Strasbourg, 27 August 2020 CDDG(2020)6 PROV1 Item 3.1 of the agenda EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (CDDG) E-DEMOCRACY HANDBOOK Secretariat Memorandum prepared by the Directorate General of Democracy Democratic Governance Division 1 Subject to proofreading 2 1. Introduction The terms of reference of the CDDG for the biennium 2018-2019 include specific task iv: “In the field of e-democracy, - in accordance with Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on standards for e-voting, hold a review meeting on its implementation in 2019; - develop guidelines on e-democracy as a toolkit; - oversee the implementation of the priority “building democracy online” of the Internet Governance – Council of Europe Strategy 2016-2019.” The CDDG set up a working group on e-democracy, which met three times: - at its meetings on 27 November 2018 and 14-15 March 2019 respectively, the working group discussed the outline, content and structure of the guidelines on e-democracy in the form of a toolkit on the basis of Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on electronic democracy; - at its meeting on 24 May 2019, the CDDG Bureau examined the suggested approach and agreed that, whilst guidelines should be a high-level instrument addressed to Council of Europe member States, the toolkit should be a practical instrument which provides ‘practitioners’ with guidance and includes examples and practical steps to be taken; - at its third meeting on 12-13 September 2019, the working group finalised the draft Guidelines on e-democracy in the form of a toolkit, asking for further practical examples in relation to e-democracy initiatives or projects to be included in the Guidelines and a glossary to be added. At its meeting on 15 November 2019, the Bureau of the CDDG reviewed the draft Guidelines in the form of a toolkit. While agreeing with the substance of the Guidelines, the Bureau considered that additional work was necessary to refine the wording of the text and make it reader-friendly, ensure its internal coherence and bring out a clear narrative, prior to its final approval. The Bureau, therefore, instructed the Secretariat to transmit the draft Guidelines in the form of a toolkit to the CDDG for approval in substance at its meeting of 9-11 December 2019. At the same time, the Bureau proposed that, at this meeting, the CDDG should appoint two Rapporteurs with the task of finalising the draft Guidelines, in view of their further examination by the Bureau at its first meeting in 2020 and final approval by the CDDG at its first plenary meeting in 2020. At its 10th plenary meeting in December 2019, the CDDG examined the draft Guidelines in the form of a toolkit. Following an exchange of views, with the addition of case studies and some modifications, the CDDG approved the Guidelines in their substance. At the same time, it appointed Ms Monika Filipova (Slovak Republic), Ms Gordana Gapikj-Dimitrovska (North Macedonia) and Mr Paul Rowsell (United Kingdom) as Rapporteurs, asking them to make the appropriate changes to the text with a view to bringing out a clear narrative and ensuring its internal coherence. It also instructed the Secretariat to collect additional case studies and to involve the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance. The CDDG decided that the Guidelines should be submitted to the next Bureau and then to the 11th plenary meeting of the CDDG scheduled to take place in April 2020 for final approval. E-Democracy Handbook [CDDG(2020)6] 3 The 11th plenary meeting of the CDDG could not take place in April 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, in-person meetings of the Committee and its Bureau could not be scheduled for the rest of the year because of the uncertainties due to the pandemic and the measures to tackle it. At its online meeting on 20 April 2020, the Bureau examined the Guidelines as redrafted by the Rapporteurs. The Secretariat informed the Bureau that the Guidelines in the form of a toolkit, because of their nature, would remain a CDDG document; they would not be submitted to the Committee of Ministers for adoption. The Bureau expressed support for the text. It asked the Secretariat to finalise the Guidelines with the support of the Centre of Expertise, to draft the part on artificial intelligence and to update the Guidelines with a few considerations and case studies concerning the response to Covid-19 while ensuring that the text remains focused on e-democracy rather than the response to Covid-19. At its online meeting on 30 July 2020, the Bureau considered the Guidelines in the form of a toolkit, which were renamed ‘Handbook’. Subsequently, Bureau members provided comments in writing, which were included. 2. Additional considerations and proposals relating to future work According to its terms of reference for 2020-2021, the CDDG will continue to work on aspects relating to e-democracy in the context of the implementation of two specific tasks assigned by the Committee of Ministers: - the preparation of a study on the impact of digital transformation, including artificial intelligence and automated decision-making, on democracy and governance; - the drafting of a recommendation and/or guidelines on new technologies and the different stages of the electoral process. While the present Guidelines in the form of a toolkit focus on e-democracy (the e- Democracy Handbook), through these two tasks the CDDG will be able to further explore the issues of e-government, digitalisation of public services and e-enabled elections, which are only broached here although they are closely interconnected with e-democracy. In addition, in the context of the work relating to Covid-19, CDDG members are sharing case studies relating to digital innovations and solutions to respond to the crisis. This wealth of information will be presented and analysed in the report on Democratic governance and the response to Covid-19 which will be published before the end of 2020. A final consideration is that, in line with the importance that Council of Europe member States attach to digitalisation, the CDDG should try to address it throughout its work, even if not specifically relating to it and whether it aims at the elaboration of guidelines or recommendations or the compilation of good practices. The CDDG should also encourage the World Forum for Democracy and the European Local Democracy Week to devote greater attention to e-democracy aspects in their activities. Likewise, the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance could be invited to develop toolkits in the area of e-democracy and e-governance, to better respond to the needs of member States, at different levels of government. In addition, the Centre should look into further digitalising its work, for instance by organising online training and seminars and turning its toolkits into interactive digital tools. E-Democracy Handbook [CDDG(2020)6] 4 3. Action required The CDDG is invited to give its final approval to the Guidelines in the form of a toolkit (the e-Democracy Handbook). The CDDG is invited to propose activities in the area of e-democracy to be developed by the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance. E-Democracy Handbook [CDDG(2020)6] 5 E-DEMOCRACY HANDBOOK Table of contents PART A: E-DEMOCRACY ............................................................................................................... 6 A.1. Introduction and context ............................................................................................................. 6 A.2. Purpose of the present Handbook ............................................................................................... 7 A.3. Explaining e-Democracy ............................................................................................................... 9 A.4. Why introducing e-Democracy? ................................................................................................ 12 A.5. Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................... 21 A.6. Artificial intelligence .................................................................................................................. 29 PART B: IMPLEMENTING E-DEMOCRACY ..................................................................................... 34 B.1. Planning for e-Democracy .......................................................................................................... 34 B.2. Legal framework ......................................................................................................................... 41 B.3. E-Democracy in practice............................................................................................................. 44 B.4. Technology and data protection ................................................................................................ 55 B.5. Digital literacy and awareness ................................................................................................... 58 PART C: LIST OF COUNCIL OF EUROPE KEY STANDARDS AND DOCUMENTS .................................. 61 E-Democracy Handbook [CDDG(2020)6] 6 PART A: E-DEMOCRACY A.1. Introduction and context Digital technologies have become a pervasive feature in all aspects of modern life. Democracy is no exception. The Council of Europe has been a pioneer in identifying the opportunities and risks that technology presents to democracy: in 2009, Recommendation CM/Rec(2009)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on electronic