Emergency provisions in parliamentary constitutional law under scrutiny

10 October 2019

At the request of the Presidium, a working group consisting of MPs Mr Joost Sneller (D66, chair), Mr Jeroen van Wijngaarden (VVD) and Ms Anne Kuik (CDA) has scrutinized the continuation of the people's representation in case of an extreme emergency. The working group has examined which legal and statutory provisions are in place in case of an emergency, to make sure that the House can carry on with its business, thus guaranteeing the democratic legitimation of the national government. The working group recently published its findings.

In their report, the members of the working group comment on the background and the context of their work, on the (unwritten) emergency provisions in constitutional law and on the current legal framework. They pay attention in particular to such issues as the filling of vacant seats, the exceeding of the parliamentary term and new elections, the admission of new members and the examination of their credentials, as well as the convocation of the plenary sitting.

The report has been submitted to the standing committee on the Interior.