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Parliamentary documents university library

Parliamentary documents

Parliamentary documents are written documents that are exchanged between government and parliament. On publication, each parliamentary document (topic) is given a title and a unique number by which it can be recognised. As long as the topic remains a subject of discussion in parliament, all subsequent documents on the topic are given the same number.

To facilitate the search for parliamentary documents, the library introduced its digitalized search facility in 1989/1990. In the section 'Kamerstukken', visitors can search for:

  • Current bills;
  • Bills that have been submitted since 1979/1980 (starting from parliamentary document 15800);
  • Memoranda, reports, etc., that have been submitted since 1989/1990 (starting from parliamentary document 21300) and have been dealt with by parliament.

For every parliamentary document, references have been included to the oral discussions in the parliamentary sessions, as published in the proceedings.

From 01-01-1995 parliamentary documents are also available full text on the Internet: Overheid.nl

Type of parliamentary documents

Before you search for a parliamentary document, it is important to establish what type of document it is (e.g. a bill, a memorandum, or a letter) and whether it is recent or more dated. The following types of documents are distinguished:

Miscellaneous material

This includes memoranda, reports, letters and reports. These can be found under (parliament sessions run from September to September):

Parliamentary documents
Parliamentary Year Location
1965/1966 - 2001/2001 (Microfiches) Microfiche in open bookcases near section Level 0 (behind Brabant-Collection)
Important and long reports and memoranda, e.g., National Ombudsman's annual reports, parliamentary enquiries JUR book collection Search on name of the publication in the cataloguq
Between 1814/1815 and 1995 (digital) Staten-Generaal digitaal
From 01-01-1995 (digital) Officielebekendmakinten.nl

Bills are proposals to introduce new laws or to change existing laws. Bills are offered to the 'Tweede Kamer' (Second Chamber) and are published as parliamentary documents, with a unique number and title. A bill can consist of several parts, each of which is also given a number, for example:

  • no 1 "Koninklijke Boodschap" (Royal Message; = a letter from the Queen)
  • no 2 "Voorstel van wet" (Bill; = the text of the law)
  • no 3 "Memorie van toelichting" (Explanatory Memorandum; = an explanation of the purpose of the law)

Bills are dealt with in parliament according to a fixed procedure, and every subsequent document that is published on the basis of parliamentary discussions is given a new number. Once a bill has been approved, it is passed on to the 'Eerste Kamer' (First Chamber). If the bill is also approved by the 'Eerste Kamer', it can be published in the 'Staatsblad' (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees) and becomes law. As long as the bill is still being considered, which, in some cases, can take years, it will keep the same number.

Bills can be found in the following locations (Parliamentary Years run from September to September):

Bills
Status Location
Under consideration (paper version) In the drawers outside the work space of the subject specialists of the law collection
Approved (from Parliamentary Document 15800, 1978/1980 (paper version) Included in the copy of Bulletin of Acts and Decrees in which the new law is published and can be found as a bill file in section JUR Z90
Older Bills (1965/1966- 1979/1980) for which there are no bill files (paper version) Microfiche in the open bookcases near section JUR Z60
Older Bills from 1841 to 1980/81 for which there are no bill files (paper version) Section JUR Z60
From 01-01-1995 (electronic version) Overheid.nl

Contact

For further information, please contact the law librarian Eric van den Akker

Proceedings
Proceedings
Parliamentary year Location
From 01-01-1995 (Digital)) Officielebekendmakingen.nl
All proceedings from 1814/1815 en 1995 (Digital) Staten-Generaal digitaal

Contact

For further information, please contact the law librarian Eric van den Akker

Questions

Parliamentary Questions only contain written questions and the answers to them, supplied by the Minister or State Secretary. Oral questions are reported in the Parliamentary Proceedings . Questions are numbered per parliamentary year, starting at 1.

Parliamentary Questions
Parliamentary Year Location
From 01-01-1995 Officielebekenmakingen.nl
Between 1814/1815 and 1995 Staten Generaal digitaal

Contact

For further information, please contact the  law librarian Eric van den Akker