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An upper house, often called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.〔''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis〕 The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller, and often has more restricted power, than the lower house. Unlike many republics, the United States does not designate an upper house in its constitution. Examples of upper houses in other countries include the UK's House of Lords, India's Council of the States, and Russia's Federation Council. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral. == Possible specific characteristics == An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects: Powers: * In a parliamentary system, it often has much less power than the lower house. Therefore, in certain countries the Upper House * * votes on only limited legislative matters, such as constitutional amendments. * * cannot initiate legislation (or cannot initiate legislation on money). * * cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government (or such an act is much less common), while the lower house always can. * In a presidential system: * * It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house. * * It may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example: * * * It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions (e.g. appointments of judges or ambassadors). * * * It may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status: * In some countries, its members are not popularly elected; membership may be indirect, hereditary or by appointment. * Its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house (for example, upper houses in Australia and its states are usually elected by proportional representation, whereas lower houses are not). * Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be better represented in the upper house than in the lower house; representation is not completely proportional to population (or not at all). * Members' terms may be longer than in the lower house, and may be for life. * Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time. * In some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. * It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house (though notably not in the United Kingdom parliament). * It has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Upper house」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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