sittedelingen

Sittedelingen is a term found in Dutch historical and juridical texts that refers to the arrangement and allocation of seating within a formal sitting, such as a court session, a municipal council, or a legislative assembly. The concept covers both the physical layout of chairs and benches and the assignment of specific attendees to particular seats, often reflecting rank, function, or group affiliation.

Etymology and usage: The word is a compound of zitting (session) and deling (division, distribution). It appears mainly in older sources, and in modern Dutch the practice is more commonly described with terms such as zetelverdeling or zitplaatsregeling, while sittedelingen persists mainly in archival records and certain regional dialects.

In practice, sittedelingen governed ceremonial and procedural aspects of a sitting: who sat where, which factions or offices had priority, and how seating could change during proceedings. In courts, arrangements could indicate the positions of judges, prosecutors, defense, and other officials; in legislatures, seating often reflected party affiliation, committee membership, or seniority.

Legacy and relevance: Today the term is rarely used outside historical contexts. Researchers studying parliamentary procedure, court records, or municipal archives may encounter sittedelingen as an indicator of seating practices and institutional protocol in specific periods or regions.

See also: zitting, zitplaats, zetel, zetelverdeling, seating plan.