NOTE SUMMARY

STEP 1: MEANING OF LEGISLATURE

Legislature is the organ of government which is primarily responsible for law making of a given
country.
TYPES OF LEGISLATURE
1. UNICAMERAL LEGISLATURE: Unicameral legislature or unicameralism refers to a situation in a
country where there is only one legislative house or body that makes laws. Once a bill has been
passed by the assembly, it goes to the President for his assent since no second house exists.
Countries like Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Kenya, etc. have once adopted unicameral legislature.
2. BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE: Bicameralism refers to a legislature with two legislative houses or
bodies. Before a bill is presented to the President for his assent, it must pass through the two
houses. Many countries adopt this type of legislature more than unicameralism because of its
numerous advantages and therefore it is more popular. This type of legislature is adopted in
countries like Britain, U.S.A., Nigeria, Canada, India, Australia, etc. In Britain these two legislative
houses are known as House of Common which is the lower house and House of Lords which is the
upper house. In U.S.A. and Nigeria, there are House of Representatives which is referred to as the
lower house and the House of Senate which is also known as the upper house.
STEP 2: MERITS AND DEMERITS OF UNICAMERAL LEGISLATURE
ADVANTAGES:
1. A one chamber legislature as unicameralism is also known as ideal with unitary states.
2. It gives room for a faster process of law making
3. It is cheaper to maintain a unicameral legislature than a bicameral legislature
4. Unicameralism avoids the squabbles experienced in bicameralism as to which of the houses is
upper and which is lower
DISADVANTAGES:
1. It is an unpopular type of legislature
2. Unicameralism does not allow bills to be properly debated before they are hastily passed
3. The executive arm can easily pocket a unicameral legislature
4. Unicameral legislature creates room for the emergence of a dictatorial head of state because it
does not check his/her excesses like bicameral legislature
5. It does not make for adequate representation in a country as large as Nigeria.
STEP 3: MERITS AND DEMERITS OF BICAMERALISM
ADVANTAGES:
1. It makes for equal and adequate representation of the people in a federal state.
2. The second chamber checks and prevents hasty and ill-considered passage of bills as is the case in
unicameral legislature.
3. Bills are properly debated in bicameralism thereby, making it possible for better laws to be made
in the country.
4. Bicameralism creates room for more politically and administratively experienced people to be
utilised in the art of law making.
5. The interests of the minority groups are properly protected by bicameral legislature.
6. The second chamber checks the excesses and guards against the tyranny of a single chamber.
7. It guarantees division of labour in certain aspects of the functions performed by the legislature
between the two legislative chambers.
8. Bicameralism makes it difficult for the executive arm to dominate the two chambers.
9. The delay of bills in the two chambers makes it possible for public opinion to be properly expressed
on the issues concerned before bills are passed.
DISADVANTAGES:
1. Bicameralism causes serious delay in the process of law making unlike unicameralism.
2. A lot of public fund is wasted in maintaining two legislative chambers involved in bicameral
legislature.
3. Having two legislative chambers encourages duplication of functions since they perform the same
functions.
4. It leads to unnecessary rivalry as to which of the two houses is superior to the other.
5. Bicameralism is not good in passing bills in times of emergency because of its delays.
STEP 4: DEFINITION OF BILL
A bill may be defined as a proposed law to be discussed in the parliament in order for it to become
law. For a bill passed in the parliament to become a law, the President or Head of State has to give
his/her assent i.e. signs the bill.
STEP 5: TYPES OF BILL
1. PUBLIC BILL: This is a bill that deals with the matter or problems that affect the whole or a section
of the country. This type of bill comes from the executive arm of the legislature.
2. MONEY BILL: This type of bill deals with how government raises and spends money. A money bill
can therefore be in form of budget that deals with total estimated revenue and expenditure of
government in a financial year. Money bill originates from the executive.
3. PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL: This is a bill introduced into the parliament by a member of such house
or parliament.
STEP 6: HOW A BILL IS PASSED IN THE PARLIAMENT IN ORDER TO BECOME A LAW.
1. FIRST READING: This is when the draft of a bill is presented to the clerk of the house by a minister
or member of the parliament depending on the type of the bill. Members of the parliament will be
notified about the presence of such bill by the clerk of the house who will read out the title. It will
be printed out in leaflets and circulated to all members for them to study before the second
reading which the date will also be fixed.
2. SECOND READING: This is a stage in which the person that brought the bill to the house will
explain to the house the purpose of the bill. Members of the parliament will then debate or argue
for or against the bill whether it should be read a second time. It will be put into vote and if more
members vote for the bill, it will move to the next stage and if not, that will be the end of the bill.
No amendment of the bill would be proposed and made at this stage.
3. COMMITTEE STAGE: This is a stage where the bill is referred to committee which can be
committee of the whole house or standing committee depending on the importance of the bill. A
committee of the whole house comprises all members chaired by the speaker or president of the
house or senate respectively. All the members in a committee of the whole house consider the bill
section by section and amendments proposed and voted for. In a less important bill, it will be
referred to standing committee where members are constituted into groups of four or five for
purposes of considering bills. The bill will now be considered in each standing committee and
amendments made.
4. REPORT STAGE: At this stage, all the findings of the various standing committees are reported to
the house or the bill placed before the house after all the amendments have been made. It is the
speaker or the chairman of the standing committee as the case may be who would read the bill in
its amended form to the house.
5. THIRD READING: At this final stage, a thorough look would be taken on the bill in order to correct
certain errors connected with the drafting or amendment. A final vote is also taken at this stage.
The bill will now be taken to the President for his assent after the bill has passed all the five stages
in both houses of representative and senate. The bill will automatically become a law after being
signed by the President. In case of presidential veto, the president has the power in an executive
presidential system of government to veto the legislative bill by not signing it to become a law.
After thirty days, the legislature is empowered to withdraw such a bill back to the legislature. If the
bill is now supported by two-third majority, the bill thus becomes a law automatically without the
presidential assent.
STEP 4: MEANING OF JUDICIARY
The judiciary is the third organ of government. It is made up of body of judges. The judges provide
equal justice, defend the oppressed as well as safeguard the civil liberties. In essence, the judiciary is
the voice of the common man.
Functions of the judiciary
1. The judiciary primarily interprets the constitution of the land.
2. The judiciary has the power ( as its function) to review the acts of the legislature and can declare
them void, of no effect. This is called judicial review.
3. The judiciary is an umpire of peace and justice, as such, it settles disputes bwtween the different
levels (tiers) of government in the case of a federal system, and between groups/parties.
4. It punishes law breakers accordingly.
5. The judiciary checks the activities of other arms of government to guard against arbitrary use of
power.
6. Court grants marriage/ divorce certificate.