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Germany, Petitionsausschuss Deutscher Bundestag

On Monday and Tuesday, 4 and 5 April 2000 a delegation of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament visited Berlin and Postdam in order to meet delegations of the Petitions Committees of the German Bundestag, the Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin and the Landtag Brandenburg. Headed by Chairman Nino Gemelli, the delegation of the European Parliament was in a position to attend meetings of the Petitions Committees in Berlin and have consultations about the right of petition at federal and Länder level in Germany. On this occasion, the delegation was shown how the committees deal with petitions and what differences there are in the organization, responsibilities and procedures of the Petitions Committees.

&#8220;There is no doubt that Petitions Committees are a right addressee for the concerns of the citizens&#8220; stated the delegation of the European Parliament unanimously.
 

Petitions Committee: Work of the Petitions Committee occupies an important place in citizens‘ political awareness

For the second time in the 14th electoral term Ms Heidemarie Lüth, PDS, chairwoman of the Petitions Committee, presented the report on the work of the Petitions Committee in the year 1999 to Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse in Berlin. Together with a representative of each parliamentary group, Ms Lüth explained the work of the Committee in the year 1999 to the press, radio and TV.

In the year 1999 18,176 new petitions were brought to the Petitions Committee&#8217;s attention. The number of new petitions received raised slightly by 1,182 &#8211; 6,5 per cent more than in the previous year, stated Ms Lüth. 15,853 petitions were dealt with conclusively concerning mainly social matters in the field of statutory pension insurance, unemployment and statutory sickness insurance.

The figures show that the right of petition continues to occupy an important place in citizens&#8216; political awareness affairs. Parliament and Government are thus taking notice of lots of various problems declared to be urgent, concrete instances of maladministration and of the problems citizens have with the fulfilment of the content of law, emphased Ms Lüth. Nevertheless, all the parliamentary groups actively seek to use all the means and possibilities at the Committee&#8217;s disposal to support citizens in their concerns. By adopting resolutions in the plenary in line with the Committee&#8217;s recommendations the German Bundestag makes clear to the petitioners that the Petitions Committee is the right addressee for their concerns.

&#8220;The interest of petitioners for laws to be amended is unbroken, also. 7,521 requests for laws to be amended &#8211; 1,335 more than in the previous year, show, that the Petitions Committee is even the right addressee for their suggestions&#8220;, Ms Lüth stressed. Moreover, the number of complaints about the work of authorities &#8211; 10.500 in the year under review - emphasize that though there is a new Federal Government since fall 1998, there still is a need for more transparency, effectiveness and use of modern management methods of the public sector.

In the year 1999 1,388 collective petitions were addressed to the Committee, i.e. petitions submitted with lists of signatures, and numerous mass petitions, i.e. submissions concerning the same matter, the text of which is completely or largely identical. According to the Committee Chairwoman, these petitions mainly concerned the NATO&#8217;s war in Kosovo, statutory pension insurance scheme, restitution for National Socialist injustice, statutory closing time of shops and woman-specific reasons for asylum.

The number of petitions addressed to the Petitions Committee per million inhabitants varies considerably depending on the Land, or federal state. It ranges from 117 petitions in Bavaria to 504 in Thuringia, Ms Lüth said. With 579 submissions per million inhabitants, the inhabitants of Berlin still head the list.

Ms Lüth stated, that in 1999 on eleven occasions, the Petitions Committee had made use in a special way of the powers granted to it under the Law enacted pursuant to Article 45 c of the Badic Law; it conducted several hearings of representatives of the an Federal Government and inspected files of the government. The Petitions Committee ensures that the Federal government makes use, in the interest of continuous cooperation with Parliament, of all the means and possibilities at ist disposal as regards the petitions referred to it for it to take remedial action or to examine the matter again and consider ways of remedying the situation.

As special events in the year under review, Ms Lüth noted, a meeting of the chairpersons of the petitions committees at federal and Länder level in May 1999 in Dusseldorf an the 50th anniversary of the Petitions Committee which was celebrated in October 1999 in Berlin.

The Report on the work of the Petitions Committee has been published as Bundestag printed paper 14/3456 and copies (short version in English) may be requested, inter alia, from the Secretariat of the Petitions Committee, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin (e-mail: vorzimmer.peta(at)bundestag.de)

Germany, Petitionsausschuss Deutscher Bundestag

On Monday and Tuesday, 4 and 5 April 2000 a delegation of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament visited Berlin and Postdam in order to meet delegations of the Petitions Committees of the German Bundestag, the Abgeordnetenhaus Berlin and the Landtag Brandenburg. Headed by Chairman Nino Gemelli, the delegation of the European Parliament was in a position to attend meetings of the Petitions Committees in Berlin and have consultations about the right of petition at federal and Länder level in Germany. On this occasion, the delegation was shown how the committees deal with petitions and what differences there are in the organization, responsibilities and procedures of the Petitions Committees.

“There is no doubt that Petitions Committees are a right addressee for the concerns of the citizens“ stated the delegation of the European Parliament unanimously.
 

Petitions Committee: Work of the Petitions Committee occupies an important place in citizens‘ political awareness

For the second time in the 14th electoral term Ms Heidemarie LĂĽth, PDS, chairwoman of the Petitions Committee, presented the report on the work of the Petitions Committee in the year 1999 to Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse in Berlin. Together with a representative of each parliamentary group, Ms LĂĽth explained the work of the Committee in the year 1999 to the press, radio and TV.

In the year 1999 18,176 new petitions were brought to the Petitions Committee’s attention. The number of new petitions received raised slightly by 1,182 – 6,5 per cent more than in the previous year, stated Ms LĂĽth. 15,853 petitions were dealt with conclusively concerning mainly social matters in the field of statutory pension insurance, unemployment and statutory sickness insurance.

The figures show that the right of petition continues to occupy an important place in citizens‘ political awareness affairs. Parliament and Government are thus taking notice of lots of various problems declared to be urgent, concrete instances of maladministration and of the problems citizens have with the fulfilment of the content of law, emphased Ms LĂĽth. Nevertheless, all the parliamentary groups actively seek to use all the means and possibilities at the Committee’s disposal to support citizens in their concerns. By adopting resolutions in the plenary in line with the Committee’s recommendations the German Bundestag makes clear to the petitioners that the Petitions Committee is the right addressee for their concerns.

“The interest of petitioners for laws to be amended is unbroken, also. 7,521 requests for laws to be amended – 1,335 more than in the previous year, show, that the Petitions Committee is even the right addressee for their suggestions“, Ms LĂĽth stressed. Moreover, the number of complaints about the work of authorities – 10.500 in the year under review - emphasize that though there is a new Federal Government since fall 1998, there still is a need for more transparency, effectiveness and use of modern management methods of the public sector.

In the year 1999 1,388 collective petitions were addressed to the Committee, i.e. petitions submitted with lists of signatures, and numerous mass petitions, i.e. submissions concerning the same matter, the text of which is completely or largely identical. According to the Committee Chairwoman, these petitions mainly concerned the NATO’s war in Kosovo, statutory pension insurance scheme, restitution for National Socialist injustice, statutory closing time of shops and woman-specific reasons for asylum.

The number of petitions addressed to the Petitions Committee per million inhabitants varies considerably depending on the Land, or federal state. It ranges from 117 petitions in Bavaria to 504 in Thuringia, Ms LĂĽth said. With 579 submissions per million inhabitants, the inhabitants of Berlin still head the list.

Ms LĂĽth stated, that in 1999 on eleven occasions, the Petitions Committee had made use in a special way of the powers granted to it under the Law enacted pursuant to Article 45 c of the Badic Law; it conducted several hearings of representatives of the an Federal Government and inspected files of the government. The Petitions Committee ensures that the Federal government makes use, in the interest of continuous cooperation with Parliament, of all the means and possibilities at ist disposal as regards the petitions referred to it for it to take remedial action or to examine the matter again and consider ways of remedying the situation.

As special events in the year under review, Ms Lüth noted, a meeting of the chairpersons of the petitions committees at federal and Länder level in May 1999 in Dusseldorf an the 50th anniversary of the Petitions Committee which was celebrated in October 1999 in Berlin.

The Report on the work of the Petitions Committee has been published as Bundestag printed paper 14/3456 and copies (short version in English) may be requested, inter alia, from the Secretariat of the Petitions Committee, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin (e-mail: vorzimmer.peta(at)bundestag.de)