Bicameral system - Niinsei

A bicameral system is a system in which the parliament is composed of two deliberative bodies, like the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors in Japan. It originated in England, which has the longest history of parliamentary systems. From the time of William I in the 11th century, a concilum or curia regis was held as an advisory body to the king, but it later differentiated into a concilum ordinarium, a standing council consisting of a small number of high-ranking officials and nobles, and a magnum concilum, a council consisting of all the nobles. The former developed from a privy council to a cabinet council, which was in charge of executive power, and the latter developed into a bicameral system. In 1213, King John allowed four knights from each province to attend the grand council, and in 1265, Simon de Montfort convened a parliament that included nobles, two knights from each province, and two citizen representatives from each city. Furthermore, the Model Parliament convened by Edward I in 1295 included not only the great nobles but also minor nobles and citizen representatives. The reason for calling for the participation of each class in the country was mainly due to the need to obtain consent for taxation, but this was not unique to England but was a phenomenon common to many European countries. At first, minor nobles and citizen representatives who were not allowed to participate in the discussions even though they attended the Great Assembly held a commons meeting, and gradually moved towards a bicameral system. Later, it differentiated into the House of Commons, composed of publicly elected members, and the House of Lords, composed mainly of hereditary nobles, and with the development of democratic politics, the dominance of the House of Commons was established in the first half of the 19th century.

In a bicameral parliament, the first chamber is composed of elected members, and the second chamber has different methods of election and appointment, status, and functions depending on the circumstances of each country, but they are usually divided into House of Lords type, Federal Representative type, and House of Councillors type. House of Lords type second chambers are seen in the United Kingdom, Japan under the Meiji Constitution, and German states in the 19th century, and represent a certain privileged ruling class, but with the development of democratic politics, political power gradually shifted to the first chamber. Federal Representative type second chambers are seen in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries, and are composed of members representing each state, with the aim of achieving harmony between the federation and each state. House of Councillors type second chambers are seen in Japan under the current constitution and the upper houses of the United States states, and their aim is to reflect the opinions and interests of the people not represented by the first chamber in parliament by changing the election method from the first chamber.

The distinctive feature of a bicameral system is that it represents a broader range of public opinion than a unicameral system and can be expected to conduct more careful deliberation.

[Yamano Kazumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国会が、わが国の衆議院と参議院のように二つの合議体によって構成される制度で、両院制ともいう。もっとも長い議会制の歴史をもつイギリスにその起源を有する。11世紀、ウィリアム1世のころから、国王の諮問機関として等族会議（concilumまたはcuria regisとよばれる）が開かれたが、のちに少数の高官、大貴族よりなる常設会議concilum ordinariumとすべての大貴族を構成員とする大会議magnum concilumに分化し、前者は枢密院privy councilから内閣cabinet councilへと発展して行政権を担当し、後者の大会議は二院制へと発展する。すなわち、1213年、国王ジョンが各州4人の騎士の大会議への出席を許し、またシモン・ド・モンフォールが1265年、大貴族のほか各州2名の騎士および各都市2名の市民代表を加えた議会を招集した。さらに1295年、エドワード1世が招集した模範国会model parliamentも、大貴族のほか小貴族および市民代表を加えたものであった。このように国内の各階級の参加を求めたのは、主として課税の承諾を求める必要性からであったが、それはイギリス固有のものではなく、広くヨーロッパ諸国に共通の現象であった。当初大会議に出席しても討議への参加を認められなかった小貴族および市民代表は、庶民commons集会を開き、しだいに二院制への方向をたどることになった。のちに公選による議員からなる庶民院House of Commonsと、世襲制の貴族を中心とする貴族院House of Lordsとに分化し、民主政治の発展とともに、19世紀前半には庶民院の優位が確立した。

　二院制議会においては第一院は公選議員によって構成され、第二院は各国の事情によりその選出・任命の方法や地位・機能がそれぞれ異なっているが、通例、貴族院型、連邦代表型、参議院型に分かれる。貴族院型第二院は、イギリスや明治憲法下の日本、19世紀におけるドイツ諸邦などにみられ、一部特権支配層を代表するものであったが、民主政治の発展とともにしだいに第一院にその政治的実権が移行した。連邦代表型第二院は、アメリカ、ドイツ、スイスなどにみられ、各支邦を代表する議員によって構成され、連邦と各支邦との調和を図ることが目的とされる。参議院型第二院は、現行憲法下の日本、アメリカ諸州の上院などがその例で、第一院と選出方法を変えることによって第一院に代表されない国民の意見や利益を議会に反映することを目的とする。

　二院制は一院制に比してより広い民意を代表し、慎重な審議を期待しうる点に特色があるとされる。

［山野一美］

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