Participatory democracy: CNDH’s opinion on the right to petition and to table motions on legislative matters
The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) issued on Thursday, April 14, 2016, an opinion on the draft ‘organic’ laws relating to the right to petition and the right to table motions on legislative matters, upon request of the Parliament.
The President of the House of Councillors had refereed draft Organic Law # 64-14 on the right to table motions on legislative matters and draft Organic Law # 44-14 on the right to petition to the CNDH for advisory opinion, in implementation of a memorandum of understanding between the Council and the two houses of parliament, dated December 10, 2014.
The Council’s opinion includes 50 recommendations, aiming particularly at simplifying the procedure of tabling motions and petitions; reducing and further clarifying any terms to reject them; ensuring support to stakeholders who engage in these forms of participatory democracy, etc.
The Council’s advisory opinion builds on the Constitution and the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Inter-Parliamentary Union references. Its rational includes several fundamental elements, including complementarity between representative and participatory democracy, the need to simplify the terms and conditions to exercise the constitutional right to petition and to table motions on legislative matters, as guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
To draft its opinion, the CNDH has reviewed more than 40 comparative experiences, from democratic countries, in addition to the main memoranda of Moroccan public and civil society actors in this regard.
Summary of the Council's opinion [FR] Avis du CNDH sur les projets de lois organiques relatifs aux motions en matière législative et à l’exercice du droit de présentation des pétitions aux pouvoirs publics