in the 'lower house' politicians are elected to represent smaller constituencies. the 'upper house' is usually elected to represent states in a federal system (as in australia, germany or the united states) or different voting configuration in a unitary system (as in france). in the uk the upper house is appointed by the government as a house of review. one criticism of bicameral systems with two elected chambers is that the upper and lower houses may simply mirror one another. the traditional justification of bicameralism is that an upper chamber acts as a house of review. this can minimise arbitrariness and injustice in governmental action.