appointed by head of state	4 years	8
		Chamber of Representatives	Lower house	First-past-the-post	4 years	5
Aethodia		QA Jury	Upper House	Random sampling	1 year	7 per jury
	Legislative Juries		Lower House
Aigues-Mortes	General Assembly		Unicameral	Self-appointment	No term limits	387
Alexostan	Senate		Unicameral	?	?	?
Alsann Republic	Alsane Federal Council		Unicameral	1 year	Approval voting	5
House of Represntatives	Lower house	First-past-the-post	2 years	22
Andany	National Assembly	Senate	Upper house	First-past-the-post	6 years	11
		Angle-Saxish Kingdom	Parliament	Assembly of Councillors	Upper house	Appointed by head of state	For life	3
Assembly of Commons	Lower house			First-past-the-post	No term limits	3
Arlandica	Parliament of Arlandica		Unicameral	No term limits	Appointed by the President of the Parliament	5
Arstotzkan Union	Federal Assembly of the Arstotzkan Union	Arstotzkan Federal Congress	Bicameral	For Life Positions	First-past-the-post	19
		House of Representatives of the Arstotzkan Union
Asassin	Parliament (The Bamboo)		Unicameral	5 years	First-past-the-post	25
Asgard	Parlamento de Asgard		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	4 years	11
Aspen	Parliament	King-in-Parliament	Bicameral	4 months	Proportional Representation	15
		Bundesrad
		Riksdag
Atovia	House of Commons		Unicameral	Single transferable vote	1 year	3
Austenasia	Parliament	Emperor	Emperor-in-parliament	Hereditary position	For life	1
		House of Representatives	Unicameral	First-past-the-post	5 years	7
Austin Island	National Assembly		Unicameral	First-past-the-post (54 seats) Open-list proportional representation (16 seats)	2 years	70
Australland	Parliament	House of tables	Crown-in-parliament	Australian Ballot	4 months	11
Azzurria	Light Blue Commission		Unicameral	Appointed by head of state	?	13
Baránok	Federal Assembly		Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation	6 months	7
Bartonia	National Council		Unicameral	Elected by the People	No term limits	5
Baustralia	Parliament	House of Lords	Upper house	Hereditary position	For life	Not fixed
		House of Commons	Lower house	First-past-the-post	4 years	50
Begonian Kaiserreich	Parliament	Kaiser-Koenig	Emperor-in-Parliament	Hereditary	Life	1
		High Council	Advisorial	Chosen by Kaiser-Koenig	Life	10
		Reichstag (Peoples Imperial House)	Upper House	Elected by the People	1–3 years (1 term a year, 3 max)	15 (Two per district/region or state/duchy, etc)
		Kaiserhaus (House of Royals)	Lower House	Hereditary	Life	20 (Monarchs of imperial territories like Duchies, Kings, Lords, etc)
Belcity	Parliament	President	Unicameral	First-past-the-post	?	1
		Members of the Parliament		Plurality-at-large voting	1 year	24
Benjastan	People's National Congress Of Benjastan	Workers' Assembly	Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation	3 years	8
Bir Tawil	Tawilian National Council		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	1 year	9
Bradonia	The Royal Diet	House of Peers	Unicameral	Appointed by the Head of State	At his majestys pleasure	5
Caddia	Parliament	Chamber of Laws	Unicameral
Cambria	Parliament		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	2 years, 3 terms max	Not fixed
Cascadia	Glasreachtas	Seanad	Upper house	Elected by Councils of minorities	10	3 Months
		Dail Cascadia	Lower house	Party-list proportional representation	14	3 Months
Caudonia	Parliament	Senate	Upper house	Appointed by the prince	-	For the duration of Parliament
		House of Assembly	Lower house	Party-list proportional representation	13	Not fixed (typically 4 months)
Cycoldia	General Assembly		Unicameral	1 year	Instant-runoff voting	10
Deseret	Grand Council		Unicameral	?	?	50
Earth's Kingdom	Green and Blue Commission		Unicameral	Estabilished by the Constitution	Based on the Head of Government	6
Ebenthal	Konkrëse	House of Aristocrats	Upper house	Appointed by the monarch	Life-long	12
		House of Councillors	Lower house	First-past-the-post	6 months	12
Efransa	Parliament	National Assembly	Lower House	First-Past-the-Post	4 Months	5
		Senate	Upper House	Appointment by the King	At His Majesty’s Pleasure	4
Elbonia	Parliament	Staatsrat	Bicameral	Parliamentary confidence D'Hondt Method	Max. 4 months	10
Esse	Parlamenzalochas		Unicameral	Appointed by head of state	No term limits	8
Essexia	Parliament	King	Crown-in-parliament	Hereditary position	For life	1
		Imperial Parliament of Essexia	Unicameral	Proportional Representation	1 year	11
Essizia	Federal Supreme Council		Unicameral	Hereditary	Life	6
Evanoria	Parliament		Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation	1 year	5
Flammancia	Assembly of the Sea	Council of the Sea	Upper house	Mixed-member proportional representation	1 year	10
		National Council	Lower house	Appointed by parties	1 year	1
Florenia	Parliament		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	?	1
Forestia	National Assembly		Unicameral	6 months	First-past-the-post	30
Forestria	Imperial Parliament (Parlamentum Imperialis Forestriae)	Senate	Unicameral	2 years	First-past-the-post	2
Formicad	General Assembly		Unicameral	Appointed by the General Secretary (Must be approved by the King)	No term limits	6 (Can be changed by the King or General Secretary)
Gendarania	Gendaranian National Assembly		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	6 Months	11
Goldlandia	Congress		Unicameral	single transferable vote	2 years	2
Griffasus	National Delegation Council		Unicameral	Direct non-competitive elections	2 weeks	11
Gymnasium State	Senate		Unicameral	No term limits	Acquirement of citizenship	25
Indecencia	Federal Congress	Federal Chamber of Deputies	Lower Level	First-past-the-post	1 month	40
		Federal Senate	Higher Level	First-past-the-post	4 years	20
Indokistan	National Forum		Unicameral	?	No term limits	4
Juclandia	Great National Assembly		Unicameral	Self-appointment	No term limits	159
Jupiter	Senate		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	3 months	1
Krzakacja	Royal Council		Unicameral	1 year and 6 mouth	Party-list proportional representation	Unknown
Lanzantonia	The Senate of Lanzantonia	House of Imperial Counts	Upper House	Emperor's Choise	Until Death	500
		Federal Council of Advisors	Imperial House	Emperor's Choise	Until Death	No Set Limit
		Emperor of The Grand Imperial Empire of Lanzantonia	Emperor in Government	Election Every Time an Emperor Dies	Until Death	1
		House of Imperial Deputies	Lower House	Democratic Election	Election every Month	500
		The People's Government Committee of Lanzantonia	Ministry House	Presidential Choice	Presidential Choice	At the President's Choise
Lemuria	Lemurian Parliament		Unicameral	Selected by Parliament	For Life	2
Leprechia	Senate		Unicameral	4 months	First-past-the-post	6 (at peak)
Liahonia	The House of Parliament		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	2 year term; No term limits	24
	Notice: This Parliament is currently on recess while the legislative system is being restructured. This Parliament will reconvene after the changes have been made. Further details regarding this restructuring has not yet been released to the general public.
Luxe	Parliament of Luxe		Unicameral	Instant-runoff voting (alternative vote)	1 year	10
Madrona	Parliament	Senate	Upper house	?	?	?
		House of Commons	Lower house	?	?	?
Mahuset	Lazian Chamber		Unicameral	Schulze STV	No term limits	11
Mailacia and Idessa	The Unitary Council of Princes		Aristocracy	Salic law	Lifetime or Abdication	8
Malinovia	Grand Parliament of the Republic		Unicameral	w:First-past-the-post	1 year	3
Mcarthia	Parliament		Unicameral	?	No term limits	15
Mekniy	Council of State		Unicameral	?	?	10
Memeistry	People's Council	Unicameral	Democratic Election	1 year	3	Not fixed
Mercia	Parliament House		Unicameral	?	?	11
Mivland	Parliament		Unicameral	Instant-runoff voting (alternative vote)	2 years	8
Nedland	Qoroltay		Unicameral	?	?	16
Norfolk Empire	Parliament	House of Commons	Two-round system	Elected	2 months	3
Nova Kalifornio	Reprezentantĉambro		Unicameral	?	?	5
Occitania	Vergadering		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	6 months	6
Ohio Republic	Congress	Senate	Upper house	First-past-the-post	6 Months	4
		House of Representatives	Lower house	First-past-the-post	6 Months	4
	Parliament	Board of Advisors	Upper house	2 years	The population votes for party, not person, and the percentage of votes the party gets overall is the percentage of the Reps’ Collective and the Advisor’s Board.	4
		Representatives’ Collective	Lower house	1 year		20
Pacific States	Congress	Senate	Upper house	Plurality voting	6 years	5
		House of Representatives	Lower house	Plurality voting	2 years	10
Paravia	Riksting	Imperial Council	Upper house	Appointed by head of state	6 months	3
		Chamber of Delegates	Lower house	First-past-the-post	No term limits	11
Pejaten	Parlamantre	Senate	Upper house	First-past-the-post	1 year	4
		Riksdag	Lower house	Party-list proportional representation	1 year	22
Permaria	Parliament		Unicameral	By appointment of monarch	No term limits	5
Phokland	Parliamentary Senate		Unicameral	By appointment of monarch	No term limits	7
Piedmont	National Assembly	Senate	Upper house	2 years	Preferential voting	14
		Popular Assembly	Lower house	1 year	Mixed party-list / preferential voting	75
Pomerak'tèr	National Parliament	House of Elders	Upper house	First-past-the-post	For life	11 (1 per state & 1 appointed by the Prime Minister)
		National Council	Lower house	Instant-runoff voting (alternative vote)	4 years	63
Posaf	The Kadelieort	House of Lords	Upper house	Apointed	Apointed by the Monarch and Parties	3
		House of Commons	Lower house	Party-list	4 Months	9
Princess Anne Land	House of Representatives		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	No term limits	15
Prudentianopolis	Knowledge for All's Legislative Function	Quorum of Party	Unicameral	Appointed by party constitution	Life tenure or disqualified by Supreme Court	13 (Regent included)
Rabenberg	Minister Council	-	-	No voting	-	4
Regelis	Parliament	House of Councils	Unicameral	Instant-runoff voting (alternative vote)	No set term	33
Richensland	People's Representative Assembly		Unicameral	2 years	Multiwinner approval voting combined with block voting	No fixed number
Rhodesia	Parliament	House of Delegates	Unicameral	First-past-the-post	2 weeks	15
Sabia and Verona	Parliament		Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation	1 year	23
Sancratosia	National Council		Unicameral	Mixed-member majoritarian using a single ballot (panachage)	1 year	12
Saspearian	Parliament		Unicameral	Multiple non-transferable vote	1 year	6
Seacoln	Common Council		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	4 years	15
Second American Empire	Parliament		Bicameral	Party-list proportional representation	2 years	450 in the House of Deputies
Seybold	Sitzungssaal	National Assembly	Seyboldish Lower Branch	Elected	2 Years	10
		Lawmakers’ Council	Seyboldish Upper Branch	Elected	2 Years	2
Empire of Shahawkia	Shahawkian Parliament		Unicameral	Appointed by High Class Monarchs	Until Death or Abdication	5
Shorewell	General Assembly	Senate	Upper house	Appointed by head of state	?	12
		Chamber of Deputies	Lower house	?	?	12
Silikia	Senate		Unicameral	Alternative Vote	1 Year, no limits
Snagov	Parliament of Snagov		Unicameral	1 year	Proportional representation	11
Sorrenia	Parliament	King's Council	Unicameral	First-past-the-post	No term limits	47
	Ecclesiastic Court	Papal Directorate	Unicameral	Appointment by the King	for life	5
Suverska	National Assembly		Unicameral	MMPR/STV mix	6 months	21
Tavil	Parliament		Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation	1 year	300
Templar Kingdom	Grand Council (36 seats)	High Council of XII	secular council	Appointed by the head of state	no term limits	12
		Council of Apostles	religious council	Appointed by the head of state	No term limits	24
Terra Excelsior	Parliament	Senate of the Republic of Excelsior	Tricameral	Appointed by chancellor and president	Life until recall	18
		Presidential Committee of the Republic		Elected by the people	2 years	1
		Federal Council of Governors		Appointed by the State governments	Life until recall	9
Todia	Parliament	General Assembly	Unicameral	7 elected by the people, 3 members of the Presidential Council	5 years	10
Thulia	State Council	Unicameral	3	No term limits
Überstadt	Parliament		Unicameral	Self-appointment	No term limits	4
Uniland	People's Parliament		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	5 Years	5
Urbo de Sophia	Municipal Council	Kerna Katedralo	Upper house	No fixed term	By Invitation	31
		Kongreso de AF	Lower house	No fixed term	By Certification	42
Uskor	Legislative Assembly		Unicameral	Party-list proportional representation and appointment by the head of state	2 Years	350 votes distributed to party delegates who hold multiple votes, there are 6 current delegates
Valbona	Chestnut Assembly		Unicameral	Indirect election	6 years	5 Parliamentarians plus the President of the Chestnut Assembly, Head of State in Valbona, who is elected by the parliamentarians.
Vancouver Island	Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island		Unicameral	2 years	First-past-the-post	7
Vatolean	Parliament	Senate	Upper house	Appointed by head of state	No set term	2
			Unicameral	Instant-runoff voting (alternative vote)		12
		Folketing	Lower house	Party-list proportional representation		5
Vishwamitra	Lok Sabha		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	1 year	20
Vlasynia	Consultative Senate of Vlasynia		Unicameral	1 year	At HGM the Despot's pleasure	Unknown
Vodopol	Supreme Council		Unicameral	Lifetime	First-past-the-post	4 (including the High Commissioner and the President of the Supreme Council)
Vyomania	Parliament of Vyomania	The Cabinet	Bicameral	5 years	First-past-the-post
		The House of people
West Moravia	United National People's League of Sovereignty	Unicameral	First-past-the-post	1 year	6
Winterspell	Parliament of Winterspell		Unicameral	Multiple non-transferable vote	1 Year	3
Wyvern	Statenraad		Unicameral	First-past-the-post	No term limits	4
Xennistra	Legislative Assembly of Xennistra	Unicameral	6 years	Appointed By Provincial Governers	50
Zenrax	Imperial Senate		Unicameral	Appointed by head of state	?	?
Zeprana	Congress of Zeprana	Parliament	Upper house	1 Year	No term limits	10
		Senate	Lower house	1 Year	No term limits	12