ABSTRACT
It is the century of the legislature. Before and after the Second World War, as colonialism failed and nations grew in number, constitutions incorporating a national legislature replaced extant governing institutions throughout the world. In the late 1980s, the political transformation of Eastern Europe was propelled by the rejuvenation of legislative institutions. Instead of control by the communist party, elections for membership in parliament were held in the first free elections since the Second World War. Legislative institutions have spread throughout the world and their influence appears to be on the rise as the twenty-first century approaches.
