A senate is a
deliberative assembly, often the
upper house or
chamber
Chamber or the chamber may refer to:
In government and organizations
*Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests
*Legislative chamber, in politics
*Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...
of a
bicameral legislature. The name comes from the
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the elder" or "old man") and therefore considered wiser and more experienced members of the
society or
ruling class. However the Roman Senate was not the ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a
legislative body.
Many countries have an assembly named a ''senate'', composed of ''senators'' who may be
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...
, appointed, have
inherited the title, or gained membership by other methods, depending on the country. Modern senates typically serve to provide a chamber of "sober second thought" to consider
legislation passed by a
lower house, whose members are usually elected. Most senates have asymmetrical duties and powers compared with their respective lower house meaning they have special duties, for example to fill important political positions or to pass special laws. Conversely many senates have limited powers in changing or stopping bills under consideration and efforts to stall or veto a bill may be bypassed by the lower house or another branch of government.
Overview
The modern word ''Senate'' is derived from the
Latin word ''senātus'' (senate), which comes from ''senex'', 'old man'. The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. The Latin word ''senator'' was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of social organization, in which advisory or decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word ''senate'' is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. This form of adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take a long period of time. The original senate was the
Roman Senate, which lasted until at least AD 603, although various efforts to revive it were made in Medieval Rome. In the
Eastern Roman Empire, the
Byzantine Senate
The Byzantine senate or eastern Roman senate ( el, Σύγκλητος, ''Synklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers ...
continued until the
Fourth Crusade, circa 1202–1204.
Modern democratic states with
bicameral parliamentary systems are sometimes equipped with a senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel
lower house, known variously as the "
House of Representatives", "
House of Commons", "
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
Description
Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
", "
National Assembly", "
Legislative Assembly", or "
House of Assembly", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, one house employing a proportional voting system and the other being elected on a
majoritarian
Majoritarianism is a traditional political philosophy or agenda that asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language, social class, or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of p ...
or
plurality basis, and an electoral basis or ''collegium''. Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some
federal states senates also exist at the subnational level. In the
United States, every state has a senate, with the exception of
Nebraska (whose legislature is a unicameral body called the "Legislature" but whose members refer to themselves as "senators"). There is also the
US Senate at the federal level. Similarly in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, in addition to the
Senate at federal level, eight of the country's
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
,
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South Am ...
,
Catamarca,
Corrientes
Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...
,
Entre Ríos,
Mendoza,
Salta,
San Luis (since 1987) and
Santa Fe, have bicameral legislatures with a Senate.
Córdoba and
Tucumán changed to
unicameral systems in 2001 and 2003 respectively.
In
Australia and
Canada, only the upper house of the federal parliament is known as the Senate. All
Australian states
The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...
other than
Queensland have an upper house known as a
Legislative council. Several Canadian provinces also once had a Legislative Council, but these have all been abolished, the last being
Quebec's
Legislative council in 1968.
In
Germany, the last Senate of a
State parliament, the
Senate of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, was abolished in 1999.
Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the
Senate of the Philippines, the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of the
Canadian Senate are appointed by the
Governor General upon the recommendation of the
Prime Minister of Canada, holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75.
Alternative meanings
The terms ''senate'' and ''senator'', however, do not necessarily refer to a second chamber of a legislature:
*The
Senate of Finland
The Senate of Finland ( fi, Suomen senaatti, sv, Senaten för Finland) combined the functions of cabinet and supreme court in the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1816 to 1917 and in the independent Finland from 1917 to 1918.
The body that would bec ...
was, until 1918, the executive branch and the supreme court.
*The
Senate of Latvia (
lv) fulfilled a similar judicial function during the interbellum (1918–1940).
*In German politics:
**In the ''
Bundesländer'' (Federated States) of Germany which form a
City State
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
(in German: ''Stadtstaat''), i.e.
Berlin (
Senate of Berlin),
Bremen
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state con ...
(
Senate of Bremen
The Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (German: Senat der Freien Hansestadt Bremen) is the government of the German city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Various senate-like institutions have existed in Bremen since medieval times. ...
) and
Hamburg (
Senate of Hamburg), the senates (''
Senat'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
) are the executive branch, with senators (''Senator'') being the holders of ministerial portfolios.
**In a number of cities which were former members of the ''
Hanse
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German ...
'' (a medieval confederacy of port cities mainly at the shores of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea), such as
Greifswald,
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the st ...
,
Rostock,
Stralsund, or
Wismar
Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...
, the city government is also called a Senate. However, in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, the Senate was a second legislative chamber until its abolition in 1999.
*In German jurisprudence:
**The term Senat (senate) in higher
courts of appeal refers to the "
bench" in its broader
metonymy meaning, describing members of the
judiciary collectively (usually five
judges), often occupied with a particular
subject-matter jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...
. However, the judges are not called "senators". The German term ''Strafsenat'' (literally "Penal Senate") in a German court translates to ''Bench of
penal-law jurisdiction'' and ''Zivilsenat'' (literally "Civil Senate") to ''Bench of
private-law jurisdiction''. The
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany consists of two senates of eight judges each. In its case the division is mostly of an organizational nature, as a matter of dividing the work load; both senates handle the same kind of constitutional cases. At some points in the past, one senate was considered more conservative and the other more liberal, but that is not the case as of 2011.
*In
Scotland, judges of the
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...
are called
Senators of the College of Justice
The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...
.
*In some, mostly federal countries with a unicameral legislature, some of the legislators are elected differently from the others and are called senators. In federal countries, such senators represent the territories, while the other members represent the people at large (this device is used to allow a federal representation without having to establish a bicameral legislature); this is the case with
St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of ...
,
Comoros and
Micronesia. In other, non-federal countries, the use of the term ''senator'' marks some other difference between such members and the rest of the legislators (such as the method of selection); this is the case with
Dominica's
House of Assembly and the
Saint Vincent House of Assembly. Until
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, this was also the case in the
States of Jersey.
Removal of Jersey senator roles given final approval
BBC News, 22 April 2021
*In Wales, there is a translation of the word Senatus into the Welsh language (equivalent to 'Senate' in English) as the word "Senedd". The word was used first to refer specifically to what is now referred to as the Senedd building, but the name later became a metonym
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for the devolved unicameral legislature it hosts, the "National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...
", which in May 2020 adopted the name "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament" with the term "Senedd
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...
" becoming the common short name for the institution in both languages of Welsh and English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
. There is no direct translation of the word "Parliament" in Welsh, with Senedd (being a cognate of Senate) meaning both "Senate" and "Parliament".
*An academic senate is the governing body of some universities.
*In Greece during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence, various local legislative and executive bodies were established by the Greek rebels. Two of them were styled "senate": the Peloponnesian Senate and the Senate of Western Continental Greece.
List of national senates
Defunct and unestablished senates
Notes
See also
* Senator for life
References
External links
Livius.org: Roman Senate
Encyclopedia Britannica on Senate
{{Authority control
Legislatures
Senate