Senate (Belgium)

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Belgian Senate
De Belgische Senaat
Le Sénat de Belgique
logo The semicircle of the Senate
logo The semicircle of the Senate
Basic data
Seat: Brussels
Legislative period : 5 years
MPs: 60
Current legislative period
Last choice: May 26, 2019
Chair: President
Sabine Laruelle ( MR )
Distribution of seats in the Belgian Senate
            


Distribution of seats:
  • N-VA 9
  • PS 7
  • VB 7
  • MR 6
  • Ecolo 5
  • CD&V 5
  • PTB * PVDA 5
  • Open VLD 5
  • sp.a 4
  • Big 4
  • cdH 2
  • German-speaking Senator 1
    		•
    Website
    www.senate.be
    The Palace of the Nation in Brussels, seat of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate
    The semicircle of the Senate

    The Belgian Senate ( Dutch De Belgische Senaat , French Le Sénat de Belgique ) is the upper house of the federal parliament , next to the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies . Together with the Chamber and the King, the Senate exercises federal legislative power and also acts as the constitutional body in the Belgian political system .

    The Senate differs from the Chamber of Deputies in terms of its composition and tasks. Since 1831, the Senate has developed from an upper house reserved for the aristocracy into a “deliberation chamber” and a “place where communities and regions come together ”.

    Seat

    The Senate, like 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 red (in contrast to the chamber, in which the green color predominates).

    This distinction between red for the upper house and green for the lower house has its direct origin in the British Parliament . There, too, the House of Lords and the House of Commons are decorated in red and green 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. In the beginning, the Belgian Senate, like the House of Lords, was composed primarily of aristocrats .

    composition

    After a reform agreed between eight parties in 2011, the Senate was transformed into a “Chamber of the States” in 2014. The direct election of (part of) senators was abolished and the number of senators was reduced from 71 to 60. At the same time, the responsibilities of the Senate were further restricted. The Senate should be composed as follows:

    Senators

    To become a Senator ( right to stand for election ), four conditions must be met: the candidate must be a Belgian citizen, have his civil and political rights, be at least 18 years old and be a resident of Belgium. As a rule, the senators retain their office for five years.

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

    The office of senator 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 senator you also enjoy a certain 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, a senator can only be arrested with the permission of the Senate. A Senator who is being prosecuted may at any time ask the Senate to suspend the prosecution. These guarantees are only valid during the session periods.

    Language groups

    As in the Chamber of Deputies, there are two language groups in the Senate. The Dutch language group comprises 35 senators: the 29 Flemish community senators and the 6 Flemish co-opted senators. The French language group consists of 24 senators: the 10 French Community Senators, the 8 Senators for the Walloon Region ( Wallonia Parliament ), the 2 Senators for the French-speaking residents of the Brussels-Capital Region (French language group in the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region) and the 4 French-speaking co-opted senators.

    The only senator in the German-speaking community does not belong to any of the language groups.

    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 with a three-quarters majority within this group in a “motion” that a certain draft or proposal “the relationships between could seriously endanger the communities ”. 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.

    Functions

    Federal legislation

    The Senate exercises federal legislative power together with the Chamber of Deputies and the King. This is done by adopting federal legal norms, the so-called laws. Since the 2014 reform, power is only applicable to institutional laws, laws governing the funding of political parties, and laws controlling campaign spending. These are usually passed with an absolute majority (50% + 1, i.e. at least 31 senators) of the votes cast, with a majority of the senators present (50% + 1).

    In these laws, the senators have the right of initiative and can submit legislative proposals.

    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. Indeed, the Constitution provides for cases in which the Chamber alone has jurisdiction, such as budgetary issues or naturalizations.

    For all other cases, the so-called two-chamber method can be used. A distinction must be made here: In the mandatory two-chamber procedure, the chamber 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 the passing 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. This shows that in some cases the Senate should “only” be a “deliberation chamber”.

    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 Senate also acts as a constitutional body together with the Chamber of Deputies 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.

    Relationship with the government

    A big difference between the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies is that the ministers are only politically responsible to the Chamber. In concrete terms, this means that the federal government only needs to ask the Chamber of confidence and that a constructive vote of no confidence can only be voted there. 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).

    In any case, only the Chamber of Deputies can request the presence of a minister. For the Senate, this is only possible in connection with legislative proposals and drafts that are voted on in an obligatory or non-obligatory two-chamber procedure. In all other cases he “can ask for your presence”.

    The Senate, like the Chamber, has the right to investigate. This means that the Senate can set up an investigative committee that has the same powers as an investigating judge. Most of the time, such committees are set up for cases of particularly high public interest, such as the 1997 Senate Committee of Inquiry into the events in Rwanda at the time of the genocide .

    Others

    In some limited cases, the Senate has sole jurisdiction to the exclusion of the Chamber of Deputies:

    • The Senate independently determines the budget for its own work; this is an exception to the household sovereignty of the chamber.
    • The Senate is competent to rule on conflicts of interest between assemblies (i.e. chambers and parliaments). In this case he submits a reasoned opinion to the conciliation committee.

    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 Senate meets with the Chamber of Deputies (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 designated any descendants or a third person as heir to the throne (to which the united chambers would have approved), then it is up to the united chambers to appoint a new ruler.

    organization

    President and Presidium

    The Senate is chaired by the President of the Senate, who is newly elected at the beginning of the session. He traditionally comes from the government majority and, together with the President of the Chamber, 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.

    The Presidium is composed of the Senate President, the two Vice Presidents, two members and the parliamentary group leaders. Among other things, the Presidium is responsible for setting the weekly agenda for plenary and committee meetings.

    Sabine Laruelle has been President of the Senate since July 18, 2019 .

    Committees

    The standing committees of the Senate
    • Institutional Affairs
    • Regional affairs
    • Community affairs

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

    • Standing committees: There are a maximum of six standing committees, each of which has 20 senators (depending on the majority in the plenum). They examine the bills and proposals and report to the plenary. You can also ask the ministers concerned to answer questions during their meetings.
    • Special committees: The Senate can set up special committees for questions that it determines itself and for a certain period of time.

    Rules of Procedure

    The rules of procedure primarily regulate the internal organization of the Senate. The original version, dated October 19, 1831, was replaced by a completely new one in 1995 and 2014.

    The rules of procedure first provide for the organization and functioning of the Senate (Title I). Aspects such as personal attacks, withdrawal of the word, use of mobile phones, exclusions or tumults are also dealt with. Then the legislative and constitutional function of the Senate (Title II), as well as the control and information tasks (Title III) are explained. The conflicts of interest (Title IV) are finally to be found before the various and final provisions (Titles V and VI).

    history

    In the course of the state reforms, the Senate has changed its image in order to become a “chamber of deliberation” and a “place of meeting of communities and regions ” from an upper house reserved for the wealthy upper and nobility classes .

    Aristocratic House of Lords (1831-1893)

    The National Congress, which was entrusted with drawing up a Belgian constitution after the Belgian Revolution of 1830, had dealt in depth with the question of whether the parliament should have one or two chambers. Ultimately, the majority opted for the two-chamber system. According to the constitution of 1831, the Senate, like the Chamber of Deputies, is composed only of directly elected mandataries. The exception was the heir to the throne (later all the children of the king), who was a senator by law. The number of senators was half the number of MPs. In contrast to the Chamber of Deputies, there was a stricter age limit (at least 40 years) and a census for the elections to the Senate, in addition to the classic eligibility conditions : For example, only those who paid at least 1,000 florins in direct taxes could become senators . This ensured that only the rich upper class could be elected to the Senate.

    The conditions to be eligible for election to the Senate ( active voting rights ) were the same as for the Chamber of Deputies: You had to be a Belgian male citizen , at least 21 years old and - according to Article 47 of the 1831 Constitution - a tax person 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)

    Following a reform in 1893, the Senate was expanded to include a category of senators. In addition to the directly elected senators, the provincial councils also sent a certain number of people to the senate, depending on the population of the province. There were no census specifications for these indirectly elected provincial senators and thus less wealthy citizens could now also be represented in the Senate. The conditions for participating in the election were also changed: the census as an electoral condition was abolished (after it had already been reduced to 20 florins for all of Belgium by the law of March 12, 1848). 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.

    The year 1921 also saw a reform of the Senate. On the one hand, the eligibility requirements for the office of senator have been significantly expanded. The census was abolished and a list of 21 conditions was added. You only had to meet one of these conditions to be eligible for direct election. Wealth (paying at least CHF 3,000 in direct taxes) still belongs to these categories, but it was also sufficient, for example, for a former member of the Chamber to be a highly responsible person from the private sector or a university diploma. On the other hand, the Senate was expanded to include a third category of senators, the "co-opted" senators, who were elected by the senators themselves. The aim was to fill the Senate with experts and experts of all kinds who may have shied away from voting.

    The 21 eligibility conditions were abolished on June 3, 1985 as part of the fourth state reform. Thus the eligibility conditions for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were almost identical, except for the age (at least 25 years for the Chamber, 40 for the Senate). Therefore, the question slowly arose whether a two-chamber system was still necessary.

    Controversial role in the federal state (since 1993)

    It was not until the fourth state reform of 1993, which definitely transformed Belgium into a federal or federal state , that the Senate was given its own role again: it was to become a “deliberation chamber” and a “place of gathering for the communities and regions”. The provincial senators were thus replaced by community senators. With this state reform, the Senate finally attained its current composition.

    However, the political discussion about the existence and composition of the Senate is not over. There are regular calls for the introduction of a unicameral system and the abolition of the Senate. In 2001, the Senate itself questioned several Dutch- and French-speaking constitutional lawyers about the future of the institution.

    In the course of a state reform, the Senate is to be converted into a chamber of states based on the model of the German Federal Council . An agreement reached between eight parties in September 2011 stipulates that the direct election of senators will be abolished.

    See also

    literature

    • C. Istasse, " Quel devenir pour le Sénat? Premier bilan ", Les @nalyses du CRISP en ligne, 2015
    • V. Laureys, M. Van den Wijngaert, J. Velaers (eds), A.-E. Bourgaux, L. François, E. Gerard, J.-P. Nandrin, J. Stengers, G. Van der biesen, De Belgische Senaat, een geschiedenis, Racine, 2016, 552 p.
    • H. Matthijs, "De Hervorming van de Senaat", CDPK, 2013, 52-67
    • K. Muylle, "De Hervorming van de Senaat en samenvallende Verkiezingen, of hoe de ene Hervorming de other dreigt ongedaan te maken", TBP, n ° 2013 / 6-7-8, 473–491
    • K. Muylle, "De Hervorming van de Senaat en de samenvallende Verkiezingen: een processie van Echternach naar de federale (model) Staat?", In A. ALEN ea (eds.), Het federale België na de Zesde Staatshervorming, Brugge, die Keure, 2014, 103-124
    • K. Muylle, "De zetelverdeling in de Senaat na de Verkiezingen from 25 mei 2014", TBP, n ° 2014/10, 653–658
    • K. Muylle, "Het statuut van de parlementsleden na de zesde staatshervorming", in A. ALEN ea (eds.), Het federale België na de Zesde Staatshervorming, Brugge, die Keure, 2014, 145–162
    • P. Popelier, "Het kaduke masker van de Senaat: tussen deelstaatfederalisme en multinationaal confederalisme", in J. Velaers, J. Vanpraet, Y. Peeters and W. Vandenbruaene (eds.), De Zesde Staatshervorming. Instellingen, bevoegdheden en middelen, Antwerp, Intersentia, 2014, 53–90
    • A. Rezsöhazy en M. Van Der Hulst, "De verdeling van de wetgevende bevoegdheid tussen Kamer en Senaat na de zesde staatshervorming", TvW, n ° 2014-1, 40-57

    Web links

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ Question 4.3 in the FAQ official website of the Senate.
    2. ↑ grenzecho.net
    3. ^ Website of the Parliament of the French Community
    4. ^ Website of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region
    5. ↑ Article 69 of the Constitution.
    6. ↑ Article 70 of the Constitution.
    7. ↑ Article 7 of the Senate's rules of procedure; Art. 1 of the decree of July 20, 1831.
    8. ↑ 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.
    9. ↑ Article 58 of the Constitution.
    10. ↑ Article 59 of the Constitution.
    11. ↑ Art. 43, §2 of the constitution.
    12. ↑ Article 54 of the Constitution.
    13. ↑ Article 36 of the Constitution.
    14. ↑ Due to Art. 4 of the constitution, special majority ratios are required when passing so-called special laws.
    15. ↑ Article 75 of the Constitution.
    16. ↑ Article 74 of the Constitution.
    17. ↑ Article 77 of the Constitution.
    18. ↑ Art. 78 ff. Of the Constitution.
    19. ↑ Article 195 of the Constitution.
    20. ↑ Art. 101 and 96, para. 2 of the Constitution.
    21. ↑ Art. 100, Para. 2 of the Constitution.
    22. ↑ Article 56 of the Constitution.
    23. ↑ Article 174 of the Constitution.
    24. ↑ Art. 143, §2 of the Constitution; Art. 80 of the Senate's rules of procedure.
    25. ↑ Article 32 of the Special Act of January 6, 1989 on the Court of Arbitration.
    26. ↑ Articles 90 to 95 of the Constitution.
    27. ↑ Article 13 of the Senate's rules of procedure.
    28. ↑ Art. 8 to 11 and 20 of the Rules of Procedure of the Senate.
    29. ↑ Opdracht en bevoegdheden van de Voorzitter ( Flemish ) senate.be. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
    30. ↑ Respectively Chapter VIII and Chapter VII of Title I of the Rules of Procedure of the Senate.
    31. ↑ Articles 50 to 54 of the Senate's rules of procedure.
    32. ↑ Official Senate magazine, De Senaat weet wat hij wil / Le Sénat sait ce qu'il veut , No. 1/1997; available in Dutch and French on the official Senate website.
    33. ↑ The discussions of the National Congress were collected on a private website and can be viewed there (French).
    34. ↑ [email protected]: Constitution of the Kingdom of Belgium (1831). In: www.verfassungen.eu. Retrieved October 28, 2016 .
    35. ^ See in October 2009 the demand of Senator Luckas Vander Taelen ( Groen! ); L'avenir du Sénat suscite quelque chahut en son assemblée . Lalibre.be, October 29, 2009 (French).
    36. ^ Wilted out for the Senaat? Suggesties van Achttien grondwetsspecialisten / Quelles réformes pour le Sénat? Suggestions de dix-huit constitutionnalistes . (PDF; 394 kB) Brussels, November 12, 2001; official website of the Senate (French).
    37. ↑ "Historic" solution found for BHV .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Flandersinfo.be , September 15, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.deredactie.be