Petition process at state level

This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

Everyone can make use of the right of petition at both the state and federal level. Nevertheless, the individual framework conditions of the petition procedure differ from one country to another. Like the Bundestag, each Landtag has its own petitions committee, which is responsible for the petitioners' submissions. In general, a petition can be submitted electronically or by post to the respective state parliament.

Mass / multiple petitions, collective petitions, individual petitions

Anyone can submit individual petitions to the respective Landtag in writing or using an online form. Although many of the federal states have regulated collective petitions as a legitimate means of submission by legal ordinances, submitting them via an online process is sometimes difficult (in some cases, collected signatures can only be forwarded by post). In contrast, some countries offer public petition platforms on which petitions can be viewed and signed. This allows individual petitions to form collective petitions.

However, several individual petitions that contain the same issue can be combined by the respective petitions committee to form a so-called mass or multiple petition. However, there are state parliaments that make no legal distinction between collective, multiple or mass petitions, so that each petition is processed as an individual petition.

Verification of the signatures

In order for a handwritten signature to be valid, the person's current address is required. Further verification is not necessary for offline signatures. The hurdles of verification are also relatively low for online signatures: In addition to the full name, salutation and address of the person, a valid e-mail address is required. In some federal states such as Saxony-Anhalt and Saarland, a security query with code transmission is carried out in order to exclude communication with a robot. Anyone who sends a petition to the state parliament using the online form will then receive a confirmation email. Similar to the e-petition platform of the Bundestag, some petition platforms of the federal states, for example Thuringia, require the person to be registered in advance.

Collection period

Most legal guidelines do not indicate whether a collection period has been set for collective petitions. The states of Thuringia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen have a signing period of 6 weeks, whereas the German Bundestag allows 4 weeks.

Exclusion criterion regarding the petitioner

Since everyone in the Federal Republic is entitled to petition according to Article 17 of the Basic Law, there are as far as possible no restrictions at the state level. Many countries only ascribe the right of petition to legal persons under public law if it is the subject of their objective area of ​​responsibility. Separate regulations can be found in Lower Saxony, in which authorities and schools are viewed as not "entitled to petition" because they are organizational parts of the state structure. Saxony also grants additional restrictions: "Universities, broadcasters and religious societies under public law are only entitled to petition insofar as the petition relates to their specific status as holders of fundamental rights".

Petitions can also be submitted for others. Regardless of whether this is done online or offline, the name and address of the representative and the representative must be given. For the verification of the latter, a power of attorney is usually required, which can be uploaded or forwarded. In Berlin, however, it is also possible without a power of attorney: "A petition can also be submitted for a third party without their consent if there is sufficient cause and the interests of the third party do not obviously conflict".

Exclusion criterion regarding the topic

In general, it is forbidden for a petition to constitute a criminal offense in terms of content or form. The majority of the various legal records of the federal states point out that legal proceedings (pending / completed) cannot be the subject of a petition. A complaint against a judge or indications of deficiencies can, however, be the subject of the petition. Furthermore, petitions that contain no recognizable context or no specific concern are also excluded by most countries. If the submissions to a petition that has already been decided do not reveal any new substantial submissions, the examination can be dispensed with.

Hearing and discussion in the technical committee and plenary

Both the Bundestag and the individual regional parliaments have their own petitions committee. This deals with the petition issues and can ask for statements from the relevant specialist committees or members of the state parliament. As a rule, the Petitions Committee drafts a proposal for a resolution that is voted on in plenary. Both the hearing and the plenary debate can be public, but it depends on the legal structures of the respective state parliament.

Accessibility

Although petitions can now be submitted both in writing and electronically at all national levels, the same barrier-free access is not guaranteed everywhere. As a pioneer in accessibility, Thuringia offers the option of submitting entries in writing, in Braille (Braille), orally, online and in sign language, including signs accompanying the spoken language. Another part of countries offer a citizen's consultation hour or contact with an ombudsman, which can be used to provide further personal help.

transparency

In some federal states such as Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia, petitions that have already been completed are displayed online, but these only relate to entries submitted online. On some petition platforms of the state parliaments, the petitioner has the choice of whether the petition should be listed publicly or not. Petitions that are “in the public interest” can also be published. The meetings of the petitions committee, however, or possibly another competent committee of experts, are usually not public - with a few exceptions: In Bavaria, for example, the petitions committee always meets publicly and in Bremen the advice is public. Petitions usually in public. Meetings. The petition committees of the federal and state governments give petitioners interim notifications about the petition procedure.

Overview: petition procedures in the federal states

Local authority	Mass / multiple petition (minimum number of petitioners so that similar petitions are considered as mass / multiple petitions)	Collective petition	Recognition of the signatures of free petition platforms	Often Petition platform	Debate function	Quorum for public hearing	Hearing in the Petitions Committee	Transparency (activity reports)	Regulated in (law / ordinance)
Berlin	✔ (at least 30 petitioners)	✔ (at least 30 supporters)	x	x	x	x	x	Annual reports (statistics, selected cases)	Law on the handling of petitions to the Berlin House of Representatives (Petitions Law) last amended by the law of July 6, 2006 (GVBl. P. 710): Art. 1–14.
Brandenburg	✔ (at least 30 petitioners)	✔ (at least 30 supporters)	x	x	x	x	x , but citizens' office hours; On-site appointments	online: petitions with general or exemplary relevance. Annual reports (statistics, selected cases)	Law on the handling of petitions to the Landtag Brandenburg (Petitionsgesetz - PetG) of December 20, 2010 (GVBl.I / 10, [No. 48])
Saxony-Anhalt	✔ (at least 20 petitioners)	✔ (at least 20 petitioners)	x	x	x	x	From 4,000 supporters who are entitled to participate, the confidants are to be heard by the Petitions Committee	Texts of collective and mass petitions published. Activity reports	Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt of December 5th, 2014, section "Principles of the Petitions Committee on the handling of requests and complaints"; Constitution of the State of Saxony-Anhalt of January 27, 2005
Hesse	✔	✔	n / A	x	x	x	x , only citizen consultation hours	Activity reports	Rules of Procedure of the Hessian State Parliament from May 27, 2015
Lower Saxony	✔	✔	✔	✔	x	x	x	n / A	Rules of Procedure of the Lower Saxony State Parliament of December 15, 2014; Information brochure of the LT Nds "Handling of inputs"
North Rhine-Westphalia	✔ (at least 100 petitioners)	x	✔	x	x	x	Possible in public session (request from a quarter of the members required); Citizen consultation hours	Decision can be made public online / press releases /; Plenary minutes, possibility of public meetings at the request of members, activity reports	Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia from October 17, 2013
Bremen	✔ (at least 30 petitioners)	✔ (at least 30 supporters)	n / A	✔	✔	x	Public petitions are discussed in public meetings in the Petitions Committee	Resolutions online and in writing to petitioners. Online petitions in a freely accessible archive	Rules of procedure for the petitions committees (state and city) of November 4, 2011; Law on the handling of petitions by the Bremische Bürgschaft dated 01/01/10
Hamburg	x	x	n / A	x	x	x	Possible (determination of the committee); The petitioner is not entitled; Citizen consultation hours	n / A	Law on the submission committee of December 15, 2009 and § 64–67 of the rules of procedure of the Hamburg Citizenship of March 2, 2015
Schleswig-Holstein	✔ (at least 50 petitioners)	✔	x	✔	x	✔ (2,000 signatures for public hearing; can be rejected)	Possible (determination of the committee)	Online: Decision; Email to petitioner and signatories; Mass petitions can be made online; Activity reports, quarterly, with statistics and presentation of the individual concerns	Fundamental resolutions of the Petitions Committee of September 8, 2015; Procedural principles for handling public petitions / Article 25 of the Constitution of Schleswig-Holstein
Saarland	n / A	x	x	x	x	x	Possible (determination of the committee)	Annual reports	Article 78 of the Saarland constitution (no more specific legal or procedural basis to be found) of 15.05.13
Baden-Württemberg	x	x	✔	x	x	x	Possible (determination of the committee); The petitioner is not entitled	n / A	Law on the Petitions Committee of the State Parliament (Petitions Committee Act) of 02/20/79
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	✔	✔	x	x	x	x	x	Petitioners are informed about opinions and the opportunity to respond is given; Activity reports	State constitution of June 30th, 2011; Petitions and Ombudsman Act of April 5th, 1995; Rules of procedure of the state parliament for the 7th electoral period from 04.10.16
Rhineland-Palatinate	✔ (at least 30 petitioners)	✔	n / A	✔	✔	x	Possible: There are public and non-public meetings	Resolutions on mass petitions online; Annual reports	Rules of procedure of the Landtag Rhineland-Palatinate of 02.03.11, procedural principles for the handling of public petitions
Thuringia	✔ (at least 30 petitioners, 50 elsewhere)	✔	✔	✔	x	✔ (1,500 signatures for public hearing, can be rejected)	Possible: From quorum, hearing of confidants (this can be waived with a committee majority).	Resolution of public petitions online; Annual work reports	Thuringian Petitions Act (Thuringian law on petitions), rules of procedure of 19.07.12
Saxony	✔ (at least 50 petitioners)	✔	n / A	x	x	x	Possible (determination of the committee); The petitioner is not entitled	Resolutions on mass petitions online	Law on the Petitions Committee of 06/11/91, Rules of Procedure of the Saxon State Parliament, principles of the Petitions Committee of 06/11/91, extract from the Constitution of 05/27/92
Bavaria	✔ (at least 50 petitioners)	✔	✔	x	x	x	Possible (determination of the committee)	Resolutions on mass petitions online; Current report / petition statistics; After 8 weeks interim report	Petitions Act ("Act on the handling of petitions and complaints to the Bavarian State Parliament according to Art. 115 of the Constitution - Bavarian Petitions Act") of July 26, 2006, Rules of Procedure of the Bavarian State Parliament Dec. 14
Federal Republic of Germany	✔ (at least 50,000 petitioners)	✔ (at least 50,000 supporters)	x	✔	✔	✔ (50,000 signatures for public hearing)	Possible (determination of the committee)	Resolutions on public petitions online, annual reports, sometimes public advisory meetings of the Petitions Committee	Law on the Powers of the Petitions Committee of 07/19/75, Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of 05/23/49 Art. 17, 17a, 45c, procedural principles

See also

• petition
• Online petition
• Country report petitions 2015 (federal and state) from the free petition platform openPetition

literature

• Ulrich Riehm: Electronic petition systems: Analyzes on the modernization of the parliamentary petition system in Germany and Europe , edition sigma, Berlin 2013, ISBN 3-836-08135-0 .

Web links

• Berlin House of Representatives
• Brandenburg State Parliament
• State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt
• State Parliament of Hesse
• Lower Saxony state parliament
• State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia
• Bremen citizenship
• Hamburg citizenship
• Schleswig-Holstein State Parliament
• Saarland Landtag
• State Parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
• Ombudsman for Rhineland-Palatinate
• State Parliament of Thuringia
• State Parliament of Saxony
• State Parliament of Bavaria
• State Parliament of Baden-Württemberg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Principles of the Petitions Committee. Number 3 paragraph 1 sentence 2. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved March 15, 2016 . 
2. ^ Act on the handling of petitions to the Berlin House of Representatives (Petitions Act). Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
3. ^ Berlin House of Representatives - reports on the work of the committee (up to and including 2015). In: www.parlament-berlin.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
4. ^ Act on the handling of petitions to the Berlin House of Representatives (Petitions Act). July 6, 2006, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
5. ^ Editing of the Brandenburg State Parliament : Brandenburg State Parliament. In: www.landtag.brandenburg.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
6. ^ Law on the handling of petitions to the Landtag Brandenburg (Petitionsgesetz - PetG). In: bravors.brandenburg.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Landtag Saxony-Anhalt: Further information. In: www.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Landtag Saxony-Anhalt: Further information. In: www.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
9. ↑ Landtag Saxony-Anhalt: Further information. In: www.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
10. ↑ Publications | Hessian state parliament. In: hessischer-landtag.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
11. ↑ Hessian Constitution Art. 16. In: www.rv.hessenrecht.hessen.de. Accessed June 2020 . 
12. ^ Rules of Procedure of the Lower Saxony State Parliament. December 14, 2014, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
13. ↑ Landtag Lower Saxony: The treatment of submissions. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
14. ^ State Parliament NRW: Activity reports. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. October 17, 2013, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
16. ^ EPetition Bremen Citizenship. In: petition.bremische-buergerschaft.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
17. ↑ Bremische Bürgschaft: Rules of Procedure for the Petitions Committees. November 4, 2011, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
18. ^ Bremische Bürgerschaft: Bremische Bürgerschaft: Petitionsgesetz. (No longer available online.) In: www.bremische-buergerschaft.de. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017 ; accessed on October 7, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ^ State law - Justice - Portal Hamburg. In: www.landesrecht-hamburg.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
20. ^ State law - Justice - Portal Hamburg. In: www.landesrecht-hamburg.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
21. ↑ Landtag SH - Activity reports of the Petitions Committee. (No longer available online.) In: www.landtag.ltsh.de. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016 ; accessed on October 7, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
22. ↑ Landtag Schleswig-Holstein: Basic resolutions of the Petitions Committee. September 8, 2015, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
23. ↑ Landtag Schleswig-Holstein: procedural principles for handling public petitions. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 24, 2016 ; accessed on October 7, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
24. ^ The state parliament of Saarland: annual reports. In: www.landtag-saar.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
25. ^ The state parliament of Saarland: Petitions. In: www.landtag-saar.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
26. ^ Act on the Petitions Committee of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament. February 20, 1979. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
27. ↑ State Parliament Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: State Parliament MV - Activity Reports. In: www.landtag-mv.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
28. ^ State constitution of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
29. ^ Petitions and Ombudsman Act. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
30. ↑ Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Rules of Procedure of the Landtag for the 7th electoral period, Annex 3: Principles for the treatment of submissions to the Landtag. October 4, 2016, accessed September 14, 2017 . 
31. ^ State of Rhineland-Palatinate: Annual report. Retrieved September 7, 2016 . 
32. ↑ Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate. March 2, 2011, accessed September 27, 2016 . 
33. ↑ Procedural principles for handling public petitions. Retrieved August 10, 2016 . 
34. ^ Ines Born: Thuringian Parliament - work reports. In: www.thueringer-landtag.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
35. ^ Thuringian Landtag - petition platform - information. In: petionen-landtag.thueringen.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
36. ^ Michael Waack: Thuringian Parliament - Rules of Procedure. (No longer available online.) In: www.thueringer-landtag.de. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013 ; accessed on October 7, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
37. ↑ mass petition. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
38. ^ Act on the Petitions Committee. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
39. ↑ Extract from the rules of procedure. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
40. ^ Act on the Petitions Committee. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
41. ^ Extract from the constitution. In: The Saxon State Parliament. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
42. ↑ At a glance: Current petition report | Bavarian State Parliament. In: www.bayern.landtag.de. Retrieved October 7, 2016 . 
43. ^ Act on the handling of petitions and complaints to the Bavarian state parliament. July 26, 2006, accessed October 7, 2016 . 
44. ↑ Rules of Procedure of the Bavarian State Parliament. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on October 7, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
45. ↑ Petitions Committee . In: German Bundestag . ( bundestag.de [accessed October 7, 2016]).
46. ^ Act on the Powers of the Petitions Committee . In: German Bundestag . ( online [accessed October 7, 2016]). Law on the Powers of the Petitions Committee ( Memento of the original of March 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
47. ^ Regulations on the right of petition in the Basic Law . In: German Bundestag . ( online [accessed October 7, 2016]). Regulations on the right of petition in the Basic Law ( Memento of the original dated August 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
48. ↑ Legal bases . In: German Bundestag . ( bundestag.de [accessed October 7, 2016]).