World Encyclopedia of Parliaments and Legislatures

As the world moves toward greater democracy, "Congressional Quarterly" offers an invaluable survey of legislative bodies. For each country, the legislative body is described in terms of constitutional approach as well as practice. Chapters describe each parliament or legislature in terms of key characteristics including historical background, elections, relations with the executive branch and judiciary, budgetary control, lawmaking, parliamentary procedures, and member's rights and immunities. Organized alphabetically by country, the work covers all democracies regardless of size. In addition, a number of essay articles cover various general topics relating to aspects of legislative governing.