Artikel 69: Presence of ministers and state secretaries

Artikel 69
  1. Ministers and State Secretaries shall have the right to attend sittings of the States General and may take part in the deliberations.
  2. They may be invited to be present at sittings of the Houses of the States General meeting either separately or in joint session.
  3. They may be assisted at the sittings by persons nominated by them.

In andere talen:

English

  1. Ministers and State Secretaries shall have the right to attend sittings of the States General and may take part in the deliberations.
  2. They may be invited to be present at sittings of the Houses of the States General meeting either separately or in joint session.
  3. They may be assisted at the sittings by persons nominated by them.

Français

  1. Les ministres et les secrétaires d'État ont accès aux séances et peuvent participer aux délibérations.
  2. Ils peuvent être invités par les Chambres siégeant séparément ou réunies en une seule assemblée à être présents aux séances.
  3. Ils peuvent se faire assister aux séances par des personnes qu'ils désignent à cet effet.

Deutsch

  1. Die Minister und die Staatssekretäre sind zu den Sitzungen zugelassen und können an den Beratungen teilnehmen.
  2. Sie können von den Kammern gesondert und in einer Vollversammlung aufgefordert werden, der Sitzung beizuwohnen.
  3. Sie können sich in den Sitzungen von von ihnen beauftragten Personen assistieren lassen.

Español

  1. Los Ministros y los Secretarios de Estado tienen acceso a las sesiones y podrán participar en la deliberación.
  2. Podrán ser invitados por las Cámaras, tanto por separado como reunidas en sesión conjunta, a asistir a las sesiones.
  3. Podrán hacerse asistir en las sesiones por las personas que hayan designado a tal efecto.

Explanation

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

Ministers and Secretaries of State have access to the meetings of the House of Representatives and the Senate and may participate in the deliberations. The Houses may require their presence, but the government itself determines who speaks on its behalf.

Ministers and Secretaries of State may be assisted by, for example, civil servants or government commissioners. This was the case, for instance, during the consideration of the proposals for constitutional revision in the period 1976–1982, when Government Commissioner Simons regularly spoke.