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What is the role of legislative ?

Legislatures adopt policies and make laws through the process of deliberation. While usually based on some broad set of principles contained in written and unwritten constitutions, decisions need not proceed from the rule of law or specific legal precedents. In this way legislatures differ from the courts.

In addition to their official lawmaking capacity, most legislatures perform a unique educational role. Individual legislators simplify complicated issues and define policy choices. They use their resources and expertise to filter information from many sources and to resolve conflicting ideological positions, ultimately presenting their constituents with clear-cut options. This educational function has become increasingly important as societies have become more complex, as the scope of government activity has become more extensive, and as the public has gained increased access to legislative proceedings, particularly via television.

Another defining characteristic of most legislatures is the dual role of the legislators. On the one hand, the legislature makes laws that affect the entire nation and are presumably intended to be for the good of the nation as a whole. On the other hand, its individual members, the legislators, have a duty to represent the interests of their individual constituencies. This inherent tension is unique to representative forms of government that have districts.