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Petitionsausschuss Deutscher Bundestag

Petitions Committee: addressee for citizens' complaints and requests for legislation
Press Release (16 September 1999)

For the first time in the 14th electoral term Frau Heidemarie Lüth, PDS, the new chairwoman of the Petitions Committee, presented the report on the work of the Petitions Committee in the year 1998 to Bundestag President Thierse and, together with a representative of each parliamentary group, answered the questions asked by the press.
The matters brought to the Petitions Committee's attention concerned restitution for National Socialist injustice, aliens and asylum law, social matters such as pensions and unemployment as well as a large number of individual cases in many different legal fields.

Since Bundestag elections took place in the year under review, citizens stopped sending the usual number of petitions to the Committee shortly before the elections. Though the number of new petitions received dropped slightly, the total number of petitions dealt with conclusively in 1998 - 21,237 - was higher than in the previous year.

"This shows that the right of petition continues to occupy an important place in citizens' political awareness," Frau Lüth emphasized and expressed her regret that the Committee had been reduced in size in the 14th electoral term. 29 committee members now had to cope with the same heavy workload as the 31 Members appointed in the previous electoral term. Nevertheless, all the parliamentary groups actively seek, she said, to use all the means and possibilities at the Committee's disposal to support citizens in their concerns. The German Bundestag shows its respect for their commitment, she continued, by adopting resolutions in the plenary in line with the Committee's recommendations; this makes it clear to petitioners that the Petitions Committee is the right addressee for their concerns.

"There continue to be vocal calls from petitioners for laws to be amended, people know what they are talking about," Frau Lüth stressed and pointed out the 6,186 requests concerning legislation in which citizens had submitted to Parliament proposals for introducing or amending legal provisions. Moreover, over 10,000 complaints about the work of authorities were received in the year under review, a remarkable number.

In 1998 the Petitions Committee received 1,143 collective petitions, 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 statutory sickness insurance scheme, the statutory pension insurance scheme, restitution for National Socialist injustice, and questions relating to animal welfare and environmental protection.

The number of petitions addressed to the Petitions committee per million inhabitants varies considerably depending on the Land, or federal state. It ranges from 114 petitions in Bavaria to 467 in Thuringia, Frau Lüth explained. With 468 submissions per million inhabitants, the inhabitants of Berlin, which heads the list, submit only slightly more petitions than the Thuringians.

The Committee Chairwoman stated that, on ten occasions in the period under review, the Committee had made use in a special way of the powers granted to it under the Law enacted pursuant to Article 45c of the Basic Law; it conducted seven hearings of representatives of the government, visited premises on two occasions and inspected files of the Federal Government. Though the decisions of the plenary taken on the basis of the recommendations of the Petitions Committee are not binding on the Federal Government, she continued, the Petitions Committee ensures that the Federal Government makes use, in the interest of fruitful cooperation with Parliament, of all the means and possibilities at its 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. In this respect the Federal Government's record at the beginning of the 14th electoral term was particularly good, she said.

The report on the work of the Petitions Committee has been published as Bundestag printed paper 14/1390 and copies may be requested, inter alia, from the Secretariat of the Petitions Committee, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin.

Petitionsausschuss Deutscher Bundestag

Petitions Committee: addressee for citizens' complaints and requests for legislation
Press Release (16 September 1999)

For the first time in the 14th electoral term Frau Heidemarie LĂĽth, PDS, the new chairwoman of the Petitions Committee, presented the report on the work of the Petitions Committee in the year 1998 to Bundestag President Thierse and, together with a representative of each parliamentary group, answered the questions asked by the press.
The matters brought to the Petitions Committee's attention concerned restitution for National Socialist injustice, aliens and asylum law, social matters such as pensions and unemployment as well as a large number of individual cases in many different legal fields.

Since Bundestag elections took place in the year under review, citizens stopped sending the usual number of petitions to the Committee shortly before the elections. Though the number of new petitions received dropped slightly, the total number of petitions dealt with conclusively in 1998 - 21,237 - was higher than in the previous year.

"This shows that the right of petition continues to occupy an important place in citizens' political awareness," Frau LĂĽth emphasized and expressed her regret that the Committee had been reduced in size in the 14th electoral term. 29 committee members now had to cope with the same heavy workload as the 31 Members appointed in the previous electoral term. Nevertheless, all the parliamentary groups actively seek, she said, to use all the means and possibilities at the Committee's disposal to support citizens in their concerns. The German Bundestag shows its respect for their commitment, she continued, by adopting resolutions in the plenary in line with the Committee's recommendations; this makes it clear to petitioners that the Petitions Committee is the right addressee for their concerns.

"There continue to be vocal calls from petitioners for laws to be amended, people know what they are talking about," Frau LĂĽth stressed and pointed out the 6,186 requests concerning legislation in which citizens had submitted to Parliament proposals for introducing or amending legal provisions. Moreover, over 10,000 complaints about the work of authorities were received in the year under review, a remarkable number.

In 1998 the Petitions Committee received 1,143 collective petitions, 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 statutory sickness insurance scheme, the statutory pension insurance scheme, restitution for National Socialist injustice, and questions relating to animal welfare and environmental protection.

The number of petitions addressed to the Petitions committee per million inhabitants varies considerably depending on the Land, or federal state. It ranges from 114 petitions in Bavaria to 467 in Thuringia, Frau LĂĽth explained. With 468 submissions per million inhabitants, the inhabitants of Berlin, which heads the list, submit only slightly more petitions than the Thuringians.

The Committee Chairwoman stated that, on ten occasions in the period under review, the Committee had made use in a special way of the powers granted to it under the Law enacted pursuant to Article 45c of the Basic Law; it conducted seven hearings of representatives of the government, visited premises on two occasions and inspected files of the Federal Government. Though the decisions of the plenary taken on the basis of the recommendations of the Petitions Committee are not binding on the Federal Government, she continued, the Petitions Committee ensures that the Federal Government makes use, in the interest of fruitful cooperation with Parliament, of all the means and possibilities at its 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. In this respect the Federal Government's record at the beginning of the 14th electoral term was particularly good, she said.

The report on the work of the Petitions Committee has been published as Bundestag printed paper 14/1390 and copies may be requested, inter alia, from the Secretariat of the Petitions Committee, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin.