States General of the Netherlands

Coordinates: 52°04′47″N 4°18′47″E / 52.0796°N 4.3130°E / 52.0796; 4.3130
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Dutch Estates General
)
States General

Staten-Generaal
Bicameral
HousesSenate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Jan Anthonie Bruijn, VVD
since 2 July 2019
Martin Bosma, PVV
since 14 December 2023
Structure
SeatsSenate: 75
House of Representatives: 150
political groupsCoalition (demissionary) (24)
  •   VVD (10)
  •   CDA (6)
  •   D66 (5)
  •   CU (3)

Opposition (51)

House of Representatives political groups
Government (demissionary) (41)

Opposition (109)

  •   PVV (37)
  •  
    GL–PvdA
    (25)
  •   NSC (20)
  •  
    BBB
    (7)
  •   SP (5)
  •   FvD (3)
  •   PvdD (3)
  •   SGP (3)
  •  
    DENK
    (3)
  •   Volt (2)
  •   JA21 (1)
Elections
Indirect election
Party-list proportional representation
Last Senate election
31 May 2023
22 November 2023
Meeting place
Binnenhof
The Hague, Netherlands
Website
staten-generaal.nl

The States General of the Netherlands (Dutch: Staten-Generaal [ˈstaːtə(ŋ) ˌɣeːnəˈraːl] ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Eerste Kamer) and the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague.

The States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the

Dutch Revolt, the States General split as the northern provinces openly rebelled against Philip II, and the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the Dutch Republic in 1581. The States General were replaced by the National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, when the country had regained its sovereignty. The States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
. After the constitutional amendment of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were directly elected, and the rights of the States General were vastly extended, practically establishing parliamentary democracy in the Netherlands.

Since 1918, the members of the House of Representatives are elected for four years using

States-Provincial every four years. On exceptional occasions as stipulated by the Constitution or the Charter for the Kingdom, the two houses form a joint session known as the United Assembly (verenigde vergadering). The president of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly. Jan Anthonie Bruijn (VVD
) has been President of the Senate since 2019.

Etymology

The archaic Dutch word staten originally related to the feudal classes ("

Ancien Régime
.

Several geographic place names are derived from the States General. In 1609,

, Australia.

History

Burgundian and Habsburg rule

Historically, the convocation of the States General consisted of delegates from the States of the several provinces, like the

Coudenberg in Brussels, Brabant. The next important event was the convocation of the States General by the ducal Council for 3 February 1477 after the death of Charles the Bold. In this session the States General forced the grant of the Great Privilege by Mary of Burgundy in which the right of the States General to convene on their own initiative was recognised.[2]: 42ff.  The main function of the States General in these early years was to form a platform for the central government to discuss matters of general importance with the States of the provinces, especially the special subsidies known as beden or aides. Legislative and executive functions were still reserved for the Sovereign in these years[2]
: 29, 35–36, 97 

Dutch Republic

The Great Assembly of the States General in 1651.

At the start of the

Dutch Revolt the States General (who were then not continually in session) remained loyal to the overlord of the Habsburg Netherlands, Philip II of Spain (who did not have the title of King in the Netherlands, but held the title of duke and count in the several provinces, and was just a Lord of the Netherlands). In 1576 the States General as a whole, however, openly rebelled against the Spanish crown. In 1579 the States General split as a number of southern provinces, united in the Union of Arras returned to obedience, while other provinces, united in the Union of Utrecht continued the rebellion.[2]: 260–268, 288–296  After the Act of Abjuration in 1581 the northern States General replaced Philip II as the supreme authority of the northern Netherlands, which then became known as the United Provinces
.

This was a

Council of State of the Netherlands had temporarily come under English influence, due to the Treaty of Nonsuch.[2]: 305–315 [5]: 293–294  The States General for this reason since 1593 remained continually in session until their dissolution in 1795. The presidency rotated weekly among the senior representatives of the provinces. Under the Union of Utrecht treaty the States General formally was the sovereign power, representing the Republic in foreign affairs and making treaties with foreign monarchs.[5]: 292–293  As such the honorific title of the States General collectively was Hoogmogende Heren (mightiest, or very mighty, lords).[6]

The Binnenhof, seat of the Staten-Generaal

Due to the vagaries of the Eighty Years' War in which territories were lost and (partially) reconquered, not all territories that had originally signed up for the Union of Utrecht remained represented in the States General. The States of Brabant and of Flanders lost their representation after 1587 as most of their territory had been conquered by the Army of Flanders, and it was not restored after part of that territory (together with parts of the Duchy of Limburg) was reconquered by the Dutch Republic. The Drenthe territory was never directly represented in the States General. Twenty per cent of the new Republic's territory, known as the

Jacob le Maire
), are among places named after the Staten-Generaal.

The "southern" States General after 1579 were a continuation of the States General as they had been under the Habsburg Netherlands. After the (re)conquest of most of the territory of the States of Brabant and of Flanders these States again sent representatives to these States General for the Southern Netherlands, together with the "obedient" provinces of the Union of Arras. The southern States General only occasionally came in session, however. The last regular session was in 1634, when Philip IV of Spain dissolved them.[2]: 315–321 

The States General in both The Hague and Brussels came to an end after 1795; the South was annexed by France, and the North saw the proclamation of the Batavian Republic and the subsequent convocation of the National Assembly (1 March 1796).

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Trêveszaal, where the Council of the Ministers takes place every week and foreign delegations are received

The name Staten-Generaal was resurrected in the title of subsequent Dutch parliaments in and after 1814, after the end of the annexation to the

States-Provincial (though those newly constituted entities elected them, now acting as electoral colleges), but the entire people of the Netherlands and without last en ruggespraak (the Netherlands had become a unitary state under the Batavian Republic and the federal structure of the Dutch Republic was not restored).[7]: 136  The States General became a bicameral legislature under the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, in which the 50 members of the Senate were appointed for life by the new King from the resurrected ridderschappen, representative bodies of the aristocracy, and the 110 members of the House of Representatives (55 for the North and 55 for the South) were elected by the States-Provincial (in their new form).[7]
: 138 

After the Belgian Revolution of 1830 under the Kingdom of the Netherlands the States General remained bicameral, but after the revision of the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1848, the (now 39) members of the Senate were elected by the States-Provincial, and the members of the House of Representatives were directly elected in electoral districts (one for every 45,000 electors, so the number of members of that House became variable for a while). The House of Representatives became more powerful at the same time, as it received the important rights of inquiry and amendment, while its budgetary rights were strengthened. Formally, the position of the States General was strengthened, because henceforth the ministers of the Crown became politically accountable to them, making the role of the King largely ceremonial.[7]: 142–145 

With the constitutional revision of 1888 the number of members of the House of Representatives was fixed at 100, while the Senate was enlarged to 50 members. The

German occupation. In 1956 the number of members of the Senate was enlarged to 75, and that of the House of Representatives to 150.[7]
: 151, 153–155, 329 

Functions

Tweede Kamer
  • 150 members
  • elected directly in general elections
  • term of office: 4 years
Eerste Kamer
Verenigde Vergadering

(joint session of both houses)

King Willem-Alexander giving the annual speech from the throne in the Ridderzaal, 2015

The States General meets in joint session at least once a year, at the opening of the parliamentary year, when the

Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam
. The rest of the time, the two chambers sit separately.

Constitutionally, all functions of the parliament are given to both houses, except for the rights of initiative and amendment, which only the Tweede Kamer has. The Joint Session also appoints the monarch if there is no heir to the throne and the regent is unable to exercise his or her powers.[8]

An important question is whether the relationship between cabinet and parliament should be dualistic or monistic. That is, whether ministers and leaders of governing parliamentary parties should prepare important political decisions. According to the dualistic position, members of parliament of governing parties should remain independent of the cabinet. The term 'monism' is used to refer to a stance that important decisions should be prepared by the people of the governing coalition in order to promote political stability.

Notes

References

  1. ^ Unlike the Estates General of France, which were organised by estate.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Koenigsberger, H.G. (2001). Monarchies, States Generals and Parliaments: The Netherlands in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Cambridge U.P.
  3. ^ In treaties, such as the Treaty of Westminster (1654), the States General were called:"Celsos Potentesque Dominos Ordines Generales Foederatarum Belgii Provinciarum", or "High and Mighty Lords States General of the united Netherlands' Provinces", where ordines corresponds with "states."
  4. ^ Martin, Kimberly. "The Political Institutions of the Dutch Republic, 1572–1672" (PDF). umassd.edu. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Israel, Jonathan I. (1998). The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477–1806. Clarendon Press.
  6. superlative
    of the adjective mogend(e)) Heren was translated into Latin in international treaties not as potentissimos (superlative of potens) Dominos, as it should have been, but as Celsos Potentesque Dominos, and the latter wording was rendered in English as "high and mighty lords", which is still the standard translation.
  7. ^ a b c d Pot, C.W. van der; et al. (2006). Van der Pot, Handboek van het Nederlandse staatsrecht, 15th edition. Kluwer.
  8. ^ "Democracy in the Netherlands". www.houseofrepresentatives.nl. April 12, 2011.

See also

External links

52°04′47″N 4°18′47″E / 52.0796°N 4.3130°E / 52.0796; 4.3130