National legislature

Democratic nations, and many totalitarian nations have a national legislature which enacts the nation's laws.

Names vary. Nations in the British Commonwealth know their national legislature as "Parliament", after the original English Parliament.

Some nations have a bicameral legislature, where two different bodies of legislators, with slightly different mandates, both consider a law that is under consideration. The United Kingdom Parliament has a House of Commons, and another body, known, for historical reasons, as the House of Lords. The United States legislature, the United States Congress, is also bi-camereal.

Iceland's legislature, the Thing is considered the oldest legislature in Europe.