2.6 Legislative Systems

Under the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026, no one sits in the UK House of Lords by inheritance any more; the last hereditary members left in April 2026. The Lords is now made up of appointed life peers plus 26 Church of England bishops, who sit because of their office. Older materials may say some members inherit their seats.

• UK: the Commons passes laws, controls taxes and spending and can bring down the government; the Lords reviews, amends and delays bills.
• Mexico: both chambers pass laws; the Chamber of Deputies approves the federal budget and must consider tax bills first; the Senate ratifies treaties, confirms some presidential appointments and can declare a state's government dissolved and name a temporary governor.
• Nigeria: both houses pass laws and the budget; the Senate confirms ministers, ambassadors and senior judges.
• Russia: the Duma passes laws and approves the prime minister; the Federation Council reviews laws on the budget and treaties and approves top judges and the use of troops abroad.
• Iran: the Majles passes laws, oversees the budget and confirms (and can impeach) cabinet ministers, all under Guardian Council review.
• China: the constitution calls the NPC the highest organ of state power; it elects the state president, confirms the premier and passes laws the party has already decided.

In bicameral systems the upper house may be weaker. The UK House of Lords can revise and delay most bills by about a year but can't block them permanently, and it can delay money bills only for one month. It does most of its work by scrutinizing and amending bills. Mexico's Senate, by contrast, has real power, including approving treaties.

Some bodies outside the legislature can override it. In Iran, the Guardian Council reviews every bill passed by the Majles and can reject it as un-Islamic or unconstitutional; the Expediency Council, whose members the Supreme Leader appoints, settles disputes between the two. In China, the National People's Congress meets in full only for about a week or two each year; its Standing Committee (about 170 members) handles most lawmaking, sets the NPC's agenda, oversees the election of its deputies and interprets the constitution, and the party's Politburo Standing Committee decides policy before bills arrive.

A second chamber can slow down hasty laws, add expertise and, in federal systems, represent the regions. Nigeria's Senate gives every state the same number of seats, and Russia's Federation Council is built around the regions. Critics argue that an appointed upper house, like the House of Lords, lacks democratic legitimacy, and that an elected one can simply repeat the lower house's choices.