Opposition (23)
170-531: The Senate ( Dutch : Senaat [səˈnaːt] ; French : Sénat [sena] ; German : Senat [zeˈnaːt] ) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium , the other being the Chamber of Representatives . It is considered to be the " upper house " of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to
340-739: A Dutch language group and a French language group. The Dutch language group consists of members appointed by the Flemish Parliament , members appointed by the Dutch language group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region , and the members co-opted by the two aforementioned groups. The French language group consists of members appointed by the Parliament of the French Community , members appointed by
510-467: A schwa . The Middle Dutch dialect areas were affected by political boundaries. The sphere of political influence of a certain ruler often also created a sphere of linguistic influence, with the language within the area becoming more homogenous. Following the contemporary political divisions they are in order of importance: A process of standardisation started in the Middle Ages , especially under
680-438: A Dutch exonym for the various German dialects used in neighboring German states. Use of Nederduytsch was popular in the 16th century but ultimately lost out over Nederlands during the close of the 18th century, with (Hoog)Duytsch establishing itself as the Dutch exonym for German during this same period. In the 19th century Germany saw the rise of the categorisation of dialects, with German dialectologists terming
850-547: A Title 1bis was inserted in the Belgian Constitution, titled "General policy objectives of the federal Belgium, the communities and the regions", which to date comprises only one article: Article 7bis. This article states the following: "In the exercise of their respective competences, the federal State, the communities and the regions shall strive for the objectives of a sustainable development in its social, economic and environmental dimensions, taking into account
1020-744: A civil servant or a member of the judiciary at the same time. However, a civil servant who is elected to the Senate is entitled to political leave and does not have to resign as a civil servant. It is also not possible to be a member of the Federal Parliament and a Member of the European Parliament at the same time. With the exception of the senator appointed by the Parliament of the German-speaking Community , all senators are divided into two language groups:
1190-524: A comparison between the West Germanic languages, see the sections Phonology, Grammar, and Vocabulary. Dutch dialects are primarily the dialects that are both related with the Dutch language and are spoken in the same language area as the Dutch standard language . Although heavily under the influence of the standard language, some of them remain diverse and are found in the Netherlands and in
1360-528: A descendant of Leopold I who marries without the King's consent, or the consent of those exercising the King's powers in the cases provided by the Constitution, is deprived of his rights to the crown. It also stipulates that those who lose their right to the crown in this manner, can be restored to the line of succession with the consent of both Chambers of the Federal Parliament. Again, a transitional provision
1530-640: A differentiation with the Central and High Franconian in Germany. The latter would as a consequence evolve (along with Alemannic , Bavarian and Lombardic ) into Old High German. At more or less the same time the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, moving over Western Europe from west to east, led to the development of Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Old Frisian and Old Saxon . Hardly influenced by either development, Old Dutch probably remained relatively close to
1700-586: A fifth of the Indonesian language can be traced to Dutch, including many loan words . Indonesia's Civil Code has not been officially translated, and the original Dutch language version dating from colonial times remains the authoritative version. Up to half a million native speakers reside in the United States, Canada and Australia combined, and historical linguistic minorities on the verge of extinction remain in parts of France and Germany. Dutch
1870-501: A hypothesis by De Grauwe, In northern West Francia (i.e. modern-day Belgium) the term would take on a new meaning during the Early Middle Ages , when, within the context of a highly dichromatic linguistic landscape, it came to be the antonym of *walhisk (Romance-speakers, specifically Old French ). The word, now rendered as dietsc (Southwestern variant) or duutsc (Central and Northern Variant), could refer to
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#17327646881312040-668: A law supported by specific majorities of each language group of each Chamber. Article 5 divides the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region into five provinces each and foresees possible future provincial redivisions of the Belgian territory. Article 6 determines that the provinces can be subdivided only by Law. The borders of the State, provinces and municipalities can be changed or corrected only by Law (article 7). In 2007,
2210-740: A minor role in the federal legislative process. However, the Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Since the reform of 2014, it holds about ten plenary sessions a year. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the National Congress decided on the Belgian Constitution and
2380-527: A minority language in Germany and northern France's French Flanders . Though Belgium as a whole is multilingual, three of the four language areas into which the country is divided ( Flanders , francophone Wallonia , and the German-speaking Community ) are largely monolingual, with Brussels being bilingual. The Netherlands and Belgium produce the vast majority of music , films , books and other media written or spoken in Dutch. Dutch
2550-670: A minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant . Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg while its strong influence on the East Flemish of East Flanders and eastern Zeelandic Flanders weakens towards the west. In a small area in the northwest of North Brabant ( Willemstad ), Hollandic is spoken. Conventionally, the Kleverlandish dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, but there are no objective criteria apart from geography to do so. Over 5 million people live in an area with some form of Brabantian being
2720-420: A number of closely related, mutually intelligible dialects spoken in the former Old Dutch area. Where Old Dutch fragments are very hard to read for untrained Modern Dutch speakers, the various literary works of Middle Dutch are somewhat more accessible. The most notable difference between Old and Middle Dutch is in a feature of speech known as vowel reduction , whereby vowels in unstressed syllables are leveled to
2890-495: A perfect West Germanic dialect continuum remained present; the division reflects the contingent future contribution dialect groups would have to the later languages. The early form of Dutch was a set of Franconian dialects spoken by the Salian Franks in the 5th century. These happened to develop through Middle Dutch to Modern Dutch over the course of fifteen centuries. During that period, they forced Old Frisian back from
3060-579: A political border, because the traditional dialects are strongly influenced by the national standard varieties. While a somewhat heterogeneous group of Low Franconian dialects, Limburgish has received official status as a regional language in the Netherlands and Germany, but not in Belgium. Due to this official recognition, it receives protection by chapter 2 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Afrikaans , although to
3230-678: A principle which is controversially applied in the Belgian Holocaust denial law , which made it an offence to publicly "deny, minimise, justify or approve of the genocide committed by the German National Socialist regime during the Second World War". Article 22 determines that everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life and for his or her family life. Exceptions can only be instituted by law. Article 22bis stipulates that every child has
3400-509: A result, when West Flemings try to talk Standard Dutch, they are often unable to pronounce the g-sound, and pronounce it similar to the h-sound. This leaves, for example, no difference between " held " (hero) and " geld " (money). Or in some cases, they are aware of the problem, and hyper-correct the "h" into a voiced velar fricative or g-sound, again leaving no difference. The West Flemish variety historically spoken in adjacent parts in France
3570-665: A revolution is when the Dutch standard language emerged and quickly established itself. The development of the Dutch language is illustrated by the following sentence in Old, Middle and Modern Dutch: Among the Indo-European languages , Dutch is grouped within the Germanic languages , meaning it shares a common ancestor with languages such as English, German, and the Scandinavian languages . All Germanic languages are subject to
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#17327646881313740-436: A second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium ). Dutch was one of the official languages of South Africa until 1925, when it was replaced by Afrikaans , a separate but partially mutually intelligible daughter language of Dutch. Afrikaans, depending on
3910-522: A significant degree mutually intelligible with Dutch, is usually not considered a dialect but instead a separate standardised language . It is spoken in South Africa and Namibia. As a daughter language of 17th-century Dutch dialects, Afrikaans evolved in parallel with modern Dutch, but was influenced by various other languages in South Africa. West Frisian ( Westerlauwers Fries ), along with Saterland Frisian and North Frisian , evolved from
4080-479: A somewhat different development since the late Middle Ages. Two dialect groups have been given the official status of regional language (or streektaal ) in the Netherlands. Like several other dialect groups, both are part of a dialect continuum that continues across the national border. The Dutch Low Saxon dialect area comprises the provinces of Groningen , Drenthe and Overijssel , as well as parts of
4250-424: A source language, mainly for law and history students. In Indonesia this involves about 35,000 students. Unlike other European nations, the Dutch chose not to follow a policy of language expansion amongst the indigenous peoples of their colonies. In the last quarter of the 19th century, however, a local elite gained proficiency in Dutch so as to meet the needs of expanding bureaucracy and business. Nevertheless,
4420-407: A two-thirds majority in the Senate, combined with a majority in each language group). Information reports : The Senate may draw up information reports, in particular concerning topics that are governed by rules and regulations of different state levels. Conflicts of interest: Within the logic of federalism, the Senate mediates in possible conflicts of interest between the different parliaments of
4590-552: A unique prestige dialect and has a large dialectal continuum consisting of 28 main dialects, which can themselves be further divided into at least 600 distinguishable varieties. In the Netherlands, the Hollandic dialect dominates in national broadcast media while in Flanders Brabantian dialect dominates in that capacity, making them in turn unofficial prestige dialects in their respective countries. Outside
4760-513: Is Nederlands (historically Nederlandsch before the Dutch orthographic reforms ). Sometimes Vlaams (" Flemish ") is used as well to describe Standard Dutch in Flanders , whereas Hollands (" Hollandic ") is occasionally used as a colloquial term for the standard language in the central and northwestern parts of the Netherlands. English uses the adjective Dutch as a noun for
4930-537: Is kantor , handdoek "towel" in Indonesian is handuk , or bushalte "bus stop" in Indonesian is halte bus . In addition, many Indonesian words are calques of Dutch; for example, rumah sakit "hospital" is calqued on the Dutch ziekenhuis (literally "sickhouse"), kebun binatang "zoo" on dierentuin (literally "animal garden"), undang-undang dasar "constitution" from grondwet (literally "ground law"). These account for some of
5100-409: Is Sranan Tongo , spoken natively by about a fifth of the population. Constitution of Belgium The Constitution of Belgium ( Dutch : Belgische Grondwet ; French : Constitution belge ; German : Verfassung Belgiens ) dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and
5270-544: Is a monocentric language , at least what concerns its written form, with all speakers using the same standard form (authorised by the Dutch Language Union ) based on a Dutch orthography defined in the so-called " Green Booklet " authoritative dictionary and employing the Latin alphabet when writing; however, pronunciation varies between dialects. Indeed, in stark contrast to its written uniformity, Dutch lacks
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5440-791: Is a reference to the Low Countries' downriver location at the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta near the North Sea . From 1551, the designation Nederlands received strong competition from the name Nederduytsch (literally "Low Dutch", Dutch being used in its archaic sense covering all continental West Germanic languages). It is a calque of the aforementioned Roman province Germania Inferior and an attempt by early Dutch grammarians to give their language more prestige by linking it to Roman times. Likewise, Hoogduits ("High German") and Overlands ("Upper-landish") came into use as
5610-610: Is also an official German version of the Constitution. The original constitutional document is currently in possession of the archives of the Belgian Federal Parliament. In 2020, two researchers claimed the document was being stored in subpar conditions in "a cupboard" in the Parliamentary Secretariat. However, this was disputed by the secretarial staff. Belgium is a federal State composed of Communities and Regions. – Article 1 of
5780-537: Is also an official language of several international organisations, such as the European Union , Union of South American Nations and the Caribbean Community . At an academic level, Dutch is taught in about 175 universities in 40 countries. About 15,000 students worldwide study Dutch at university. In Europe, Dutch is the majority language in the Netherlands (96%) and Belgium (59%) as well as
5950-481: Is divided into three sections. Section I, titled The King , establishes the monarchy , the method of succession and contains provisions regarding the regency. Section II, titled The Federal Government , establishes the Federal Government and the method of appointment of its members. Section III, titled The competences , defines the constitutional powers of the King, which are, in practice, exercised by
6120-587: Is found in the Salic law . In this Frankish document written around 510 the oldest Dutch sentence has been identified: Maltho thi afrio lito ("I say to you, I free you, serf") used to free a serf. Another old fragment of Dutch is Visc flot aftar themo uuatare ("A fish was swimming in the water"). The oldest conserved larger Dutch text is the Utrecht baptismal vow (776–800) starting with Forsachistu diobolae ... ec forsacho diabolae (litt.: "Forsake you
6290-542: Is guaranteed. – Article 10 of the Belgian Constitution Article 10 determines that all Belgians are equal before the law . Article 11 determines that all rights and freedoms must be guaranteed without discrimination. Article 12 guarantees the liberty of the person and stipulates that no one can be prosecuted except in the cases determined by the law and in accordance with the procedures established by law. Article 13 determines that everyone has
6460-627: Is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch loanwords in French. Old Dutch is regarded as the primary stage in the development of a separate Dutch language. It was spoken by the descendants of the Salian Franks who occupied what is now the southern Netherlands , northern Belgium , part of northern France, and parts of the Lower Rhine regions of Germany. The High German consonant shift, moving over Western Europe from south to west, caused
6630-491: Is one of the closest relatives of both German and English, and is colloquially said to be "roughly in between" them. Dutch, like English, has not undergone the High German consonant shift , does not use Germanic umlaut as a grammatical marker, has largely abandoned the use of the subjunctive , and has levelled much of its morphology , including most of its case system . Features shared with German, however, include
6800-603: Is prepared in one of the committees of the Senate. In addition to the standing committees, the Senate can set up special committees, working groups, advisory committees or joint committees (together with the Chamber). A standing committee consists of 20 senators. The political strength of the committees reflects the strength of the political groups in the plenary session. The Senate had three standing committees: The Senate also has an Equal Opportunities Advisory Committee that focuses on equality between women and men. The Senate and
6970-514: Is so distinct that it might be considered as a separate language variant, although the strong significance of language in Belgian politics would prevent the government from classifying them as such. An oddity of the dialect is that, the voiced velar fricative (written as "g" in Dutch) shifts to a voiced glottal fricative (written as "h" in Dutch), while the letter "h" becomes mute (like in French). As
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7140-585: Is sometimes called French Flemish and is listed as a French minority language . However, only a very small and aging minority of the French-Flemish population still speaks and understands West Flemish. Hollandic is spoken in Holland and Utrecht , though the original forms of this dialect (which were heavily influenced by a West Frisian substratum and, from the 16th century on, by Brabantian dialects ) are now relatively rare. The urban dialects of
7310-637: Is spoken in Limburg (Belgium) as well as in the remaining part of Limburg (Netherlands) and extends across the German border. West Flemish ( Westvlaams ) is spoken in West Flanders , the western part of Zeelandic Flanders and also in French Flanders , where it virtually became extinct to make way for French. The West Flemish group of dialects, spoken in West Flanders and Zeeland ,
7480-595: Is taught in various educational centres in Indonesia, the most important of which is the Erasmus Language Centre (ETC) in Jakarta . Each year, some 1,500 to 2,000 students take Dutch courses there. In total, several thousand Indonesians study Dutch as a foreign language. Owing to centuries of Dutch rule in Indonesia, many old documents are written in Dutch. Many universities therefore include Dutch as
7650-404: Is the case with the ( standardised ) West Frisian language . It is spoken alongside Dutch in the province of Friesland . Dutch dialects and regional languages are not spoken as often as they used to be, especially in the Netherlands. Recent research by Geert Driessen shows that the use of dialects and regional languages among both Dutch adults and youth is in heavy decline. In 1995, 27 percent of
7820-530: Is the sole official language, and over 60 percent of the population speaks it as a mother tongue . Dutch is the obligatory medium of instruction in schools in Suriname, even for non-native speakers. A further twenty-four percent of the population speaks Dutch as a second language . Suriname gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1975 and has been an associate member of the Dutch Language Union since 2004. The lingua franca of Suriname, however,
7990-552: Is titled The federal Chambers , establishes the composition, manner of election, qualifications of members and organisation of the bicameral Federal Parliament , which consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . It is divided into three parts: the first part contains the provisions that are common to both Chambers whereas the two other parts, Section I, titled The Chamber of Representatives , and Section II, titled The Senate , include provisions that only apply to one of
8160-531: The 2006 New Zealand census , 26,982 people, or 0.70 percent of the total population, reported to speak Dutch to sufficient fluency that they could hold an everyday conversation. In contrast to the colonies in the East Indies , from the second half of the 19th century onwards, the Netherlands envisaged the expansion of Dutch in its colonies in the West Indies . Until 1863, when slavery was abolished in
8330-455: The Brussels and Flemish regions of Belgium . The areas in which they are spoken often correspond with former medieval counties and duchies. The Netherlands (but not Belgium) distinguishes between a dialect and a streektaal (" regional language "). Those words are actually more political than linguistic because a regional language unites a large group of very different varieties. Such is
8500-481: The Dutch Language Union . The Dutch Caribbean municipalities ( St. Eustatius , Saba and Bonaire ) have Dutch as one of the official languages. In Asia, Dutch was used in the Dutch East Indies (now mostly Indonesia ) by a limited educated elite of around 2% of the total population, including over 1 million indigenous Indonesians, until it was banned in 1957, but the ban was lifted afterwards. About
8670-411: The European Union does not take an initiative on an issue that is better dealt with at another level. This is the so-called early warning mechanism concerning subsidiarity. Appointments to courts: The Senate participates in a number of appointments to high courts ( Constitutional Court , Council of State , High Council of Justice ). Before a dossier or topic for debate is dealt with in plenary, it
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#17327646881318840-632: The Federal Parliament , which consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, exercises the federal legislative power. However, laws still require the King's signature. Article 37 vests the federal executive power in the King, but in practice it is exercised by the Federal Government . Article 38 and 39 define the competencies and responsibilities of the Communities and the Regions . Article 38 provides that each Community has
9010-663: The Flemish Region , the Walloon Region and the Brussels Region . Article 4 divides Belgium into four language areas : The Dutch language area, the French language area, the bilingual (French and Dutch) area of Brussels-Capital and the German language area. Each municipality of the Kingdom is part of one of these four language areas only. The borders of the language areas can be changed or corrected only by
9180-601: The Grimm's law and Verner's law sound shifts, which originated in the Proto-Germanic language and define the basic features differentiating them from other Indo-European languages. This is assumed to have taken place in approximately the mid-first millennium BCE in the pre-Roman Northern European Iron Age . The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: East (now extinct), West , and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout
9350-591: The Low Franconian languages, paired with its sister language Limburgish or East Low Franconian. Its closest relative is the mutually intelligible daughter language Afrikaans. Other West Germanic languages related to Dutch are German , English and the un-standardised languages Low German and Yiddish . Dutch stands out in combining some Ingvaeonic characteristics (occurring consistently in English and Frisian and reduced in intensity from west to east over
9520-603: The Migration Period . Dutch is part of the West Germanic group, which also includes English, Scots , Frisian , Low German (Old Saxon) and High German . It is characterised by a number of phonological and morphological innovations not found in North or East Germanic. The West Germanic varieties of the time are generally split into three dialect groups: Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic), Istvaeonic (Weser–Rhine Germanic) and Irminonic (Elbe Germanic). It appears that
9690-400: The Parliament of Wallonia , members appointed by the French language group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the members co-opted by the three aforementioned groups. There are 35 senators in the Dutch language group, 24 in the French language group, and one in the German language group. Article 67 of the Belgian Constitution determines that at least one of the senators in
9860-476: The Randstad , which are Hollandic dialects, do not diverge from standard Dutch very much, but there is a clear difference between the city dialects of Rotterdam , The Hague , Amsterdam and Utrecht . In some rural Hollandic areas more authentic Hollandic dialects are still being used, especially north of Amsterdam. Another group of dialects based on Hollandic is that spoken in the cities and larger towns of Friesland , where it partially displaced West Frisian in
10030-406: The Southern Netherlands (now Belgium and Luxembourg), developments were different. Under subsequent Spanish , Austrian and French rule , the standardisation of Dutch language came to a standstill. The state, law, and increasingly education used French, yet more than half the Belgian population were speaking a variety of Dutch. In the course of the 19th century, the Flemish Movement stood up for
10200-471: The continental West Germanic plane) with dominant Istvaeonic characteristics, some of which are also incorporated in German. Unlike German, Dutch (apart from Limburgish) has not been influenced at all by the south to north movement of the High German consonant shift and had some changes of its own. The cumulation of these changes resulted over time in separate, but related standard languages with various degrees of similarities and differences between them. For
10370-434: The differences in vocabulary between Indonesian and Malay. Some regional languages in Indonesia have some Dutch loanwords as well; for example, Sundanese word Katel or "frying pan" origin in Dutch is " ketel ". The Javanese word for "bike/ bicycle " " pit " can be traced back to its origin in Dutch " fiets ". The Malacca state of Malaysia was also colonized by the Dutch in its longest period that Malacca
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#173276468813110540-416: The freedoms of expression , education , religion and of the press , though the franchise was severely limited by a property tax qualification . Though liberal in many respects, the constitution also placed the Catholic Church in a privileged position. Despite mandating the separation of Church and State , the Church was given a favoured position while maintaining its independence. The draft document
10710-425: The guardianship . Article 94 stipulates that the regency can only be conferred on one person and that the Regent can only enter into office after taking the same constitutional oath that the King must take before he can accede to the throne. Article 93 also stipulates that the ministers must establish the inability to reign and subsequently convene the Chambers of the Federal Parliament. Article 90 provides that, upon
10880-400: The legislative branch . Article 74 determines the cases in which the federal legislative power is exercised only by the King and the Chamber of Representatives , and not by the Senate . Article 75 stipulates that each branch of the federal legislative power has the right of initiative. This means that both the members of the Chamber of Representatives or of the Senate and the King, in practice
11050-438: The regency . Subsequently, a federal election must take place and the newly elected Federal Parliament must meet within two months to permanently fill the vacancy. The United Chambers also have to provide for the regency in two other cases, in accordance with Articles 92 and 93: if the successor to the throne is a minor or if the King is unable to reign. In both cases, the United Chambers also have to make provisions regarding
11220-420: The right to consult any administrative document and to obtain a copy thereof, except as provided by law or decree. Since 2003, the Belgian Court of Arbitration , which is known now as the Constitutional Court, can examine whether laws, decrees or ordinances are in compliance with Title II and with Articles 170, 172 and 191 (on the equality of Belgians and foreigners and the prohibition of tax discrimination) of
11390-411: The sixth state reform of 2014, the Senate consists of 60 members. 50 are elected by the parliaments of the federated entities , and 10 are co-opted members. Starting with the elections of 25 May 2014, 50 senators are appointed by and from the parliaments of the federated entities : Whereas the German-speaking senator is chosen by plurality of votes in the Parliament of the German-speaking community,
11560-459: The 14th to 15th century onward, its urban centers ( Deventer , Zwolle , Kampen , Zutphen and Doesburg ) have been increasingly influenced by the western written Dutch and became a linguistically mixed area. From the 17th century onward, it was gradually integrated into the Dutch language area. Dutch Low Saxon used to be at one end of the Low German dialect continuum . However, the national border has given way to dialect boundaries coinciding with
11730-476: The 16th century and is known as Stadsfries ("Urban Frisian"). Hollandic together with inter alia Kleverlandish and North Brabantian , but without Stadsfries, are the Central Dutch dialects . Brabantian is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant , which corresponded mainly to the provinces of North Brabant and southern Gelderland , the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant , as well as Brussels (where its native speakers have become
11900-466: The 2014 sixth State Reform . The voters in the Flemish constituency belonged to the Dutch electoral college and the voters in the Walloon constituency (which also includes the people living in the German-speaking Community) belonged to the French electoral college, whereas the voters in Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde could choose for which electoral college they wanted to vote: they had the lists of both electoral colleges on one ballot. In each electoral college,
12070-472: The Belgian Constitution Since 1993, the first article of the Constitution stipulates that Belgium is a federal state composed of Communities and Regions . This means that there are two types of devolved entities at the same level, with neither taking precedence over the other. Article 2 divides Belgium into three communities: the Flemish Community , the French Community and the German-speaking Community , whereas Article 3 divides Belgium into three regions:
12240-419: The Belgian Constitution is titled The Powers . It consists of Articles 33 to 166 and is subdivided into eight chapters, four of which are further subdivided into several sections. It is by far the largest title of the Constitution. In this title, the Belgian system of government is outlined, in accordance with the principle of the separation of powers . Article 34 of the Constitution expressly stipulates that
12410-551: The Belgian nationality, must have the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, and must be resident in Belgium . Originally, the minimum age to be elected senator was 40; this was reduced to 21 in 1993 and eventually to 18 in 2014. A senator can only enter into office after having taken the constitutional oath, in either of the three official languages in Belgium: Dutch , French or German . They may also choose to take
12580-457: The Belgian political system into on a federal model which entailed significant amendments to the original document. The official version of the Constitution of 1831 was written in French and was only comprehensible to part of the national population . An official version in Dutch was only adopted in 1967. Up to then, the Dutch text was only a translation without legal value. Since 1991 there
12750-586: The Belgian precedent. The historian J.A. Hawgood wrote: The Belgian constitution of 1831 rapidly replaced the Spanish constitution of 1812 —except in the remoter backwoods of Latin Europe and Latin America—as the beacon-light for liberals and radicals who did not stand so far to the left [...] that they wanted to overthrow all monarchies and replace them by republics. Wherever a strictly limited constitutional monarchy
12920-409: The Chamber of Representatives have established three joint committees: Given its limited legislative power, since the reform of 2014, the Senate holds about ten plenary sessions a year. The standing committees of the Senate, however, determine their own meeting schedule. This is the composition of the Senate following the federal and regional elections of May 26, 2019. * Including the senator of
13090-406: The Chamber of Representatives in order to join the Senate. Another important incompatibility is based on the separation of powers . A senator who is appointed as a minister ceases to sit in the Senate and is replaced for as long as he is a minister. However, if he resigns as a minister, he may return to the Senate, in accordance with Article 50 of the Belgian Constitution . A senator cannot also be
13260-465: The Chamber of Representatives, it has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and 2014. The 2014 elections were the first without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between these federated entities. The Senate today plays
13430-746: The Constitution. When interpreting the rights enumerated in Title II of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court also applies the European Convention on Human Rights in order to prevent different interpretations of the same principles. All powers emanate from the Nation. They are exercised in the manner established by the Constitution. – Article 33 of the Belgian Constitution Title III of
13600-417: The Dutch adult population spoke a dialect or regional language on a regular basis, but in 2011, that was no more than 11 percent. In 1995, 12 percent of children of primary school age spoke a dialect or regional language, but in 2011, that had declined to four percent. Of the officially recognised regional languages Limburgish is spoken the most (in 2011 among adults 54%, among children 31%) and Dutch Low Saxon
13770-490: The Dutch government remained reluctant to teach Dutch on a large scale for fear of destabilising the colony. Dutch, the language of power, was supposed to remain in the hands of the leading elite. After independence, Dutch was dropped as an official language and replaced by Indonesian , but this does not mean that Dutch has completely disappeared in Indonesia: Indonesian Dutch , a regional variety of
13940-474: The Dutch language group must be resident in the Brussels-Capital Region on the date of their election, as well as six of the senators in the French language group. The president of the Senate is elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The president is assisted by two vice presidents, who are also elected at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The president of
14110-548: The Dutch language itself, as well as a broader Germanic category depending on context. During the High Middle Ages " Dietsc / Duutsc " was increasingly used as an umbrella term for the specific Germanic dialects spoken in the Low Countries , its meaning being largely implicitly provided by the regional orientation of medieval Dutch society: apart from the higher echelons of the clergy and nobility, mobility
14280-415: The Dutch standard language is largely absent, and speakers of these Dutch dialects will use German or French in everyday speech. Dutch is not afforded legal status in France or Germany, either by the central or regional public authorities, and knowledge of the language is declining among younger generations. As a foreign language , Dutch is mainly taught in primary and secondary schools in areas adjacent to
14450-531: The Dutch standard language, it is not mutually intelligible with Dutch and considered a sister language of Dutch, like English and German. Approximate distribution of native Dutch speakers worldwide: Dutch is an official language of the Netherlands proper (not enshrined in the constitution but in administrative law ), Belgium, Suriname, the Dutch Caribbean municipalities (St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire), Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . Dutch
14620-408: The Dutch, was still spoken by about 500,000 half-blood in Indonesia in 1985. Yet the Indonesian language inherited many words from Dutch: words for everyday life as well as scientific and technological terms. One scholar argues that 20% of Indonesian words can be traced back to Dutch words, many of which are transliterated to reflect phonetic pronunciation e.g. kantoor "office" in Indonesian
14790-468: The Federal Government, have the right to propose bills. Article 77 determines the matters with respect to which the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate have equal competence. Articles 78 to 83 further outline parliamentary procedure and the relations between both parts of the Federal Parliament. Chapter III, which is titled The King and the Federal Government , consists of the Articles 85 to 114. It
14960-482: The Federal Government. Article 85 provides that the King's constitutional powers are hereditary through the direct, natural and legitimate descent from King Leopold I , by order of primogeniture. However, in Title IX, which contains certain transitional provisions, there is a clause that stipulates that Article 85 in its current shall be applicable for the first time on the descent of King Albert II , which means that
15130-458: The Federal Parliament is dissolved early and that thus early elections are held. In order to be eligible for election one must have the Belgian nationality , have the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, be at least 21 years old and be resident in Belgium. No other condition of eligibility can be imposed. Chapter II, which is titled The federal legislative power , describes the powers of
15300-756: The Frankish tribes fit primarily into the Istvaeonic dialect group with certain Ingvaeonic influences towards the northwest, which are still seen in modern Dutch. The Frankish language itself is not directly attested, the only possible exception being the Bergakker inscription , found near the Dutch city of Tiel , which may represent a primary record of 5th-century Frankish. Although some place names recorded in Roman texts such as vadam (modern Dutch: wad , English: "mudflat"), could arguably be considered as
15470-407: The German dialects spoken in the mountainous south of Germany as Hochdeutsch ("High German"). Subsequently, German dialects spoken in the north were designated as Niederdeutsch ("Low German"). The names for these dialects were calqued by Dutch linguists as Nederduits and Hoogduits . As a result, Nederduits no longer serves as a synonym for the Dutch language. In the 19th century,
15640-472: The German-speaking community By political family 50°50′48″N 4°21′53″E / 50.84667°N 4.36472°E / 50.84667; 4.36472 Dutch language Dutch ( endonym : Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] ) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family , spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as
15810-506: The King can name a successor with the consent of both Chambers of the Federal Parliament. This consent cannot be given unless a quorum of at least two-thirds of its members is present and at least two-thirds of the votes cast are in the affirmative. In case no successor has been appointed in this manner, the throne is vacant. Article 95 stipulates that, if the throne is vacant, then the United Chambers meet to provisionally provide for
15980-462: The Low Countries. In fact, Old Frankish could be reconstructed from Old Dutch and Frankish loanwords in Old French. The term Old Dutch or Old Low Franconian refers to the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. West Germanic varieties that are assumed to have evolved from Frankish ) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages , from around the 5th to the 12th century. Old Dutch
16150-524: The Netherlands and Flanders . In French-speaking Belgium , over 300,000 pupils are enrolled in Dutch courses, followed by over 23,000 in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia , and about 7,000 in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (of which 4,550 are in primary school). At an academic level, the largest number of faculties of neerlandistiek can be found in Germany (30 universities), followed by France (20 universities) and
16320-412: The Netherlands and Belgium, the dialect spoken in and around the German town of Kleve ( Kleverlandish ) is historically and genetically a Low Franconian variety. In North-Western France, the area around Calais was historically Dutch-speaking (West Flemish), of which an estimated 20,000 are daily speakers. The cities of Dunkirk , Gravelines and Bourbourg only became predominantly French-speaking by
16490-539: The Netherlands, although there are recognisable differences in pronunciation, comparable to the pronunciation differences between standard British and standard American English. In 1980 the Netherlands and Belgium concluded the Language Union Treaty . This treaty lays down the principle that the two countries must gear their language policy to each other, among other things, for a common system of spelling. Dutch belongs to its own West Germanic sub-group,
16660-582: The Senate and four by the French-language group of the Senate. These seats are distributed proportionally between parties based on the results of the latest direct election of the Chamber of Representatives (federal level). In 1921, the co-opted members were included in the Constitution as a new category of senators. It was intended to allow the senators to elect a number of experts or members of representative organizations to join them to enhance
16830-532: The Senate is usually a member of a party of the majority with a great deal of political experience, while the virst vice president is a member of the other language group. The current president of the Belgian Senate is Stephanie D'Hose of the Open VLD . The president of the Senate presides over the plenary assembly of the Senate, manages and controls debates in the assembly, is responsible for ensuring
17000-454: The Senate, together with the president of the Chamber of Representatives , ranks immediately behind the King in the order of precedence . The elder of the two takes the second place in the order of precedence. The Bureau of the Senate is composed of the president, the two vice presidents, and the leaders of the political groups that are represented in the standing committees . The Bureau leads
17170-649: The Trias Politica. The most recent major change to the constitution was the introduction of the Court of Arbitration , whose competencies were expanded by a special law of 2003, to include Title II (Articles 8 to 32), and the Articles 170, 172 and 191 of the Constitution. The Court developed into a constitutional court; in May 2007 it was formally redesignated as the Constitutional Court . This court has
17340-607: The United Kingdom (5 universities). Despite the Dutch presence in Indonesia for almost 350 years, as the Asian bulk of the Dutch East Indies , the Dutch language has no official status there and the small minority that can speak the language fluently are either educated members of the oldest generation, or employed in the legal profession such as historians, diplomats, lawyers, jurists and linguists/polyglots, as certain law codes are still only available in Dutch. Dutch
17510-621: The West Indies, slaves were forbidden to speak Dutch, with the effect that local creoles such as Papiamento and Sranan Tongo which were based not on Dutch but rather other European languages, became common in the Dutch West Indies. However, as most of the people in the Colony of Surinam (now Suriname ) worked on Dutch plantations, this reinforced the use of Dutch as a means for direct communication. In Suriname today, Dutch
17680-440: The administrative services and replaces the secretary-general in his absence. The Senate mainly has the following tasks: Legislation : The Senate, together with the Chamber, has full competence for the Constitution and legislation on the organization and functioning of the Federal State and the federated entities. Depending on the type of law, different procedures are possible that require, among others, special majorities (i.e.
17850-533: The authority to examine whether a law or a decree is in compliance with Title II and Articles 170, 172 and 191. The Belgian Constitution of 1831 was created in the aftermath of the secession of Belgium from the United Netherlands in the Belgian Revolution . After the revolution's initial success, an elected National Congress was convened in November 1830 to create a devise a political order for
18020-624: The borders of other standard language areas. In most cases, the heavy influence of the standard language has broken the dialect continuum . Examples are the Gronings dialect spoken in Groningen as well as the closely related varieties in adjacent East Frisia (Germany). Kleverlandish is a dialect spoken in southern Gelderland , the northern tip of Limburg , and northeast of North Brabant (Netherlands), but also in adjacent parts of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Limburgish ( Limburgs )
18190-479: The case with the Gronings dialect , which is considered a variety of the Dutch Low Saxon regional language, but it is relatively distinct from other Dutch Low Saxon varieties. Also, some Dutch dialects are more remote from the Dutch standard language than some varieties of a regional language are. Within the Netherlands, a further distinction is made between a regional language and a separate language, which
18360-409: The cases and the manner the law prescribes. Article 16 stipulates that no one can be deprived of his or her property except when it's in the public interest , in the cases and the manner the law prescribes, and that fair and prior compensation must be made. Article 17 of the Constitution stipulates that the penalty of forfeiture of (all) assets cannot be instituted. Article 18 further stipulates that
18530-631: The common people". The term was used as opposed to Latin , the non -native language of writing and the Catholic Church . It was first recorded in 786, when the Bishop of Ostia writes to Pope Adrian I about a synod taking place in Corbridge , England , where the decisions are being written down " tam Latine quam theodisce " meaning "in Latin as well as common vernacular". According to
18700-413: The competencies that are granted to it by the Constitution or by the laws adopted pursuant to the Constitution. Article 39 provides that a law adopted with a qualified majority can assign competencies to the regional organs which it establishes. Article 40 vests the judicial power in the courts and tribunals and provides that their rulings and decisions are carried out in the King's name. Chapter I, which
18870-467: The country. International parliamentary organizations: The Senate sends parliamentary delegations to different interparliamentary conferences and organizations. Through their representatives in the Senate, the federated entities have access to this interparliamentary cooperation. Subsidiarity: Following the EU Treaties, the Senate has the right as chamber of the federal parliament to ensure that
19040-408: The day-to-day activities of the Senate and convenes every two weeks in order to manage the work of the Senate. The Bureau determines the legislative agenda and the order of business in the plenary assembly and the committees, and manages the internal affairs of the Senate. A member of the Federal Government is usually invited to attend the discussions about the legislative agenda. The Bureau also assists
19210-480: The death of the monarch, the Federal Parliament must convene without convocation no later than ten days following the monarch's death. If the Chambers had been dissolved and the act of dissolution provided for the convocation of the new Chambers at a date later than the tenth day following the monarch's demise, then the old Chambers enter into function again until the new Chambers convene. It also provides that, between
19380-540: The declaration of independence of Indonesia, Western New Guinea , the "wild east" of the Dutch East Indies , remained a Dutch colony until 1962, known as Netherlands New Guinea . Despite prolonged Dutch presence, the Dutch language is not spoken by many Papuans, the colony having been ceded to Indonesia in 1963. Dutch-speaking immigrant communities can also be found in Australia and New Zealand. The 2011 Australian census showed 37,248 people speaking Dutch at home. At
19550-602: The definition used, may be considered a sister language , spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia , and evolving from Cape Dutch dialects. In South America, it is the native language of the majority of the population of Suriname , and spoken as a second or third language in the polyglot Caribbean island countries of Aruba , Curaçao and Sint Maarten . All these countries have recognised Dutch as one of their official languages, and are involved in one way or another in
19720-487: The democratic functioning of the Senate, maintains order and security in the assembly and enforces the rules of the Senate. The president represents the Senate at both the national (to the other institutions) and the international level. Additionally, the president chairs the Bureau, which determines the order of business, supervises the administrative services of the Senate, and leads the Senate's activities. The president of
19890-474: The devil? ... I forsake the devil"). If only for its poetic content, the most famous Old Dutch sentence is probably Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan, hinase hic enda tu, wat unbidan we nu ("All birds have started making nests, except me and you, what are we waiting for"), is dated to around the year 1100, written by a Flemish monk in a convent in Rochester , England . Since the sentence speaks to
20060-489: The end of the 19th century. In the countryside, until World War I , many elementary schools continued to teach in Dutch, and the Catholic Church continued to preach and teach the catechism in Dutch in many parishes. During the second half of the 19th century, Dutch was banned from all levels of education by both Prussia and France and lost most of its functions as a cultural language. In both Germany and France,
20230-502: The exercise of certain powers or responsibilities can be attributed to international public institutions by treaty or by law. This refers, among others, to Belgium's membership in the European Union. Article 36 grants the federal legislative power to the King , the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate . Although it states that the federal legislative power must be exercised jointly by its three components, in practice only
20400-434: The federal legislative power, however, Article 74 of the Constitution stipulates that only the Chamber of Representatives , and not the Senate , can grant naturalisation. There is no distinction of classes in the State. All Belgians are equal before the law; they alone are admissible to civil and military offices, save for the exceptions that can be established by law for special cases. Equality between men and women
20570-410: The female offspring of King Albert II and later monarchs are in the line of succession to the Belgian throne , whereas the female offspring of all previous Belgian kings are excluded from the throne. This transitional clause was inserted to regulate the transition from the Salic law , which barred women and their descendants from the throne and was in effect until 1991. Article 85 further provides that
20740-457: The first women senators. After World War II , women received the same rights as men as far as voting was concerned. The post-World War era saw a series of six Belgian state reforms from 1970 until 2014. In 1993, the competences of the Senate were redefined during the fourth State Reform. In 2014, during the sixth State Reform, the Senate transformed in the assembly it is today, with important reforms concerning composition and competences. Since
20910-415: The imagination, it is often erroneously stated as the oldest Dutch sentence. Old Dutch naturally evolved into Middle Dutch . The year 1150 is often cited as the time of the discontinuity, but it actually marks a time of profuse Dutch writing; during this period a rich Medieval Dutch literature developed. There was at that time no overarching standard language ; Middle Dutch is rather a collective name for
21080-423: The increase in a province's population. Before the sixth state reform, the children of the King, older than 18, or if there were none, the Belgian descendants of the main branch of the royal house, were entitled to be senators by right by taking the oath of office. Senators by right over the age of 21 were in theory entitled to vote, but in practice they did not cast their vote. They were not taken into account for
21250-711: The influence of the Burgundian Ducal Court in Dijon ( Brussels after 1477). The dialects of Flanders and Brabant were the most influential around this time. The process of standardisation became much stronger at the start of the 16th century, mainly based on the urban dialect of Antwerp . The 1585 fall of Antwerp to the Spanish army led to a flight to the northern Netherlands, where the Dutch Republic declared its independence from Spain. This influenced
21420-588: The language of the Netherlands and Flanders. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz . The stem of this word, *þeudō , meant "people" in Proto-Germanic, and *-iskaz was an adjective-forming suffix, of which -ish is the Modern English form. Theodiscus was its Latinised form and used as an adjective referring to the Germanic vernaculars of the Early Middle Ages . In this sense, it meant "the language of
21590-629: The least (adults 15%, children 1%). The decline of the West Frisian language in Friesland occupies a middle position (adults 44%, children 22%). Dialects are most often spoken in rural areas, but many cities have a distinct city dialect. For example, the city of Ghent has very distinct "g", "e" and "r" sounds that greatly differ from its surrounding villages. The Brussels dialect combines Brabantian with words adopted from Walloon and French . Some dialects had, until recently, extensions across
21760-411: The liberal middle class on the other. The conservative forces were willing to adapt to the inevitable changes in society but this willingness was aimed at retaining the organic link with the past and preventing radical change. The liberal middle class, in spite of their desire for systematic, radical reform with a view to its expansion, showed restraint, a typical reaction of early liberalism. The result
21930-464: The members of the German-speaking Community were a part of the French electoral college. Even though there were two electoral colleges, there were three constituencies for Senate elections: a Flemish constituency, a Walloon constituency and the constituency of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde , which comprised the Brussels-Capital Region and the surrounding part of the Flemish Region . The constituency of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde ceased to exist following
22100-665: The monarch's demise and the taking of the oath of his successor or the Regent, the constitutional powers of the King are exercised by the Council of Ministers, in the name of the Belgian people. Article 90 and Article 93, regarding the inability to reign, were controversially applied in 1990 during the so-called Abortion Question, which arose when King Baudouin I refused to sign a bill liberalising Belgium's abortion laws into law, citing religious convictions. The Belgian Government subsequently declared him unable to reign on 4 April 1990 and
22270-480: The new state. The members of the National Congress reflected a variety of political ideals, but the vast majority supported the " Union of Oppositions " which had emerged before the revolution. This brought together moderate liberals with liberally inclined Catholics . As three modern historians describe: The 1831 constitution was [...] a compromise between the landowners and clergy on the one hand and
22440-411: The number of senators to 71. The change took effect following the May 21, 1995, federal election. Until the elections of 25 May 2014, the Senate contained 40 directly elected members. To elect these members, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges: a Dutch and a French electoral college. Unlike for European Parliament elections , there was no German-speaking electoral college. Instead,
22610-460: The oath in more than one language. The oath is as follows: "I swear to observe the Constitution" . ( 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 senator. A member of the Senate may not be a member of the Chamber of Representatives at the same time and representatives must give up their seats in
22780-619: The oldest single "Dutch" words, the Bergakker inscription yields the oldest evidence of Dutch morphology. However, interpretations of the rest of the text lack any consensus. The Franks emerged in the southern Netherlands ( Salian Franks ) and central Germany ( Ripuarian Franks ), and later descended into Gaul . The name of their kingdom survives in that of France. Although they ruled the Gallo-Romans for nearly 300 years, their language, Frankish , became extinct in most of France and
22950-627: The original language of the Franks. However, the language did experience developments of its own, such as very early final-obstruent devoicing . In fact, the find at Bergakker indicates that the language may already have experienced this shift during the Old Frankish period. Attestations of Old Dutch sentences are extremely rare. The language is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and loan words from Old Dutch in other languages. The oldest recorded
23120-559: The penalty of civil death is abolished, and that it cannot be brought back into force. Civil death was a penalty in Belgium in the Ancien Régime . Articles 19 to 21 guarantee the freedom of religion . Article 19 protects the freedom of religion and the right to exercise it publicly. It also guarantees the freedom of speech by stipulating that everyone has the right to express his or her opinion freely. However, Article 19 also determines that abuses of these freedoms can be punished,
23290-401: The possibility for the heir to the throne to become senator by right. In 1893 the principal of universal multiple voting right was introduced for men. This was combined with the principle of compulsory voting and the principle of proportional representation. For the Senate, candidates still needed to pay ground taxes, but the threshold was lowered. Moreover, a new category of provincial senators
23460-527: The predominant colloquial language out of the area's 22 million Dutch-speakers. Limburgish , spoken in both Belgian Limburg and Netherlands Limburg and in adjacent parts in Germany, is considered a dialect in Belgium, while having obtained the official status of regional language in the Netherlands. Limburgish has been influenced by the Ripuarian varieties like the Colognian dialect , and has had
23630-417: The press and stipulates that censorship can never be established. Article 26 protects the freedom of assembly by determining that everyone has the right to gather peaceably and without arms. Article 27 guarantees the freedom of association . Article 28 ensures the right to petition the public authorities. Article 29 determines that the confidentiality of letters is inviolable. Article 30 stipulates that
23800-411: The provinces of Gelderland , Flevoland , Friesland and Utrecht . This group, which is not Low Franconian but instead Low Saxon and close to neighbouring Low German, has been elevated by the Netherlands (and by Germany) to the legal status of streektaal ( regional language ) according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . It is regarded as Dutch for a number of reasons. From
23970-406: The président in the conduct of parliamentary business. In addition, the Bureau also appoints, promotes, and dismisses the staff of the Senate. The Senate is served by a number of civil servants. The Senate's chief administrative officer is the secretary-general of the Senate, who is appointed by the assembly and heads the Senate's legislative services. He is assisted by the director-general who heads
24140-505: The quality of debate and legislation; however, political parties sometimes use it as a means of rewarding loyal members that were not elected. Prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21, 1995, there were 184 senators, the largest part of which were directly elected, some appointed by the Provincial Councils and others co-opted. The fourth state reform, which took place in 1993, revised the Belgian Constitution , reduced
24310-562: The required quorum for voting. Until Prince Philippe became King in July 2013, there were three senators by right (Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent ). When the function of senators by right was abolished in 2014 as part of the sixth state reform, there were no senators by right, as King Philippe's children were all under the age of 18. Article 69 of the Belgian Constitution sets forth four qualifications for senators: each senator must be at least 18 years old, must possess
24480-410: The respect for the philosophical, ideological and religious views of parents and pupils. The third paragraph of this article determines that everyone has the right to education, with respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms, and that education shall be free in its compulsory stages. (In Belgium, education is compulsory until the age of 18.) Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of
24650-452: The right to go to court. Article 14 guarantees the application of the principle of nulla poena sine lege (Latin: "no penalty without a law"). There is also an Article 14bis, which was inserted in the Belgian Constitution in 2005, that states as follows: "The death penalty is abolished". Articles 15 of the Constitution guard against unreasonable searches . It determines that the domicile is inviolable and that searches can only take place in
24820-430: The right to respect for his or her "moral, physical, mental and sexual integrity". Article 23 protects the right to lead a life in conformity with human dignity . This right specifically encompasses the following rights: Article 24 protects the freedom of education and the parents' right to choose. It also stipulates that the community must provide neutral education , and that this neutrality includes, among others,
24990-596: The rights enumerated in Title II of the Constitution, the Belgians also enjoy the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights . Articles 8 and 9 determine how the Belgian nationality can be obtained. Article 8 also stipulates that the law can grant the right to vote in elections to citizens of the European Union who do not have the Belgian nationality, in accordance with Belgium's international and supranational obligations, and to non-EU citizens. Article 9 stipulates that naturalisation can only be granted by
25160-423: The rights of Dutch speakers, mostly referred to as "Flemish". However, the dialect variation was a serious disadvantage in the face of the standardised francophony . Since standardisation is a lengthy process, Dutch-speaking Belgium associated itself with the standard language that had already developed in the Netherlands over the centuries. Therefore, the situation in Belgium is essentially no different from that in
25330-524: The same branch of the West Germanic languages as Old English (i.e. Anglo-Frisian ) and are therefore genetically more closely related to English and Scots than to Dutch. The different influences on the respective languages, however, particularly that of Norman French on English and Dutch on West Frisian, have rendered English quite distinct from West Frisian, and West Frisian less distinct from Dutch than from English. Although under heavy influence of
25500-422: The same day as the members of the Chamber of Representatives , for a term of 4 years, except if the Chambers were dissolved earlier. The last federal election that had directly elected senators took place on Sunday June 13, 2010. Between 1894 and 1991, a number of senators were elected by each provincial council of the nine provinces . The number was dependent on a province's population, and increased along with
25670-592: The seats of the senators of the federated entities are distributed proportionally between parties based on the results for the latest election for the federated entities, i.e. the Flemish Parliament, the Parliament of Wallonia and the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (regional level). Ten senators are co-opted, meaning they are elected by their peers: six by the Dutch-language group of
25840-401: The seats were divided by proportional representation, using the D'Hondt method . Of the total of 40 directly elected senators, 25 were elected by the Dutch electoral college and 15 by the French electoral college. These numbers were in the Belgian Constitution and roughly reflect the ratio of Dutch-speakers to French-speakers by population. The directly elected senators were always elected on
26010-492: The solidarity between the generations." The act inserting this article was published in the Belgian Official Journal on 26 April 2007. Title II of the Belgian Constitution is titled The Belgians and their rights . In this title a number of rights and freedoms are enumerated. Although the Constitution speaks of the rights of the Belgians, in principle they apply to all persons on Belgian soil. In addition to
26180-519: The state but independent of it, and a declaration of the rights of the citizen firmly based on the principles of 1776 and 1789 , yet in a number of respects containing improvements upon these. In the 19th century, a "constitutional cult" emerged in Belgium which extolled it as a popular symbol of national identity. The Constitution of 1831 originally established Belgium as a unitary state organised at three levels: national level , provinces and municipalities . State reform in Belgium reconfigured
26350-401: The state structure. Belgium would become a unitary state. A bicameral Parliament was chosen over a unicameral one. The Senate was seen as a more conservative and elite body that served as a counterweight to the more progressive Chamber of representatives. Senators were directly elected, but only those who paid ground taxes were eligible. Only men who paid taxes were allowed to vote. There was also
26520-410: The survival of two to three grammatical genders – albeit with few grammatical consequences – as well as the use of modal particles , final-obstruent devoicing , and (similar) word order . Dutch vocabulary is mostly Germanic; it incorporates slightly more Romance loans than German, but far fewer than English. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Suriname, the native official name for Dutch
26690-404: The term " Diets " was revived by Dutch linguists and historians as well, as a poetic name for Middle Dutch and its literature . Old Dutch can be discerned more or less around the same time as Old English (Anglo-Saxon), Old High German , Old Frisian , and Old Saxon . These names are derived from the modern standard languages . In this age no standard languages had yet developed, while
26860-412: The two Chambers. The members of the Chamber of Representatives and the directly elected members of the Senate are elected by all Belgian citizens who are not less than 18 years old and who do not fall into any of the categories of exclusion determined by law. Article 61 further stipulates that each voter has only one vote. In principle, there is a federal election every 4 years, but it is possible that
27030-484: The urban dialects of the province of Holland . In 1637, a further important step was made towards a unified language, when the Statenvertaling , the first major Bible translation into Dutch, was created that people from all over the new republic could understand. It used elements from various, even Dutch Low Saxon , dialects but was predominantly based on the urban dialects of Holland of post 16th century. In
27200-411: The use of the languages spoken in Belgium is free. It further stipulates that the use of a specific language can only be imposed by law and only for the proceedings and acts of the public authorities and for legal proceedings. Article 31 of the Constitution determines that no prior authorisation is required to prosecute civil servants for acts of their administration. Article 32 stipulates that everyone has
27370-494: The western coast to the north of the Low Countries, and influenced or even replaced Old Saxon spoken in the east (contiguous with the Low German area). On the other hand, Dutch has been replaced in adjacent lands in present-day France and Germany. The division into Old, Middle and Modern Dutch is mostly conventional, since the transition between them was very gradual. One of the few moments when linguists can detect something of
27540-474: Was a "carefully balanced compromise" that mixed some radical liberal aspects with a firmly conservative ethos. It was inspired by the precedents of the French constitutions of 1791 , 1814 and 1830 , the Dutch constitution of 1814 and English constitutional principles . Belgium was established as a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature . Powers were separated between the executive , legislative , and judiciary . The Constitution guaranteed
27710-560: Was completed on 7 February 1831. The Constitution of 1831 was a highly visible national symbol of Belgian nationalism throughout the 19th century. A.V. Dicey , a British legal theorist, concluded that the Belgian document codified a number of conventions long established in the United Kingdom, saying that it "indeed comes very near to a written reproduction of the English constitution". It also inspired contemporary liberal movements in other European countries, including Denmark which adopted its first constitution in 1849 explicitly based on
27880-526: Was gradually replaced by the Dutch endonym Nederlands . This designation (first attested in 1482) started at the Burgundian court in the 15th century, although the use of neder , laag , bas , and inferior ("nether" or "low") to refer to the area known as the Low Countries goes back further in time, with the Romans referring to the region as Germania Inferior ("Lower" Germania). It
28050-440: Was inserted in Title IX stipulating that the marriage of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este , is deemed to have received such consent. This provision was inserted because, as their marriage took place in 1984, before women were included in the line of succession, their marriage did not require the King's consent at the time. Article 86 provides that, if there are no descendants of King Leopold I , then
28220-531: Was introduced. After World War I , the single vote system - "one man, one vote" - was introduced. This principle of universal suffrage was only applicable to men, women had no right to vote. They however could be a candidate in elections. 1921 saw a new reform for the Senate. The prerequisite of taxes was abolished and 4 categories of senators were created: directly elected senators, provincial senators, co-opted senators and senators by right. In 1936, Maria Baers and Odile Maréchal [ nl ] became
28390-486: Was largely static and hence while "Dutch" could by extension also be used in its earlier sense, referring to what today would be called Germanic dialects as opposed to Romance dialects , in many cases it was understood or meant to refer to the language now known as Dutch. In the Low Countries Dietsch or its Early Modern Dutch form Duytsch as an endonym for Dutch gradually went out of common use and
28560-477: Was replaced by later forms of the language throughout Luxembourg and Germany in around the 7th century. It was replaced in France by Old French (a Romance language with a considerable Old Frankish influence). However, the Old Franconian language did not die out at large, as it continued to be spoken in the Low Countries, and subsequently evolved into what is now called Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch in
28730-403: Was the ideal – there stood the Belgium of King Leopold as a shining example. Hers was the constitution that 'had everything' – the sovereignty of the people clearly recognised, a monarch and a dynasty owing their position to having taken an oath to honour the constitution, a bicameral legislature, both houses of which were completely elected fay the people, an independent judiciary, a clergy paid by
28900-527: Was under foreign control. In the 19th century, the East Indies trade started to dwindle, and with it the importance of Malacca as a trading post. The Dutch state officially ceded Malacca to the British in 1825. It took until 1957 for Malaya to gain its independence. Despite this, the Dutch language is rarely spoken in Malacca or Malaysia and only limited to foreign nationals able to speak the language. After
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