Artikel 84: Amendment of legislative proposals; amendment

Artikel 84
  1. A Bill presented by or on behalf of the King that has not yet been passed by the Lower House or by a joint session of the States General may be amended by the House or the joint session as the case may be on the proposal of one or more members or by the Government.
  2. Any Bill being presented by the Lower House or a joint session of the States General that has not yet been passed may be amended by the House or joint session as the case may be on the proposal of one or more members or by the member or members introducing the Bill.

Explanation

Please note: Only the Dutch-language version of the Constitution has legal effect. 

As long as a bill is being considered by the House of Representatives, the government can amend a bill it has submitted. The House of Representatives can also amend a bill submitted by the government. The latter is called the right of amendment.

An initiative proposal can be amended by the initiators. The House of Representatives as a whole also has the right of amendment regarding initiative proposals, and can therefore amend these proposals, even if the initiators are 'opposed' to them. The government cannot amend initiative proposals.

The Senate does not have the right of amendment. This is evident from Article 85, which states that the Senate 'considers the proposal as it has been sent'. This means that the Senate must consider the proposal as it was adopted by the House of Representatives.