Joint session
A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose. Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicameral legislature sit together. A joint session typically occurs to receive foreign or domestic diplomats or leaders, or to allow both houses to consider bills together. Some constitutions give special power to a joint session, voting by majority of all members of the legislature regardless of which house or chamber they belong to. For example, in Switzerland a joint session of the two houses elects the members of the Federal Council (cabinet).