Legislator
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| Legislature |
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| Chambers |
| Parliament |
| Parliamentary procedure |
| Types |
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| Legislatures by country |
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A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-national (for example, the European Parliament), national, such as the Japanese Diet, sub-national as in provinces, or local.
Overview
[edit | edit source]The political theory of the separation of powers requires legislators to be independent individuals from the members of the executive and the judiciary. Certain political systems adhere to this principle, others do not. In the United Kingdom and other countries using the Westminster system, for example, the executive is formed almost exclusively from legislators (members of the parliament), and the executive Cabinet itself has delegated legislative power.
In continental European jurisprudence and legal discussion, "the legislator" (le législateur) is the abstract entity that has produced the laws. When there is room for interpretation, the intent of the legislator will be questioned, and the court is directed to rule in the direction it judges to best fit the legislative intent, which can be difficult in the case of conflicting laws or constitutional provisions.
Terminology
[edit | edit source]The local term for a legislator is usually a derivation of the local term for the relevant legislature. Typical examples include
- Parliament: member of parliament
- Assembly: member of the assembly
- Legislature: member of the legislature
- Congress: member of congress
- Chamber of Deputies: deputy
- Senate: senator
- House of Representatives: representative
- The generic term "deputy" may also be used, deriving from the concept that the legislator is "deputising" for the electorate of their electoral district.
By country
[edit | edit source]This is an incomplete list of terms for a national legislator:
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Substitute legislator
[edit | edit source]Some legislatures provide each legislator with an official "substitute legislator" (or "alternate") who deputises for the legislator in the legislature if the elected representative is unavailable. Venezuela, for example, provides for substitute legislators (diputado suplente) to be elected under Article 186 of its 1999 constitution.[6] Ecuador, Panama, and the U.S. state of Idaho also have substitute legislators.[7]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Senators. Parliament of Canada.
- ^ "Guide to the Canadian House of Commons: The Role of a Member of Parliament. Parliament of Canada.
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Quotations related to Legislators at Wikiquote
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