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PRESTIGE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND

RESEARCH

DEPARTMENT OF LAW

Diffrence Between House of Commons And House Of

Representative

Submitted To:-

Submitted By:-

Prof. Kamlesh Jain

Aayush Arora
BA.LL.B 3rd

sem

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Acknowledgement
In performing our assignment, I had to take the help and guideline of
some respected persons, who deserve my greatest gratitude. The
completion of this assignment gives me much Pleasure. I would like to
show our gratitude towards Prof. Kamlesh Jain for giving me good
guideline for assignment throughout numerous consultations. I would
also like to expand my deepest gratitude to all those who have directly
and indirectly guided me in writing this assignment.
I would also like to express my gratitude towards the librarian of my
institution for providing me with the necessary books and materials for
the project.
Many people, especially my classmates, have made valuable comment
suggestions on this proposal which gave me an inspiration to improve
my assignment. I thank all the people for their help directly and
indirectly to complete my assignment.

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UK Parliament

The Parliament of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the UK

Parliament or British Parliament, is the supreme legislative body in the United
Kingdom , British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories. It alone
possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political
bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United
Kingdom (currently Queen Elizabeth II) and its seat is the Palace of
Westminster in the City of Westminster, London.
The parliament is bicameral , consisting of an upper house (the House of Lords)
and a lower house (the House of Commons). The Sovereign forms the third
component of the legislature (the Queen-in-Parliament). The House of Lords
includes two different types of members: the Lords Spiritual, consisting of the
most senior bishops of the Church of England, and the Lords Temporal, consisting
mainly of life peers, appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime
Minister, and elected representatives of the hereditary peers. Prior to the opening of
the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial
role through the Law Lords.

House Of Commons

The House Of Commons is one of the houses of the bicameral parliaments of

the United Kingdom and Canada and historically was the name of the lower houses
of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and North Carolina. Roughly equivalent bodies in
other countries which were once British colonies or federations thereof include
the United States House of Representatives, the Australian House of
Representatives, the New Zealand House of Representatives, and India's Lok
Sabha.

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In the UK and Canada, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the
respective upper house of parliament. The leader of the majority party in the House
of Commons usually becomes the prime minister. Since 2010 the House of
Commons of the United Kingdom has had 650 elected members, and since 2015
the House of Commons of Canada has had 338 members.[1] The Commons'
functions are to consider through debate new laws and changes to existing ones,
authorise taxes, and provide scrutiny of the policy and expenditure of the
Government. It has the power to give a Government a vote of no confidence.

US Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal

government of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and
the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington,
D.C. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though
vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are
usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, and only
rarely to a third party or as independents. Congress has 535 voting members: 435
Representatives and 100 Senators.
The members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing
the people of a single constituency, known as a "district". Congressional districts
are apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results,
provided that each state has at least one congressional representative. Each state,
regardless of population or size, has two senators. Currently, there are 100 senators
representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a sixyear term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one-third of the
Senate is up for election.

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House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the United
States Congress (a bicameral legislature), alongside the Senate.
The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the
United States Constitution. The major power of the House is to
pass federal legislation that affects the entire country, although its bills must also
be passed by the Senate and further agreed to by the U.S. President before
becoming law unless both the House and Senate re-pass the legislation with a twothirds majority in each chamber. The House has some exclusive powers: the power
to initiate revenue bills, to impeach officials (impeached officials are subsequently
tried in the Senate), and to elect the U.S. President in case there is no majority in
the Electoral College.
Each U.S. state is represented in the House in proportion to its population as
measured in the census, but every state is entitled to at least one representative. The
most populous state, California, currently has 55 representatives. There are eight
states (and DC) with only three representatives each (Alaska, Delaware, Montana,
North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington DC, and Wyoming). The total
number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435. In addition there are six
non-voting Representatives who have a voice on the floor and a vote in
committees, but no vote on the floor.
The Speaker of the House, who presides over the chamber, is elected by the
members of the House, and is therefore traditionally the leader of the House

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Democratic Caucus or the House Republican Conference, whichever party has

more voting members. The House meets in the south wing of the United States
Capitol.

Difference Between house House Of Commons and House Of

Representative
Legislative Powers
The House of Commons is the most important part of the British lawmaking
machinery. It is competent to legislate on sail subjects. The House of Lords, cannot
act as a barrier against the House of Commons. It can delay ordinary (non-money)
Bills passed the House of Commons at the most for one year under the Parliament
Act of 1949. The royal veto has gone out of use The British courts have no power
of Judicial Review. So, the legislative supremacy of the House of Commons is well
established.
On the other hand, the American House of Representatives is a weak legislative
body. Its legislative powers are equally shared by the Senate No which originates
in the House of Representatives can become law unless it is passed by the Senate
also. The Senate is not a mere delaying or revising body like the British House of
Lords. Moreover, USA being a federation, the House of Representatives is not
competent to legislate on all subjects. Again, the American President can veto laws
passed by Congress, though his veto is not absolute. Besides, the legislative power
of the House of Representatives is limited by the, system or judicial review that
operates in USA. The American Supreme Court can declare laws passed by
Congress to be null and void, if they are in clash to any provision of the
constitution.

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Financial Powers

In financial sphere, the British I louse of Commons is all in all. Money Bills must
originate in the House of Commons. They can be neither amended nor rejected by
the Lords. The House of Lords can delay money Bills passed by the Commons at
the most for one month. On the other hand, the House of Representatives is almost
on the same footing as the Senate in regard to money Bills. It is true that the House
of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate money bills. But the Senate
has the authority to amend money Bill in any way it likes. So this advantage of the
House of Representatives over the Senate is not a real one.

Executive Control

Britain has a parliamentary form of government. This type of government implies

that the cabinet is responsible to the House of Commons. It can remain in office as
long as it enjoys the support of the majority in the House of Commons. Members
of the House of Commons can put questions to Ministers and expose their
commissions and omissions.
America has a presidential form of government. This type of government is based
on the doctrine of "Separation of Powers". Neither the President nor his Secretaries
are responsible to the House of Representatives. The President is elected for a
period of 4 years. Death and impeachment apart, he cannot be removed from office
before the expiry of four years. So far as Secretaries are concerned, they can be

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dismissed by him and not by the House of Representatives. The Senate has the
authority to approve appointments and treaties.

Constituent Powers

The British House of Commons is a legislative as well as a constituent assembly. It

is competent to deal with any measure of constitutional significance in the same
manner in which it passes or repeals ordinary laws. On the other hand, the
American House of Representatives cannot amend the constitution itself. It can
only propose amendments to the constitution and no constitutional proposal is
valid unless it is approved by the Senate.