Some French infiuences have to be found to explain how the two functions of the Standing Committees of the Belgian House of Representatives have evolved. In 1920, when the first Standing Committees system was introduced in the Belgian House of Representatives, a direct French contribution can already be noticed. As a matter of fact, the Speaker of the Committee of Parliamentary Procedures derives his report directly from one made a few months earlier by Joseph Barthélémy for the French House of (...) Representatives.Again in 1935, the first total revision of the entire rules of procedure of the House of Representatives shows the ideal of some French statemen to struggle against the assembly system withthe result of a limitation in the functions of the Standing Committees down to its legislative part. These functions were not altered during the second revision in 1962, but some sort of diffused control over theCabinet was still exerted. In 1979, this control was finally formalised. (shrink)

In 1974 specialized chambers were introduced in Belgium as an attempt to improve the functioning of the Parliament.Only the Senate endeavoured to put info full practice the experiment of these chambers during the 1974/75 session. The attempt, though proved ephemeral : during the following session a deep cleavage was felt even among those who were initially its fervent advocates. Today, this experiment has been completely nipped in the bud. These chambers have proved inefficient; the goal proving neither attainable nor conclusive.It (...) would appear, therefore, that the specialized chamber is merely a void concept which does not provide for a concrete application. This, at least, is the lesson to be drawn from the «sections» of the Belgian Senate.However, in the context of a reallocation of tasks between the Senate and the House of Representatives, such specialized chambers might prove useful. (shrink)

In 1974, the belgian House of representatives as well as the Senate have decided to bring about some deep changes in their respective rules of procedure. These changes, worked-out within the rank and file of theresearch centres of the three principal political forces, are based on the specialization which is naturally met within an assembly. The Senate and the House of representatives, while respecting the proportional representation of the groups, got divided respectively into four and six sections destined to discuss (...) definitively projects and propositions of law, budgets, as well as hear interpellations. The final vote is, in any case, left to the plenary assembly.This is the way the belgian Houses put into practice the idea of specialized chambers, which was evoked within the Association of the Secretaries general of Parliaments, in the early fifties, following the procedural innovation of the 1947 italian Constitution.The reform functions fully in the Senate, whereas the House of representatives calls up the sections to discuss only budgets and interpellations in relation to them. (shrink)