Belgian Federal Parliament
Encyclopedia
The Belgian Federal Parliament is a bicameral
parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch
: , ) and the Senate
(Dutch
: , ). It sits in the Palace of the Nation .
, and residency in Belgium.
The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: 5 Flemish
(79 seats), 5 Walloon (49 seats), and the bilingual district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
(22 seats).
The districts are the provinces, except for the districts of Leuven (part of Flemish Brabant
) and Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
. Each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population (not number of voters) ranging from 4 for Luxembourg to 24 for Antwerp
.
All districts have an electoral threshold of 5%, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
and Leuven
; all districts are monolingual, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
which encompasses both the 19 bilingual municipalities from the Brussels-Capital region and some 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities in Flemish Brabant
, incl. 7 with language facilities for French
-speakers.
The current composition was elected at the federal elections of 2010
.
, 10 by the Parliament of the French Community
, and 1 by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community
.
The third category, the co-opted senators, consists of 10 representatives elected by the first two groups of senators. Eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for the Chamber.
The final category, that of senators by right, consists of the children of the reigning monarch who are eligible to succeed to the throne. In theory, they can vote, but since the royal family is supposed to be politically neutral, they, in practice, do not vote in the Senate. In theory and in practice, they are not considered when the quorum
is counted.
In the past, senators by right could only be men, since women were excluded from the succession. Since 1991, however, this is no longer true and, at the present time, Princess Astrid, Prince Philippe, and Prince Laurent exercise their constitutional right to a seat in the Senate, but constitutional convention
provides that senators by right do not participate in Senate votes even though they officially have the right to do so.
The President of the Senate is Danny Pieters
(N-VA) as of 2010, who succeeded Armand De Decker
(MR).
The Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels.
In certain matters both Chambers have equal power. These include constitutional revisions, laws requiring a qualified majority, laws on the basic structure of the Belgian State, laws approving agreements of cooperation between the Federal State
, the Communities and the Regions, laws on the approval of international treaties, and laws on the organisation of the judiciary, the Council of State
, and the Constitutional Court. In this case, the mandatory bicameral procedure applies, which means that both Chambers must pass exactly the same version of the bill.
For most other legislation, the Chamber of Representatives takes precedence over the Senate and the optional bicameral procedure applies. This means that the Senate may still intervene as a chamber of consideration and reflection. It has the opportunity to, within specific time limits, examine the bills adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and, if there is a reason to do so, make amendments. The Chamber may subsequently adopt or reject the amendments proposed by the Senate or make new proposals. The Senate can also submit a bill it has adopted to the Chamber, which can approve, reject or amend it. Whatever the case, the Chamber has the final word.
The one-chamber procedure applies in cases where the Chamber of Representatives has the sole power to legislate. It means that the Senate cannot intervene and that the Senate's approval is not required for the bill to pass. The matters for which the Chamber of Representatives is exclusively responsible include naturalisations
, ministerial liability, State budget and accounts and military quotas.
. The United Chambers are convened only on certain occasions enumerated in the Belgian Constitution
: the King must take the constitutional oath before the United Chambers, in accordance with article 91 of the Constitution, and the United Chambers must provide for the regency
in the event that the successor to the Crown is a minor or the King is unable to reign, in accordance with articles 92 and 93 of the Constitution. The last session of the United Chambers took place on 9 August 1993, when King Albert II
took the constitutional oath.
design by French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard
from 1779 to 1783 and includes sculptures by Gilles-Lambert Godecharle
. Under Austrian rule it housed the Sovereign Council of Brabant before being used as a courthouse during the French period. During the Dutch period it was one of two homes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other being in the Hague
.
The provisional Government of Belgium
and the Belgian National Congress moved into the building in 1830 and the first session of the House of Representatives and Senate was held there a year later.
It stands near the site of the former palace
of the Dukes of Brabant, which was destroyed by fire in 1731, and has itself been badly damaged by fire, in 1820 and 1883.
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
parliament. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives (Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: , ) and the Senate
Belgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
(Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: , ). It sits in the Palace of the Nation .
Chamber of Representatives
The Chamber of Representatives holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels. Eligibility requirements for the Chamber are a minimum age of 21, citizenshipCitizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
, and residency in Belgium.
The number of seats in the Chamber is constitutionally set at 150 elected from 11 electoral districts. The districts are divided along linguistic lines: 5 Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
(79 seats), 5 Walloon (49 seats), and the bilingual district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
(22 seats).
The districts are the provinces, except for the districts of Leuven (part of Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
) and Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
. Each district is given a number of seats proportional to its population (not number of voters) ranging from 4 for Luxembourg to 24 for Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
.
All districts have an electoral threshold of 5%, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
and Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
; all districts are monolingual, except for Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde is a Belgian electoral and judicial arrondissement in the center of the country, encompassing:* the officially bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, which coincides...
which encompasses both the 19 bilingual municipalities from the Brussels-Capital region and some 35 Dutch-speaking municipalities in Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
, incl. 7 with language facilities for French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speakers.
The current composition was elected at the federal elections of 2010
Belgian general election, 2010
General elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010. After the fall of the previous government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats from the government the King dissolved the legislature and called new elections...
.
Senate
The Senate consists of 71 members. There are four categories of senators: directly elected senators, community senators, co-opted senators and senators by right . For the election of the 25 Flemish and 15 Francophone directly-elected senators, the country is divided into three constituencies. Of the Community senators, 10 are elected by the Flemish ParliamentFlemish Parliament
The Flemish Parliament constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural community of Belgium The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the...
, 10 by the Parliament of the French Community
Parliament of the French Community
The Parliament of the French Community is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal....
, and 1 by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community
Parliament of the German-speaking Community
The Parliament of the German-speaking Community is the legislative assembly of the German-speaking Community of Belgium based in Eupen.The most important tasks of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community include the election and the supervision of the Government of the German-speaking...
.
The third category, the co-opted senators, consists of 10 representatives elected by the first two groups of senators. Eligibility requirements for the Senate are identical to those for the Chamber.
The final category, that of senators by right, consists of the children of the reigning monarch who are eligible to succeed to the throne. In theory, they can vote, but since the royal family is supposed to be politically neutral, they, in practice, do not vote in the Senate. In theory and in practice, they are not considered when the quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
is counted.
In the past, senators by right could only be men, since women were excluded from the succession. Since 1991, however, this is no longer true and, at the present time, Princess Astrid, Prince Philippe, and Prince Laurent exercise their constitutional right to a seat in the Senate, but constitutional convention
Constitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
provides that senators by right do not participate in Senate votes even though they officially have the right to do so.
The President of the Senate is Danny Pieters
Danny Pieters
Danny Pieters is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to the N-VA. He was elected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. He was the 33rd President of the Belgian Senate from July 2010 until October 2011.-Notes:...
(N-VA) as of 2010, who succeeded Armand De Decker
Armand De Decker
Armand De Decker, born in Uccle, 8 October 1948, is a Belgian politician and member of the French-speaking liberal party Mouvement Réformateur .De Decker studied law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and practised law.-Political career:...
(MR).
The Senate holds its plenary meetings in the Palace of the Nation, Brussels.
Legislative procedure
Since the elections of 21 May 1995, there has been a breakdown of powers between the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, which resulted in the latter having fewer competences than the Chamber of Representatives. Prior to that, the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate did the same parliamentary work on an equal footing, but now there are three different legislative procedures that can be followed: the one-chamber procedure, the optional two-chamber procedure, and the mandatory two-chamber procedure.In certain matters both Chambers have equal power. These include constitutional revisions, laws requiring a qualified majority, laws on the basic structure of the Belgian State, laws approving agreements of cooperation between the Federal State
Politics of Belgium
Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
, the Communities and the Regions, laws on the approval of international treaties, and laws on the organisation of the judiciary, the Council of State
Council of State (Belgium)
Council of State , in Belgium, is an organ of the Belgian government: it is the Supreme Administrative Court of Belgium. Its functions include assisting the executive with legal advice and being the supreme court for administrative justice...
, and the Constitutional Court. In this case, the mandatory bicameral procedure applies, which means that both Chambers must pass exactly the same version of the bill.
For most other legislation, the Chamber of Representatives takes precedence over the Senate and the optional bicameral procedure applies. This means that the Senate may still intervene as a chamber of consideration and reflection. It has the opportunity to, within specific time limits, examine the bills adopted by the Chamber of Representatives and, if there is a reason to do so, make amendments. The Chamber may subsequently adopt or reject the amendments proposed by the Senate or make new proposals. The Senate can also submit a bill it has adopted to the Chamber, which can approve, reject or amend it. Whatever the case, the Chamber has the final word.
The one-chamber procedure applies in cases where the Chamber of Representatives has the sole power to legislate. It means that the Senate cannot intervene and that the Senate's approval is not required for the bill to pass. The matters for which the Chamber of Representatives is exclusively responsible include naturalisations
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
, ministerial liability, State budget and accounts and military quotas.
United Chambers
The United Chambers is the name given to the body created when both chambers of the Federal Parliament meet in joint sessionJoint session
A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally-separate decision-making groups meet together, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose....
. The United Chambers are convened only on certain occasions enumerated in the Belgian Constitution
Constitution of Belgium
The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state...
: the King must take the constitutional oath before the United Chambers, in accordance with article 91 of the Constitution, and the United Chambers must provide for the regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
in the event that the successor to the Crown is a minor or the King is unable to reign, in accordance with articles 92 and 93 of the Constitution. The last session of the United Chambers took place on 9 August 1993, when King Albert II
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
took the constitutional oath.
Palace of the Nation
The Palace of the Nation was built to a NeoclassicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
design by French architect Gilles-Barnabé Guimard
Gilles-Barnabé Guimard
Gilles-Barnabé Guimard was a French architect. He spent his entire career in the Habsburg Netherlands where he led important architectural and urbanistic projects such as the Place Royale in Brussels and the new 'Palace of the Council of Brabant' which today houses the Belgian...
from 1779 to 1783 and includes sculptures by Gilles-Lambert Godecharle
Gilles-Lambert Godecharle
Gilles-Lambert Godecharle was a Belgian sculptor, a pupil of Laurent Delvaux, "the only sculptor of international repute in Delvaux's retinue", who became one of two outstanding representatives of Neoclassicism in the Austrian Netherlands.In response to his early promise, empress Maria Theresa...
. Under Austrian rule it housed the Sovereign Council of Brabant before being used as a courthouse during the French period. During the Dutch period it was one of two homes of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other being in the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
The provisional Government of Belgium
Provisional Government of Belgium
The Provisional Government was formed as a revolutionary committee of notables during the Belgian Revolution on September 24, 1830 at the Brussels City Hall under the name of Administrative Commission....
and the Belgian National Congress moved into the building in 1830 and the first session of the House of Representatives and Senate was held there a year later.
It stands near the site of the former palace
Coudenberg
Coudenberg or Koudenberg is a small hill in Brussels where the Palace of Coudenberg was built.For nearly 700 years, the Castle and then the Palace of Coudenberg were the seat of government of the counts, dukes, archdukes, kings, emperors and governors who from the 11th century until its...
of the Dukes of Brabant, which was destroyed by fire in 1731, and has itself been badly damaged by fire, in 1820 and 1883.
See also
- Politics of BelgiumPolitics of BelgiumPolitics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic, constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by...
- Court of Audit of BelgiumCourt of Audit of BelgiumThe Court of Audit of Belgium is a Belgian governmental institution established by article 180 of the Belgian Constitution...
- List of political parties in Belgium
- Brussels ParliamentBrussels ParliamentThe Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region , is the governing body of the Brussels-Capital Region, one of the three regions of Belgium...
- Flemish ParliamentFlemish ParliamentThe Flemish Parliament constitutes the legislative power in Flanders, for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic region and a cultural community of Belgium The Flemish Parliament (Dutch: , and formerly called Flemish Council or Vlaamse Raad) constitutes the...
- Commission communautaire française
- Parliament of the German-speaking CommunityParliament of the German-speaking CommunityThe Parliament of the German-speaking Community is the legislative assembly of the German-speaking Community of Belgium based in Eupen.The most important tasks of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community include the election and the supervision of the Government of the German-speaking...
- Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
- Walloon ParliamentWalloon ParliamentThe Walloon Parliament , formerly the Walloon Regional Council , is the Parliament of the Walloon Region, commonly called Wallonia, one of the self-governing Regions of Belgium with Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region...
- Parliament of the French CommunityParliament of the French CommunityThe Parliament of the French Community is the legislative assembly of the French Community of Belgium based in the Quartier Royal....