Article 138: Amendment of unchanged provisions
- Before Bills to amend the Constitution which have been given a second reading have been ratified by the King, provisions may be introduced by Act of Parliament whereby:
- the proposals adopted and the unamended provisions of the Constitution are adjusted to each other as required;
- the division into chapters, sections and articles and the headings and numbering thereof are modified.
- A Bill containing provisions as referred to under paragraph 1(a) shall be passed by the two Houses only if at least two-thirds of the votes cast are in favour.
Explanation
Please note: Only the Dutch-language version of the Constitution has legal effect.
If a constitutional revision consists of a series of different legislative proposals, the rejection of one or more proposals may result in the amended and unchanged provisions of the Constitution no longer aligning properly.
Before royal ratification, amended and unchanged provisions may be brought into line by an Act of Parliament. Such alignment under paragraph 1(a) requires at least two-thirds of the votes cast in each Chamber. That special majority is not required for an Act dealing only with the structure, numbering or headings under paragraph 1(b).
During the constitutional revision of 1983, four such amending laws were enacted.