South Sudan has a bicameral National Legislature that was established after independence in 2011. The National Legislature consists of an Upper House or the Council of States, and a Lower House or the National Legislative Assembly.

The National Legislative Assembly has been reconstituted more than once since its founding.

More recently, it was reconstituted in 2020, in line with the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) of 2018.

The 2020 reconstitution of the National Legislative Assembly also increased its membership to 550, with the ruling SPLM holding majority seats in the House followed by the SPLM-IO, SSOA, Other Opposition groups and, finally, the Former Detainees with 10 members.

In fact, the NLA was first reconstituted and expanded in 2016 after the signing a year earlier, of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS).

The 2016 reconstituted House saw its membership increase to 400 and included the SPLM, Armed Opposition, Other Parties and Groups and one member representing the Former Detainees.

This arrangement continued until 2021.

The National Legislature conducts its business as prescribed in the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan.

 Joint sittings of the two Houses are chaired by the Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly and deputized by the Speaker of the Council of States.

However, in line with the Constitution, vote counts are separate for each House and these are governed by the quorum specified in the Constitution. Each House also sits separately and drafts its own Conduct of Business Regulations.