House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral legislature, in some countries, often at subnational level.
Historically, the House of Assembly in British crown colonies superseded the (usually unelected) Legislative Council as the colonial legislature, as the colony gained more internal responsible government, in some instances becoming the lower house. In Gibraltar, the unicameral legislature is called the House of Assembly, while in Bermuda, it forms the lower house of the bicameral parliament.
Barbados has the oldest 'House of Assembly' in the Commonwealth.
The Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador call the single house of their provincial legislatures the House of Assembly as a result of the provinces' former status as a British crown colonies.The Indigenous Peoples of Haida Gwaii also call their legislative making body a House of Assembly.
In the Australian states of South Australia and Tasmania, the House of Assembly is the lower house.
In South Africa, the House of Assembly, known in Afrikaans as the Volksraad, was the lower house of the whites-only parliament until 1981, when the Senate was abolished. Following a new Constitution in 1984, it became one of three Houses of the tricameral Parliament. Following the end of apartheid and the introduction of a new Constitution in 1994, it was replaced by a National Assembly.
In Nigeria, the House of Assembly is the name given to each state legislature.
In Zimbabwe, the House of Assembly has been the sole parliamentary chamber since the abolition of the country's Senate in 1990.
See also
Last updated: 08-02-2005 00:25:55
