Artikel 52: Term of office of the First and Second Chambers

Artikel 52
  1. The duration of both Houses shall be four years.
  2. The duration of the Upper House shall be amended accordingly if the duration of the provincial councils (provinciale staten) is altered by Act of Parliament to a term other than four years.

In andere talen:

English

  1. The duration of both Houses shall be four years.
  2. The duration of the Upper House shall be amended accordingly if the duration of the provincial councils (provinciale staten) is altered by Act of Parliament to a term other than four years.

Français

  1. La durée des pouvoirs des deux Chambres est de quatre ans.
  2. Si la loi fixe pour les pouvoirs des États provinciaux une durée autre que quatre ans, la durée des pouvoirs de la Première Chambre est modifiée en conséquence à cette occasion.

Deutsch

  1. Die Wahlperiode beider Kammern dauert vier Jahre.
  2. Wenn für die Provinzialstaaten durch Gesetz eine andere Dauer der Wahlperiode als vier Jahre angesetzt wird, wird damit die Wahlperiode der Ersten Kammer entsprechend geändert.

Español

  1. El periodo de legislatura de ambas Cámaras es de cuatro años.
  2. Si la ley fija un periodo de legislatura para los Estados Provinciales distinto del de cuatro años, el periodo de legislatura de la Primera Cámara será modificado correlativamente mediante la misma ley.

Explanation

Please note: Only the Dutch-language version of the Constitution has legal effect. 

Both Chambers are elected for four years. Because the Senate is elected by the Provincial Councils (see Article 55), the term of office of the Senate is linked to that of the Provincial Councils. Therefore, if the term of office of the Provincial Councils is set by law for a period other than four years, the term of office of the Senate also changes.

The aforementioned term of office applies to Chambers elected following regular elections. For a House of Representatives elected after a dissolution of the House, the term of office is laid down in a law. This is stated in Article 64, paragraph 4. The term of office is then a maximum of five years. This allows regular elections to be held again at the desired time in March or May, more than four years from now, depending on whether municipal council and/or provincial council elections are also held that year.

For a Senate elected after a dissolution of the House, the term of office remains the same as that of the dissolved Senate, because the term of office of the Senate is linked to that of the Provincial Councils. The term of office of the Provincial Council is four years, except for exceptions to be determined by law (Article 129, paragraph 4). If the legislature makes use of this possibility, the term of office of the Senate is adjusted to that longer or shorter term of office of the Provincial Council (Article 52, paragraph 2).

However, if the normal term of office is deviated from for only one or a few provinces, for example in the case of a provincial reorganization, no extension or shortening of the term of office and no interim election of the Senate will be necessary.