Plenary sitting

The assembly of all the 150 members of the House of Representatives together is called the Plenary meeting or sitting. Plenary meetings are held in the Plenary Meeting Hall.

The assembly of all the 150 members of the House of Representatives together is called the Plenary meeting or sitting. It is chaired by the President of the House. Plenary meetings are held in the Plenary Meeting Hall.
A Plenary meeting can be held if at least 76 MPs (half plus one of the total of 150) are present in the building of the House of Representatives. This is called the quorum. As a lot of work is done in committee meetings, it often happens that only a few seats in the Plenary meeting hall are occupied. Specialist issues are first discussed in a committee meeting, by the spokespersons on the subject for their political group. If the debate is continued in a Plenary meeting, they will often be the only MPs attending.

Joint Sitting
A combined meeting of both chambers of the States General is called a Joint Sitting. The President of the Senate chairs Joint Sittings. A Joint Sitting is held at the State Opening of Parliament, for instance, every year on the third Tuesday in September.

Closed meeting
At the request of one-tenth of the MPs who are present, or if the President deems this necessary, the doors of the House of Representatives are closed. The House then decides whether or not the issue will be dealt with in a closed meeting. This almost never occurs.