Belgian Chamber of Deputies

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Belgian Chamber of Deputies
logo The semicircle of the Chamber of Deputies
logo The semicircle of the Chamber of Deputies
Basic data
Seat: Brussels
Legislative period : five years
First session: 1831
MPs: 150
Current legislative period
Last choice: May 26, 2019
Chair: President
Patrick Dewael ( Open VLD )
            
Distribution of seats: Transitional Government (38)
  • MR 14
  • CD&V 12
  • Open VLD 12
  • Tolerance (57)
  • PS 20
  • Ecolo 13
  • sp.a 9
  • Big 8
  • cdH 5
  • DéFI 2
  • Opposition (55)
  • N-VA 25
  • VB 18
  • PTB * PVDA 12
  • Website
    dekamer.be
    The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, seat of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate

    The Chamber of Deputies ( Dutch : De Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers , French : La Chambre des représentants ), sometimes also simply called the Chamber , is the lower house of the Federal Parliament in Belgium alongside the Upper House , the Senate . Together with the Senate and the King, the Chamber of Deputies exercises federal legislative power and also acts as the constitution-maker in the Belgian political system .

    The Chamber of Deputies differs from the Senate in terms of its composition and tasks. The Belgian bicameral system was reformed in 1993 , and since then the political role of the chamber has been far greater than that of the Senate, as only it can trust a federal government and overthrow it if necessary.

    Seat

    Like the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies has its seat in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels . The plenary sessions are held in a semicircle (Dutch: Halfrond , French: Hémicycle ), which is decorated in green (in contrast to the Senate, where the red color predominates).

    This distinction between green for the lower house and red for the upper house has its direct origin in the British Parliament . There, too, the House of Commons and the House of Lords are decorated in green and red respectively. The reason for this is that they wanted to pay tribute to the parliamentary tradition of Great Britain and that the first wife of King Leopold I , Charlotte-Auguste , was the British Crown Princess.

    composition

    The Chamber of Deputies consists of 150 members. All MPs are directly elected by the people in the country's various constituencies.

    elections

    The elections to the Chamber of Deputies are held in 11 constituencies. These constituencies have been congruent with the 10 provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region since 2012 . Brussels is the only constituency that has both Dutch- and French-speaking MPs. There is an exception for the six municipalities with facilities on the Brussels periphery in the province of Flemish Brabant : Voters in these municipalities can also vote for candidates in the Brussels-Capital constituency. This special regulation was the result of a compromise in the dispute over the former constituency of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde .

    The number of candidates standing for election in each constituency depends on the population of the constituency. The “number of seats in each constituency corresponds to the result of dividing the population of the constituency by the federal divisor, which results from dividing the population of the kingdom by 150. The remaining seats are allocated to the constituencies with the largest unrepresented population surplus ”. The population is recalculated every 10 years.

    There are two columns on the electoral lists: on the one hand the effective candidates and on the other hand the substitute candidates. These substitute candidates can accept a mandate in the chamber if an effectively elected candidate has to give up his post (for example because he wants to move into another parliament or because he is promoted to government).

    The conditions for voting ( right to vote ) are laid down partly in the Constitution and partly in the Electoral Code: you must be a Belgian citizen, be at least 18 years old, be registered in the population register and not be in any of the statutory ones Grounds for exclusion (such as a sentence of more than four months in prison). As in all elections in Belgium, voting is compulsory . Each voter has one vote, which he can either give to the entire list ("head vote"), or which he can distribute to the candidates on a list in order to influence the internal order of the candidates on a list ("preferred vote").

    The seats are distributed proportionally in each constituency according to the so-called D'Hondt procedure , named after the Belgian legal scholar Victor D'Hondt (1841–1901). In order to be included in this calculation, the list must contain at least 5% of the votes cast (see threshold clause ).

    MPs

    To become a member of the Chamber ( right to stand for election ), four conditions must be met: the candidate must be a Belgian citizen, possess his civil and political rights, be at least 21 years old and be resident in Belgium. The deputies are elected for four years; every four years the Chamber of Deputies is completely renewed at the same time as the Senate.

    Before MEPs can take office, they must take the constitutional oath in Dutch, French or German.

    The office of MP is incompatible with certain other functions. You cannot be a member of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate at the same time. A ministerial office is also incompatible with that of a parliamentarian.

    As a member of parliament, you also enjoy a certain degree of parliamentary immunity . The right to freedom of expression, which is already anchored in the constitution as a fundamental right, is strengthened for parliamentarians. The criminal liability of parliamentarians is also subject to special provisions in the constitution. Unless discovered in the act, an MP can only be arrested with the permission of the Chamber of Deputies. A deputy who is being prosecuted can at any time ask the Chamber to suspend the prosecution. These guarantees are only valid during the session periods.

    Language groups

    Just like in the Senate, the members of the Chamber are divided into two language groups. The Dutch language group currently has 87 members, while the French language group has 63 members. In contrast to the Senate, the number of members of each language group in the Chamber is not fixed. Depending on how the population develops and the relationship between Flemish and French-speaking citizens changes, the language groups in the Chamber can also have more or fewer seats after each election.

    The MPs elected in the Dutch-speaking area (except for BHV ) belong to the Dutch- speaking group; MPs elected in the French-speaking area belong to the French-speaking group. The MPs from the German-speaking area of ​​Belgium are assigned to the French-speaking group, as there is no separate constituency for their area and they therefore have to stand for election in the French-speaking constituency of Liège . MEPs from the Brussels constituency belong to the Dutch or French language group, depending on whether they have taken their oath on the constitution in Dutch or French. If the oath is taken in several languages, the language of the first oath will apply. In practice, these MPs take the oath in the language of the party they stood for.

    The language groups are particularly important when passing special laws , which require a majority in both language groups (see below). The language groups also come into play with the so-called “alarm bell”: This procedure allows a language group in the Chamber or Senate to declare in a motion with a three-quarters majority within this group that a certain draft or proposal “seriously affects the relations between the communities could endanger ". In this case, the adoption process for this draft or proposal will be suspended for 30 days and the federal government will have to find a solution during this period. The alarm bell procedure has only been used twice. Most recently, on April 29, 2010, the French language group prevented a vote on the split in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency called for by the Flemish parties (see above).

    Current parties in parliament

    There are twelve parties in the parliament elected in 2019 and working until 2024:

    logo Political party Alignment Party chairman /
    party leader
    Seats
    after the
    election
    current +/-
    Dutch language group
    FileLogo N-VA (Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie) .png Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (NVA)
    New Flemish Alliance
    Flemish nationalist , conservativeist Bart De Wever 25th 25th  
    Vlaams belang parteilogo.svg Vlaams Belang (VB)
    Flemish interests
    right-wing extremist , separatist Tom Van Grieken 18th 18th  
    Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams Logo.svg Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V)
    Christian-Democratisch and Flemish
    Christian Democratic Wouter Beke 12 12  
    Open VLD.svg Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democrats (Open Vld)
    Flemish Liberals and Democrats
    liberal Egbert Lachaert 12 12  
    Socialist Partij Anders (logo) .png Socialist Partij Anders (sp.a) social democratic Conner Rousseau 09 09  
    Groen Logo 2012.svg Big
    green
    green alternative Meyrem Almaci 08th 08th  
    French language group
    Socialist Party (Belgium) logo.svg Parti Socialiste (PS)
    Socialist Party
    social democratic Elio Di Rupo 20th 20th  
    Logo Mouvement Réformateur.jpg Mouvement Réformateur (MR)
    Reform movement
    liberal Georges-Louis Bouchez 14th 14th  
    Ecolo Logo.svg Ecolo green alternative Zakia Khattabi ,
    Jean-Marc Nollet
    13 13  
    Center Démocrate Humaniste Logo.svg Center Démocrate Humaniste (cdH) Christian Democratic Maxime Prévot 05 05  
    DEFI-Logo-Bandeau.png Démocrate Fédéraliste Indépendant (DéFI) Representation of the interests of the francophone population , liberal François De Smet 02 02  
    All Belgian parties
    PTB-PVDA.jpg Partij van de Arbeid (PVDA)
    Parti du Travail de Belgique (PTB)
    socialist Peter Mertens 12 12  
    total 150 150  

    Functions

    Vote of confidence

    In any democratic-parliamentary system, a government can only exist if it can rely on a parliamentary majority. This is done by reading out the government declaration and the subsequent vote of confidence that the government has had to ask the Chamber of Deputies - and no longer the Senate - before it takes office since the fourth state reform of 1993 (which came into force on January 1, 1995). The government ministers are solely responsible to the Chamber of Deputies. In this context, there is also talk of the Chamber of Deputies' government making power. It is up to the government to decide whether the government statement will also be read in the Senate (which in practice is often the case).

    Federal legislation

    The Chamber of Deputies exercises federal legislative power together with the Senate and the King. This is done by adopting federal legal norms, the so-called laws. These are usually passed with an absolute majority (50% + 1, i.e. at least 76 MPs) of the votes cast with a majority of MPs present (50% + 1).

    All MPs have the right of initiative and can submit legislative proposals. However, bills approving international treaties must always be submitted to the Senate.

    Belgium has a bicameral system . The original text of the constitution stipulated that the Chamber and Senate had absolutely equal rights and that both had to have passed the same text before it could be presented to the King. However, since 1993 the Senate has no longer been systematically involved in legislative work; So today it is a "weakened" two-chamber system.

    In fact, the constitution provides for cases in which the Chamber of Deputies alone has jurisdiction to the exclusion of the Senate ( unicameral procedure ). This concerns:

    • the granting of naturalizations;
    • Laws on the civil and criminal liability of ministers;
    • the budgets and bills of the state, except for the Senate's own endowment (see below);
    • the determination of the army contingent .

    For all other cases, the so-called two-chamber method can be used. A distinction must be made here, however: In the mandatory two-chamber procedure, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have absolutely equal rights and must in each case give their consent to one and the same legal text. These cases are exhaustively listed in the Constitution and include, among others, the passage of special laws (i.e. laws that affect the structure or functioning of the state) or laws approving international treaties. The non-compulsory two-chamber procedure is applicable unless otherwise noted in the constitution. Here the Senate has the right of evocation and can "accept" legislative proposals or drafts that have been submitted to the Chamber. H. also examine and, if necessary, provide amendments. At the end of the procedure, however, the Chamber of Deputies always has the last word and can assert itself against the Senate.

    In accordance with Article 82 of the Constitution, any problems of jurisdiction between the two chambers will be settled in a “parliamentary consultation committee”. This consists of as many members of the Chamber of Deputies as the Senate and examines whether a legislative proposal or draft can actually be adopted with the proposed procedure. The committee can, by mutual agreement, extend the deadlines set for the non-binding two-chamber procedure.

    Constitutional amendments

    The Chamber of Deputies also acts as a constitutional body together with the Senate and the King. The procedure for revising the constitution differs from normal legislative procedures:

    • First, the federal legislature, i.e. both the Chamber and the Senate, has to identify those articles that are to be approved for revision. The king must also sign this list. The two lists are published in the State Gazette.
    • After this declaration, the Chamber and the Senate are legally dissolved. It is therefore common for such declarations on constitutional revision to take place at the end of a regular legislative period.
    • There are new elections and the Chamber of Deputies and Senate are newly appointed.
    • After the elections, the Chamber and Senate, together with the King, are to be considered constitutional. This means that you can (but don't necessarily have to) change the articles that were on the lists - and only these articles. The amendment of a constitutional article requires a special quorum (two thirds of the members of each chamber present) and a special majority (two thirds of the votes in each chamber). The amendments are published in the State Gazette.

    Government control

    The federal government must answer to parliament for its policy and answer its questions. Here, too, the government ministers are solely responsible to the Chamber of Deputies. The trust initially expressed can be withdrawn by the Chamber at any time, either by means of a constructive vote of no confidence in which the Chamber of Deputies proposes a different Prime Minister, or by a rejected vote of confidence, after which a new Prime Minister is proposed within three days. Since the constitutional reform of 1993, a simple vote of no confidence is no longer enough to overthrow a government. The Senate is not involved.

    The control of the government also includes the control of the individual ministers. The Chamber of Deputies can therefore require individual members of the government to be present. The members of parliament have a “right of interpellation ” and, following each interpellation, can seek a vote of confidence in the minister or the government.

    Like the Senate, the Chamber has the right to investigate. This means that the Chamber of Deputies can set up an investigative committee that has the same powers as an investigating judge. Such committees are mostly set up for cases of particularly high public interest, such as the Chamber's committees of inquiry into the pedophilia incidents in the course of the " Dutroux affair" (1996), the dioxin crisis (1999), the responsibility of Belgium the murder of Patrice Lumumba (1999) or about the " Fortis Affair" (2009).

    Budgetary control

    Government control extends particularly to the state budget and finances . Only the Chamber of Deputies is authorized to approve the budget annually. An exception to this is the endowment of the Senate, which the Senate alone determines. The Chamber is supported in budgetary control by the Court of Auditors .

    Others

    The Chamber of Deputies appoints the federal ombudspersons and the members of the Committee for the Protection of Private Life (responsible for data protection ).

    The Chamber also plays a specific role in overseeing the Brussels-Capital Region in its role as an international and capital city. If the region makes decisions in matters of town planning, spatial planning, public works and transport that endanger this statute, the federal government can suspend these and, if no solution has been found in a cooperation committee, the Chamber of Deputies can annul the decisions. In addition, the federal government can take decisions to promote the international and capital city statute of Brussels if the region does not act. In this case, too, the chamber must first give its consent.

    The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate take turns responsible for other situations. However, these cases are limited and are not enumerated in the Constitution. One example is the appointment of judges at the Constitutional Court .

    Finally, when the king dies, the Chamber of Deputies meets with the Senate (one speaks of "united chambers"). The heir to the throne will have to take the constitutional oath before the united chambers. If the heir to the throne is still a minor or if the reigning king is unable to rule (for example due to serious illness), the united chambers ensure guardianship and regency . If the throne is vacant , i. H. if the king has not appointed any descendants or a third person as heir to the throne (to which the united chambers would have agreed), then it is up to the united chambers to appoint a new ruler.

    organization

    President, Presidium, Presidential Conference

    The Chamber of Deputies is chaired by its President, who is elected every four years at the beginning of the legislative period. He traditionally comes from the government majority and, together with the President of the Senate, takes second place behind the King in the protocol order of precedence (preference being given to the older President). The President chairs the plenary session, ensures order in the assembly and compliance with the rules of procedure. He also chairs the Presidium and the Presidents' Conference.

    The Presidium is composed of the President of the Chamber, a minimum of two and a maximum of five Vice-Presidents, four secretaries, the parliamentary group leaders and the so-called "participants" of the larger parliamentary groups. The Presidium is responsible for the general management of the Chamber and primarily deals with personnel issues (recruitment, statute, etc.). The President's Conference, on the other hand, consists of the President of the Chamber, the Vice-Presidents, the parliamentary group leaders and one member from each parliamentary group. A minister may attend the meetings if necessary. The Presidents' Conference sets the plenary agenda and speaking times every week and coordinates the work of the plenary with that of the committees. Finally, there is a college of Quaestors made up of a maximum of six Quaestors elected for two years. The Quaestors take care of the House of Representatives' own budget and, in general, all property and material issues as well as the House's expenses. The College can submit proposals to the Presidium on personnel issues.

    Patrick Dewael ( Open VLD ) has been President of the Chamber since June 30, 2014 .

    Committees

    The standing committees of the Chamber of Deputies
    • Social affairs
    • National defense
    • Commercial and business law
    • Economy, science policy, education, scientific
      and cultural institutions, medium-sized businesses and agriculture
    • Finances and budget
    • Infrastructure, communication and public companies
    • Home affairs, general affairs and public office
    • Judiciary
    • External relations
    • Constitutional changes and state reform
    • Public health, environment and society renewal

    The work of the Chamber of Deputies takes place in the plenary and in the committees. There are several types of committees:

    • Standing committees : The standing committees are composed of 17 members. Each committee is presided over by its own president, with the members of the presidium having to preside over a committee by law.
    • Temporary committees : Temporary committees can be set up to review certain draft laws or proposals. They are then resolved after the report has been completed. Example: the Police Reform Committee.
    • Special committees : Special committees are set up if the rules of procedure so provide, but also in other cases. The Special Committee on the Prosecution of Ministers will only be set up if there is such an indictment by the Chamber. Examples of special committees: Committee on the Granting of Naturalizations, Committee on the Control of Police Services (Committee P), Committee on the Arms Trade.
    • Committees of inquiry : see above (“Government Control”).
    • Mixed committees : Certain committees are set up jointly with the Senate, with each chamber sending a delegation, such as the parliamentary consultation committee (see above, “Federal Legislation”).
    • Sub-committees and working groups : Sub-committees or working groups can also be set up within the committees to deal with a particular project or subject. Examples of subcommittees: subcommittee on the Court of Auditors, subcommittee on nuclear safety.

    Rules of Procedure

    The rules of procedure primarily regulate the internal organization of the Chamber. In its first version, it was adopted on October 5, 1831. It has seen numerous changes since then.

    The rules of procedure first regulate the organization and functioning of the Chamber of Deputies (Title I). It describes, among other things, the chamber's appointment procedure, the role of the various actors and bodies, and the working methods in the committees and in the plenary session. Then the legislative and constitutional function of the Chamber of Deputies (Title II), as well as the control and information tasks (Title III) are explained. Finally, the Rules of Procedure contain a number of different provisions (Title IV).

    resolution

    The king has the right to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies and call new elections within 40 days. However, since 1993 he has required the approval of the Chamber (by means of an absolute majority). The cases in which the Chamber of Deputies can (and need not necessarily) be dissolved are listed in the Constitution to a limited extent:

    • if a vote of confidence by the government is rejected in the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber does not propose a successor to the Prime Minister for appointment within the next three days;
    • if a motion of censure against the government is adopted and a successor to the Prime Minister has not been proposed at the same time;
    • if the federal government resigns.

    The dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies automatically leads to the dissolution of the Senate.

    In practice, however, these dissolution mechanisms have not yet been used, since in this case the chambers would not have a constitutional basis after the new elections. In Belgium, however, state reform has been an almost continuous process since the end of the 1980s (third in 1989, fourth in 1993, fifth in 2001, sixth and so far last in 2014), so that the constitutional revision mechanism usually starts before each regular election is set (see above). The chambers will be dissolved by law anyway and new elections will have to be organized.


    history

    The Chamber of Deputies has changed little since Belgium was created. Only the number of seats in the chamber was progressively reduced and the electoral conditions were democratized at the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1993 the Chamber of Deputies has had a privileged position vis-à-vis the Senate.

    First appearance of the chamber (1831-1893)

    As early as 1831, the Chamber of Deputies was composed exclusively of directly elected mandataries. The number of MPs was not anchored in the constitution, but was determined by law. The proportional representation of one MP for 40,000 voters was not allowed to be exceeded. In its first composition in 1831, the chamber had 102 members, who were sent according to the majority vote . MEPs were elected for four years, but the House was renewed by half every two years. The eligibility conditions ( passive right to vote ) were the same back then as they are today, only you had to be 25 years old. In contrast to the Senate, no census was required for eligibility.

    The conditions for being eligible for election to the Senate ( active voting rights ) were the same as for the Senate: one had to be a Belgian male citizen , at least 21 years of age and - according to Article 47 of the 1831 Constitution - a taxpayer Pay the census, which was stipulated in the electoral law and could amount to at least 20 and at most 100 florins . The “Electoral Law” of the National Congress of March 3, 1831 provided for different amounts, depending on whether the voter was in a large city (e.g. Brussels , 80 florins), in a medium-sized city (e.g. Lions , 50 florins) or lived in rural areas (where a census of 30 florins was valid for the whole of Belgium).

    Progressive democratization (1893-1993)

    In addition to minor changes to the electoral legislation (such as the law of March 12, 1848, in which the census was reduced to 20 florins for all of Belgium), the first major constitutional reform took place in 1893, which fundamentally changed Belgium's electoral system. The reason for this was the civil unrest and workers' uprisings of 1886 and 1893 as well as the encyclical " Rerum Novarum " by Pope Leo XIII. from 1891, which had a decisive influence on the Catholic government of the time. The constitutional reform abolished the census as an electoral condition. All male citizens who were at least 25 years old could vote. One could not speak of universal suffrage, however, as certain citizens had multiple votes. For example, a father who was at least 35 years old and paid a property tax of at least five francs had two votes. Representatives of the clergy or academics even had three votes. Likewise, compulsory voting was introduced in Belgium at this time .

    This electoral system, which kept power in the hands of the bourgeoisie , was eventually abolished first by a law of May 9, 1919, and then by a constitutional amendment of February 7, 1921. At the same time, the minimum age for the elections was lowered to 21 years. A law of March 27, 1948 finally introduced women's suffrage . Since then, there has only been universal and equal suffrage in Belgium. In 1981, the minimum age for voting was lowered to 18 years.

    Majority voting was also abandoned towards the end of the nineteenth century. First through a law of December 29, 1899 and finally through a constitutional revision of November 15, 1920, proportional representation was introduced.

    As for the composition of the Chamber of Deputies, in 1949 the number of deputies was set at 212. The language groups were created during the first state reform in 1970.

    Reform of the bicameral system (since 1993)

    In the fourth state reform of 1993, which definitely transformed Belgium into a federal or federal state , the relationship between the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate was changed. It was decided to switch from a perfect two-chamber system to a "weaker" variant. The possibility of overthrowing the government, and thus political power, remained in the hands of the Chamber, while the Senate became the “deliberation chamber” and the “place of gathering for communities and regions”.

    The fourth state reform also introduced new mandate incompatibilities: since 1970 (first state reform; and 1980, second state reform), the MPs and senators were also members of the Flemish Council (now Parliament) and the councils (now parliaments) of the Walloon Region and the French Community ; this is no longer possible. In return, direct elections were introduced for the Flemish and Walloon Parliaments and the number of members of the federal Chamber of Deputies was reduced from 212 to 150.

    See also

    literature

    • A. Alen, F. Meerschaut: Le bicaméralisme belge, de la voie unitaire à la voie fédérale . APT, 1990, pp. 132-160.
    • P. Blaise, J. Brassine de la Buissière, V. de Coorebyter: Les réformes électorales sous la législature 1999-2003 . In: Courrier Hebdomadaire du CRISP , 2003, nos. 1790–1791.
    • Francis Delpérée : Les autorités fédérales . In: F. Delpérée et al .: La Constitution fédérale du 5 may 1993 . Bruylant, Brussels 1993, pp. 7-24.
    • K. Muylle, J. Van Nieuwenhove: Twee kieskringen die he (g) een zijn… Het Arbitragehof en de recente kieshervorming . RW, 2002-03, p. 1474 ff.
    • Marc Uyttendaele : Précis de droit constitutionnel belge. Regards sur un système institutional paradoxal 3 e éd. Bruylant, Brussels 2005, p. 181 ff u. 739 ff.
    • LP Suetens: The greatming van het tweekamerstelsel . In: A. Alen, LP Suetens (Ed.): Het Federale België na de vierde Staatshervorming . die Keure, Bruges 1993, pp. 143-163.

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. Question 4.3 in the FAQ on the official Senate website .
    2. Art. 63, §1 of the Constitution.
    3. Dutch-speaking candidates can of course also stand for election in the French-speaking area (which is sometimes the case in practice), but in this case they would automatically meet in the French-speaking group (see below). Of course, this also applies vice versa for French-speaking candidates.
    4. Art. 63, §2 of the Constitution.
    5. The last survey took place on October 1, 2001 and was published in the Belgian State Gazette on May 28, 2002.
    6. Article 61 of the Constitution; Art. 1 of the Electoral Code.
    7. Article 64 of the Constitution.
    8. Article 65 of the Constitution.
    9. Art. 2, § 4 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies; Art. 1 of the decree of July 20, 1831.
    10. Art. 49 and 50 of the Constitution; other incompatibilities are provided for in the law of 6 August 1931 laying down incompatibilities and prohibitions for ministers, former ministers and ministers of state and members and former members of the legislative chambers.
    11. Article 58 of the Constitution.
    12. Article 59 of the Constitution.
    13. Art. 43, §1 of the Constitution.
    14. This is how the Chamber differs from the Senate. The only Senator of the German-speaking Community does not belong to either of the two language groups. The senators by law (i.e. the king's children) are also not assigned to any language group.
    15. Art. 1, §1, 2 ° of the law of July 3, 1971, as partially repealed by the judgment of the Court of Arbitration No. 73/2003 of May 26, 2003.
    16. Article 54 of the Constitution.
    17. ^ BHV van de baan . In: De Standaard , April 29, 2010 (ndl.)
    18. In 1985 the alarm bell was already raised on the occasion of the planned integration of a university into the University Center Limburg , but the then government voluntarily withdrew the draft law. The parliamentary debate was drowned out by the excitement surrounding the Heysel disaster .
    19. a b Art. 101 of the Constitution.
    20. a b Parliamentary information sheet No. 11.00 on the website of the Chamber of Deputies; Visible in French  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Dutch  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Language.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  
    21. Article 36 of the Constitution.
    22. Due to Art. 4 of the constitution, special majority ratios are required when passing so-called special laws.
    23. Article 75 of the Constitution.
    24. Article 74 of the Constitution.
    25. Article 77 of the Constitution.
    26. Art. 78 ff. Of the Constitution.
    27. Article 195 of the Constitution.
    28. Art. 96, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution.
    29. The aim was to make the governments more stable than in the 1970s and 1980s.
    30. Art. 100, Para. 2 of the Constitution.
    31. Parliamentary information sheet No. 11.01 on the website of the Chamber of Deputies; Visible in French  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Dutch  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Language.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  
    32. Article 56 of the Constitution.
    33. Art. 74, 3 ° and Art. 174 of the Constitution.
    34. Article 180 of the Constitution.
    35. Parliamentary information sheet No. 11.02 on the website of the Chamber of Deputies; Visible in French  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. and Dutch  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Language.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.lachambre.be  
    36. Art. 45 u. 46 of the special law of 12 January 1989 on the Brussels institutions.
    37. Article 32 of the Special Act of January 6, 1989 on the Court of Arbitration.
    38. Articles 90 to 95 of the Constitution.
    39. Article 5 of the Chamber of Deputies' rules of procedure.
    40. Art. 9 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies.
    41. Articles 16 to 18 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies.
    42. Article 171 of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies.
    43. Patrick Dewael (VLD) élu président de la Chambre . Lesoir.be, June 30, 2014 (French)
    44. Respectively Chapter IX and Chapter VIII in Title I of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies.
    45. Article 46 of the Constitution.