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Electronic Petitioning and Modernization of Petitioning Systems in Europe Technology Assessment Studies Series – 6

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Electronic Petitioning and Modernization of Petitioning Systems in Europe Technology Assessment Studies Series – 6 OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AT THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG In recent years, electronic petition systems have found widespread use. They ensure both the publication of petition texts and the collection of supporting signatures. More- Ulrich Riehm over, advanced systems enable online discussions concerning the respective petition. Knud Böhle Parliaments and governments are making increasingly use of this instrument of political Ralf Lindner participation and protection of the citizens‘ interests vis-à-vis the executive power. At the turn of the millennium, the Scottish parliament was one of the pioneers with re- gard to parliamentary petition portals. The active participation of citizens in the entire petition ing process was one of the guiding principles of the Scottish e-petition system which attracted attention worldwide and has been taken up elsewhere. Since 2005, the Scottish model has been adopted and further developed by the German Bundestag. In Electronic petitioning many European parliaments, reform processes regarding the modernization of peti- and modernization of tioning systems can be observed. On behalf of the German Parliament, the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag has examined the functional change petitioning systems of the parliamentary petition system in Germany in the course of the introduction of public electronic petitions and has shown a differentiated picture of the strengths and in Europe weaknesses of the currently applied system. The view of the German situation is com- plemented by a country study regarding the petitioning systems applied in Great-Britain including the Scottish one. The volume is completed by an overview of the petitions pro- Electronic petitioning and modernization of systems in Europe cedures provided by the European national parliaments and ombudsman institutions. Final Report BÜRO FÜR TECHNIKFOLGEN-ABSCHÄTZUNG BEIM DEUTSCHEN BUNDESTAG KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FÜR TECHNOLOGIE (KIT) Neue Schönhauser Straße 10 10178 Berlin Fon +49 30 28491-0 Fax +49 30 28491-119 [email protected] www.tab-beim-bundestag.de Ulrich Riehm, Knud Böhle, Ralf Lindner 6 Technology Assessment Studies Series – 6 Electronic petitioning and modernization of petitioning systems in Europe Technology Assessment Studies Series – 6 The Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag is an independ- ent scientific institution created with the objective of advising the German Bundestag and its Committees on matters relating to research and technology. TAB is operated by the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analy- sis (ITAS) at the Karlsruhe Research Centre. In executing its working pro- gramme the Karlsruhe Research Centre cooperated 2003–2013 with the Fraun- hofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe. TAB’s task is to design and implement technology assessment (TA) projects and to monitor and analyse important scientific and technological trends and the associated social developments (Monitoring, Future- and Innovation Reports, Policy-Benchmarking Reports). Ulrich Riehm Knud Böhle Ralf Linder Electronic petitioning and modernization of petitioning systems in Europe Report for the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment Note The orientation and content of this report cannot be taken as indicating the po- sition of the German Bundestag or its Committees. The German Bundestag retains the copyright to this publication. Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, but full acknowledgement is re- quested. A PDF-Version of the report is currently available on the Internet at the address www.tab-beim-bundestag.de. This title was first published in German language. The bibliographic information of the German title is: Ulrich Riehm, Knud Böhle, Ralf Lindner: Elektronische Petitionen und Modernisierung des Petitionswesens in Europa. TAB-Arbeitsbe- richt Nr. 146, Berlin, 2011. Translation: HRTranslations Büro für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag (TAB) (Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag) Neue Schönhauser Straße 10 10178 Berlin Germany Fon: +49 30 28491-0 Fax: +49 30 28491-119 [email protected] www.tab-beim-bundestag.de 2014 Herstellung und Verlag: BoD – Books on Demand, Norderstedt ISBN 978-3-7357-9033-0 THE COMMITTEE’ S PREFACE Petitions are an instrument, guaranteed in the German Basic Law, for protecting citizens’ interests and rights vis-à-vis the state; they are also a means of citizen participation. They are characterized by a low level of formal requirements and are also a suitable tool for individuals and small groups to articulate their inter- ests. Use of the internet within the petitioning process has increased the attrac- tiveness and profile of this fundamental right. However, it is also important to consider how use of the internet will contribute to a change in the petitioning system over the longer term. Owing to the high importance of petitioning for a democratic society and following a proposal by the Petitions Committee, the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment commissioned the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) to con- duct the technology assessment project »Electronic Petitioning and Moderniza- tion of Petitioning Systems in Europe«. The report focuses on three main areas of investigation: the development of peti- tioning among the European parliaments, a case study on petitioning in the United Kingdom and a detailed examination of the petition system in Germany and especially of the electronic petition platform of the German Bundestag, which was able to build on studies conducted by TAB on the experimental mod- el »Public Petitions«. The study of European countries considered the 27 mem- ber states of the European Union and also Switzerland and Norway. This there- fore provides the first-ever complete overview of the petitioning and ombuds- man system in Europe. Nine of the 21 parliamentary petition bodies currently have their own internet presence at national level. None of these countries cur- rently have a system for public and electronic petitions such as that offered by the German Bundestag. However, some parliaments are planning to expand their internet service accordingly. The petition process of the German Bundestag underwent a fundamental reform in 2005 based on the example of the Scottish Parliament and incorporated the internet as a medium for submitting, supporting and discussing petitions. This has contributed to the reputation of the Petitions Committee among the popula- tion and has generated considerable attention among the general public and in the media. The usage figures for the petition platform provide impressive evi- dence of the degree to which it has been embraced by the population. The sur- veys of petitioners conducted by TAB also reveal that Public Petitions are con- sidered a model of success. In particular, TAB considers that the rules governing the admission of Public Petitions and also the discussion forums for Public Peti- tions offer starting points for further development and improvement of the sys- tem. It is also proposed that where possible, all elements of the petition system 6 THE COMMITTEE’S PREFACE should be designed so that they are not merely accessible via the internet; they should also be accessible via conventional channels, thereby ensuring that seg- ments of the population who do not use the internet are not excluded. This report provides the German Bundestag with an up-to-date point of refer- ence that will enable Parliament to address this important socio-political issue. Berlin, November 18, 2011 The Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment Ulla Burchardt, Member of the German Bundestag Committee Chairwoman Dr Thomas Feist, Member of the German Bundestag Rapporteur René Röspel, Member of the German Bundestag Rapporteur Dr Martin Neumann, Member of the German Bundestag Rapporteur Dr Petra Sitte, Member of the German Bundestag Rapporteur Hans-Josef Fell, Member of the German Bundestag Rapporteur CONTENTS THE COMMITTEE’ S PREFACE 5 FOREWORD 11 SUMMARY 13 I. INTRODUCTION 33 1. Thematic background 33 1.1 Petitions 34 1.2 Electronic petitions 36 2. Associated factors and new questions 37 3. Acknowledgements 39 II. MODERNIZATION OF THE PETITION SYSTEM IN GERMANY 41 1. Legal bases, general development and esteem in which the petition system is held in Germany 42 2. The petition system at national level 44 2.1 The petition system of the German Bundestag 45 2.2 The reform of 2005 and further modernization steps 50 2.3 Long-term development of petition volumes 56 2.4 Social background, political commitment and internet activity of petitioners 61 2.5 Admissibility of Public Petitions 67 2.6 Signing of Public Petitions 71 2.7 Discussion forums on Public Petitions 77 2.8 Public committee meetings 92 2.9 Success of petitions 94 3. The petition system at the level of the federal states 104 4. Conclusion 108 5. Annex: Overview of the surveys conducted 110 III. MODERNIZATION OF THE PETITION SYSTEM IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 117 1. Importance and legal bases of the petition and ombudsman system 117 1.1 Historical overview 118 1.2 Constitutional basis 123 2. The petition system at national level 125 2.1 The petition system of the Westminster Parliament 126 2.2 The Prime-Minister’s e-petitions 134 8 CONTENTS 3. The petition system at regional level 142 3.1 Petitions and the Scottish Parliament 144 3.2 Petitions and the National Assembly for Wales 156 4. Petitions
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