Chamber of Representatives (Belgium)
There are 11 electoral districts, which correspond with the ten Provinces (five Dutch- and five French-speaking) and the Brussels-Capital Region.Following the 2007 federal election, the Chamber has a German-speaking member (Kattrin Jadin) for the first time since 1999.(Dutch: Ik zweer de Grondwet na te leven, French: Je jure d'observer la Constitution, German: Ich schwöre, die Verfassung zu befolgen) Certain offices are incompatible with the office of representative.The current President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives is Patrick Dewael of the Open Vld.The Bureau of the Chamber of Representatives is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Secretaries and the floor leaders of the fractions with at least five members.A member of the federal government responsible for the relations with the Chamber attends the meetings of the Conference as well.The Quaestors are in charge of the housekeeping of the Chamber, they are also responsible for matters such as human resources and computers.The Colleges of Quaestors of the Senate and the Chamber meet regularly to settle common problems concerning the library, buildings, security, catering, etc.[7] The Belgian Constitution provides that the Federal Parliament meets by right on the second Tuesday of October every year for a parliamentary session of at least 40 days.[8] Article 53 of the constitution provides that at least a majority of its members must be present in order for the Chamber to make decisions.It is noteworthy that this does not apply to all business of the Chamber, such as debates or questions to members of the federal government, but that a quorum must only be present in order to make decisions.The procedure outlined in Article 53 of the constitution applies to all most decisions, however, the constitution establishes two exceptions: to amend the constitution, a two-thirds majority of the members must be present and at least two-thirds of the votes cast must be in the affirmative, and in order to adopt a so-called special law, a qualified majority of 50% plus 1 of each language group must be present and at least 50% plus 1 must be present and at least 50% plus 1 of the votes cast in each language group, as well as two-thirds of the votes cast of the two language groups together, must be in the affirmative.These standing committees examine and consider bills and legislative proposals, and may for this purpose hold hearings.Through functions like the scrutiny of cabinet minister before meetings of the Council of the European Union or European Council, the appointment of EU-rapporteurs and participation in Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs the House of Representatives also plays a role in EU policy making.These matters include the granting of naturalisations, passing legislation with regard to the civil and criminal liability of the ministers of the Federal Government, the government budget and the State's accounts, appointing parliamentary ombudsmen and examine their activities, and determining military quotas.The members of the Federal Government are answerable to the Chamber of Representatives, in accordance with Article 101 of the Constitution.[12] Due to the fragmented nature of Belgian politics, no party family has a realistic chance of winning the 76 seats needed for an outright majority in the Chamber of Representatives.
FrenchGerman56th legislatureLower housePresidentPeter De RooverGovernmentVooruitPVDA-PTBOpen VLDIndependentVoting systemOpen listproportional representationelectoral thresholds9 June 2024Palace of the NationBrusselsPolitics of BelgiumConstitutionTaxationConstitutional CourtMonarchyMonarchPhilippeDuchess of BrabantElisabeth of BelgiumCrown CouncilRoyal FamilyFederal ParliamentSenateStephanie D'HoseEliane TillieuxFederal CabinetDe Croo GovernmentPrime MinisterAlexander De CrooJudiciaryCouncil of StateHighest courtCourt of CassationAppellate courtsCourt of appealCourt of labourTrial courtsCourt of assizesTribunal of first instanceLabour tribunalEnterprise tribunalPolice tribunalJustice of the peaceelectionsPolitical partiesSubdivisionsCommunities and regionsProvincesArrondissementsMunicipalitiesForeign relationsFrance-Belgium relationsBelgium-Germany relationsBelgium-United Kingdom relationsBelgium-Netherlands relationsBelgium–Luxembourg relationsPolitics of the European UnionbicameralBelgiumBelgian ConstitutionBrussels-Capital Regionsixth Belgian state reformFlemish BrabantLeuvenBrussels-Halle-VilvoordeHalle-Vilvoordemunicipalities with linguistic facilitiesD'Hondt method2007 federal electionKattrin JadinBrussels Capital RegionAntwerpHainautEast FlandersLiègeLuxembourgLimburgWest FlandersWalloon Brabantseparation of powersMember of the European ParliamentPatrick DewaelPresident of the Belgian Senateorder of precedencefractionsfloor leaderfederal governmenthemicycleHouse of CommonsHouse of LordsParliament of the United Kingdomplenary sessionQuestion Timequorumcasting votequalified majorityroll callJusticeInterior, General Affairs and the Civil ServiceCommittee on NaturalisationsFederal StateCommunitiesRegionsConstitutional Court of BelgiumCouncil of the European UnionEuropean CouncilConference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairsnaturalisationsombudsmenmotion of no confidencemotion of confidenceWorld War I2024 Belgian federal electionNew Flemish AllianceBart De WeverFlemish nationalismCentre-rightright-wing