Belgium
Senate
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Bicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
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Yes
Parliamentary mandate
Start and end of mandate
- Start of the parliamentary mandate for newly elected members
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When the member is sworn in
- Start of the parliamentary mandate for appointed members
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Not applicable
- End of the parliamentary mandate
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Other
Notes: For category (1) senators: the term of office ends on the opening day of the first session of the parliaments of the federated entities after they have been entirely renewed. For category (2) senators: the term of offices ends on the opening day of the first session of the House of Representatives following its entire renewal. However, should the House of Representatives and the Senate be prematurely dissolved, following the adoption of a declaration of revision of the Constitution, the senators’ term of office ends on the day of the dissolution.
Speaker
- Mode of designation of the Speaker
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The Speaker is elected from among the members of parliament/chamber
- Authority that designates the Speaker when the Speaker is designated from outside parliament.
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Rank of the Speaker in the hierarchy of the State
The Speaker often has a very high rank in the protocollary hierarchy of the State.
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Other
Notes: The President of the Chamber of Representatives and that of the Senate occupy the third or fourth rank, alternately, at each annual parliamentary session.
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Speaker becomes interim Head of State in the event of the latter’s death or incapacity
In some countries, the Speaker acts as interim Head of State when required by the circumstances, such as death or incapacity.
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No
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Speaker's mandate continues between legislatures
The mandate of the Speaker may continue until their successor is elected, even after the dissolution of parliament/chamber.
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No
Speaker terms
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The term of the Speaker is different from the term of the house
The term of the Speaker may be different from the term of the House (legislature).
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Yes
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Speaker's term
The term may be shorter than one year.
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1 Years
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Fixed election date for the Speaker, if any
Speakers in several parliaments are elected on a fixed date in accordance with the Constitution.
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No information available
Immunity and code of conduct
- Parliament’s authorization is required for the detention or prosecution of members
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Yes, except for flagrant delicto
- There is a Code of conduct for members
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Yes
Salaries and allowances
- Members are paid salaries by parliament
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Click for historical data
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Basic salary, per year
The figures are the gross amount before tax in national currency.
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54,579 EUR(2023)
Notes: Only the ten co-opted Senators receive this salary, while the 50 Senators appointed by regional or community parliaments receive their basic salary (known as "senatorial allowance") in the parliament where they are elected. The basic salary of the ten co-opted senators is equivalent to half of the salary (known as “parliamentary allowance”) paid to other federal parliamentarians because the Senate is considered to be a non-permanent assembly.
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Basic salary, per year in PPP
The figures are provided by parliaments in national currency and converted to PPP dollars using World Bank conversion tables.
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77,970(2023)
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Basic allowances
“Basic allowances” are allowances that are automatically paid to all parliamentarians. They are received in advance as a lump sum at a flat rate. They are not intended to be reimbursement for any expenses. Basic allowances are sometimes called “representation allowance”, “supplemental allowance”, “end-of-year allowance”, etc.
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Click for historical data
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Basic allowance in PPP
The figures were provided by parliaments in national currency and converted to PPP dollars using World Bank conversion tables.
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25,779
- Names of the basic allowances
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Holiday allowance: € 3,571
End-of-year bonus: € 3,000
Lump-sum compensation for official costs: 28% of the base salary, i.e. € 12,763
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Members pay income tax on salaries
Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
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Yes
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Members pay income tax on allowances
Salaries and/or allowances may be subject to income tax or equivalent.
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No
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Members can have remunerated employment outside parliament
Certain parliaments allow MPs to exercise other remunerated employment outside parliament.
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Yes
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Members are required to declare income from other employment to parliament
In certain countries, MPs exercising other employment may be required to declare their income.
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Yes
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Salary of the Speaker
Some parliaments pay for additional salaries to the Speaker/President. Other parliaments have a separate amount of salaries for this post. The total amount of the salaries of the Speaker/President is indicated for both cases.
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No information available
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The parliamentary salary is determined in reference to another salary scale
In some countries, the amount of parliamentary salary is determined in reference to another salary scale, such as civil service salary scale, ministerial salary or the minimum wage of the country.
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Yes
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Reference scale used for parliamentary salaries
Reference scale used for parliamentary salaries: Civil service salary scale; Ministerial salary; Minimum wage; Other (please specify)
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Other
Notes: According to the Constitution (6 December 1973), all citizens are equal before the law; however the Electoral Law that was adopted as a follow up, did not recognize women's suffrage. Women were consequently not able to exercise electoral rights in the only legislative elections held in Bahrain in December 1973.
- Information on salaries and allowances on the parliamentary website
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Information on salaries, allowances and the amount of allowances received by each member is available on the parliamentary website.
- Links to information on salaries and allowances
- Year data was last reported
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2020
Facilities, services and allowances for constituency work
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Personal staff to work directly for the parliamentarian
The personal staff to work directly for the parliamentarian is different from parliamentary staff work for the secretariat of Parliament.
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Yes
- Office at parliament
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Yes
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Constituency office
Certain countries provide for an office at constituency if it’s different from a seat of parliament, which is often in the capital. The office at constituency is applicable mainly to the countries using the Plurality/Majority system of elections.
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No
- Housing
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No
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Other cash or in-kind allowances for constituency work
The common in-kind allowances for constituency work include those for travel, overnight stay, etc.
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No
Additional salaries and allowances for leadership positions
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Additional salaries and allowances provided for leadership positions
The amount of salaries and allowances is generally higher for the Speaker/President. Some parliaments also provide for additional allowances to Chairs of Committees.
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Yes
Notes:
President of the Senate: The amount of the annual salary is variable and covers the difference in the salary of a Secretary of State and the allowances the Speaker receives as a parliamentarian.
Vice-President of the Senate, Group Leader, Member of the Bureau, or Committee Chair: Additional salary amount varies from € 1,948 to € 7,307 per year depending on the position they occupy.
In addition to this compensation, the beneficiary receives a lump-sum reimbursement for official costs of 60% of the compensation granted, which is exempt from taxes.
| Salary | Allowances | |
|---|---|---|
| Speaker | Yes The Speaker receives additional salary View field in the data dictionary |
Yes The Speaker receives additional allowances View field in the data dictionary |
| Committee Chair | Yes Existence of additional salaries for the Committee Chair View field in the data dictionary |
Yes Existence of additional allowances for the Committee Chair View field in the data dictionary |
Participation in the government
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Members of the government must also be members of parliament
Members of the government must also be members of parliament: Must be a member of parliament; Cannot be a member of parliament; Can be a member of parliament; Other
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Cannot be a member of parliament