Senator by law

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Belgium

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Senators by law (Dutch: senator van rechtswege, French: sénateur de droit, German: Senator von Rechts wegen) are non-elected members of the Belgian Senate.

If the ruling monarch of Belgium has any children, all of them who are older than eighteen years are senators by law; if the current monarch has no offspring, her or his siblings are senators by law instead.

Theoretically, senators by law are entitled to vote in the Senate once they reach the age of 21. However, by constitutional convention they do not use this right. Their presence is also disregarded when calculating the quorum; to reach the quorum, 36 of the 71 elected senators have to be present. Currently, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent are senators by law.

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