- the unity of the country in the lower house (elected by a popular vote) on the one hand and
- the diversity of the country in an upper house representing the states or some other regional interest, on the other
Chapter Three Federations and Second Chambers
Federations are designed carefully with institutions that reflect the people as a whole on the one hand and the people as parts, often identified as states, on the other.
The second chamber should be useful and strong or else it will be useless and for it to be meaningful, it should represent the federal principle as distinct from the democratic principle.
The people then are taken as both united and as diverse. The dual existence of unity and diversity is inherent in the federal principle
Chapter Three Federations and Second Chambers
Second chambers in federations provide a protective mechanism against federal derogation and the overstepping of delegated authority, and the impairment of the interests of one or more of the units.
The protective mechanism is necessary because smaller and more sparsely populated units feel potentially threatened by more densely populated states.
Chapter Three Federations and Second Chambers
Representation by territories and representation by size of population as distinct principles, operate in federations.
It is for this reason that second chambers are defended.
Chapter Three Federations and Second Chambers
- The second explanation for the legislative role of second chambers emanates from the idea that in federations political power is constitutionally divided between the federal government and the states.
Such division of power in itself is premised on the idea that federations are principally organized on the concept of ‘self-rule’ for some purposes and ‘shared-rule’ for other purpose
