Parliament
The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy. Members of parliament are elected by Dutch voters every four years.
Parliament (known as the States General) consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It scrutinises the government and is responsible, with the government, for enacting legislation. Legislation only comes into force after it has been passed by parliament. The government and individual ministers are accountable to parliament
Relationship between government and parliament
The monarch and the ministers together make up the government. The ministers and state secretaries (junior ministers) collectively govern the country and implement government policy. The government must have the confidence of a majority of the House of Representatives and is subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Ministerial accountability
Ministers are accountable to parliament, both collectively and individually. Although this also applies to state secretaries, ministers bear final responsibility.
Confidence in government
The government and individual ministers must enjoy the confidence of parliament. In practice, this applies only to the House of Representatives. Parliament can withdraw this confidence by passing a motion of no confidence. If an individual minister, or the government as a whole, does not enjoy the confidence of a majority in parliament, they have to resign. In the event of a conflict with parliament, the government usually offers its resignation to the Queen. That often leads to elections and the formation of a new government.
Dualism
In a dualist system government and parliament are separate, each having its own responsibilities. In the Netherlands, both the government and parliament have legislative powers. There is, however, still a dualist system as ministers and state secretaries may not be members of parliament. The only exception to this rule is following elections, during the formation of a new government.
Senate and House of Representatives
Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both houses have a number of rights to allow them to perform their duties effectively. Legislation can only come into force after it has been passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
House of Representatives
The 150 members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by Dutch voters every four years. The House of Representatives has two main duties:
- scrutinising the government;
- approving or rejecting bills.
The House also has the right to introduce or amend bills itself. The government is obliged to provide parliament with all the information it requires to fulfil its duty of scrutiny. This obligation is laid down in the Constitution.
Click here for more information on how the
House of Representatives works.
Senate
The 75 members of the Senate are elected by the members of the Provincial Councils every four years, following the provincial council elections. The Senate’s main duty is to approve or reject bills. The Senate does not have the right to amend bills.
Click here for more information on how the Senate works
News
Rutte tenders government’s resignation
Prime Minister Mark Rutte has tendered the resignation of all the members of the government to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, ...
Prime minister Rutte to attend European Council
The heads of state and government of the EU member states will meet at the European Council in Brussels on 24 and 25 March 2011.
Prime Minister Rutte: make Europe more competitive
In his meeting yesterday with Herman van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for a ...
'Results of NATO summit a milestone,' says foreign minister Rosenthal
The NATO summit in Lisbon has yielded significant results. Foreign minister Uri Rosenthal considers the new NATO strategy to be ...
Balkenende: thorough report by Davids Committee
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has responded briefly to a number of the main points from the report of the Committee of ...
Documents and publications
Rutte to meet EP President
On Tuesday 29 March 2011, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, in The Hague.
Prime Minister Rutte to visit British counterpart and European Commission President Barroso
On Monday 24 January, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet with his British counterpart, David Cameron. On 25 January, Mark Rutte ...
Prime Minister Rutte to meet with Van Rompuy
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will receive Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, on Thursday 20 January 2011.
Rutte attending OSCE Summit in Astana
On 1 December 2010, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will attend the first day of the two-day OSCE Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Angela Merkel to visit the Netherlands
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will be visiting the Netherlands on 11 March 2010. Early in the afternoon she will be ...