The Legislature of the Netherlands: The States General Explained

The Netherlands has a bicameral parliament called the States General (Staten-Generaal), consisting of two chambers:

First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) – Senate

• 75 members
• Elected indirectly by the provincial councils (Provinciale Staten)
• Term: 4 years
• Role: Reviews and approves/rejects legislation passed by the Second Chamber; cannot amend bills.

Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) – House of Representatives

• 150 members
• Directly elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide district
• Term: 4 years (can be dissolved early)
• Role: Primary legislative body; initiates laws, approves budget, oversees cabinet, holds ministers accountable.

Key Functions of the States General

• Passing legislation (both chambers must approve)
• Approving the national budget
• Overseeing the executive (cabinet/ministers)
• Ratifying treaties
• Constitutional amendments (require two-thirds majority in both chambers after elections)

The King formally appoints the Prime Minister and ministers, but they must retain the confidence of the Second Chamber. Elections use open-list PR with a low threshold (1/150th of the vote ≈ 0.67%), resulting in multi-party coalitions.