Legislative assembly
- Note: This article is about the Legislative Assemblies in the British context. For other usages, see the end of this article.
A Legislative Assembly in British constitutional thought is the second-to-top or third-top-top tier of a government led by a Governor-General, Governor or a Lieutenant-Governor, inferior to an Executive Council and equal to or inferior to a Legislative Council. Though the Legislative Council should in theory operate as a legislature of a governorate (not nescessarily a colony) with elected members, the separate developement of governments in the British Empire and Commonwealth has seen the Councils evolve.
Politicians elected to a Legislative Assembly are usually referred to as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). In the Canadian province of Ontario, however, they are referred to a Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), a historical holdover from when that province's Legislative Assembly was known as the Provincial Parliament.
Where the Legislative Council functions purely as a legislature
Where the Legislative Council has assumed extra functions
Usually in this case the Legislative Assembly functioned as an Lower House or first chamber of a bicameral legislature operating under the Westminster System. The superior chamber/Upper House is sometimes the Legislative Council. This development is often seen when the governorates gain more responsible government.
See also
In the context of the French Revolution the French Legislative Assembly (Assemblée Legislative) functioned as the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792.
