Future of democracy: strengthening democratic institutions
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text adopted by
the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 25
November 2003 (see Doc.
9951, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur:
Mr Wielowieyski).
1. Parliamentary democracy is one
of the values that are the basis of, and reason for, the Council
of Europe’s work towards greater European unity. By reaffirming
their devotion to the ideals and values that are the common heritage
of their peoples and the true source of individual freedom, political
liberty and the rule of law - principles which form the basis of
all genuine democracy - all member states have committed themselves under
the Statute of the Council of Europe to guaranteeing free and pluralist
parliamentary democracy.
2. The fundamental principles of democratic participation of
everyone in decision-making have been enshrined by the Council of
Europe in a number of legal and political instruments, which form
a common set of standards on democracy for Europe as a whole.
3. It is the strong conviction of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe that, in accordance with its aims and values,
the Council of Europe should develop further these standards as
well as the means of implementation by national governments and
parliaments throughout Europe.
4. The Assembly affirms that the low and decreasing participation
of citizens in public life, and particularly elections, together
with the decline of trust in politicians, political parties and,
above all, democratic elections, requires a new definition of the
essence of democracy with regard to new challenges of the twenty-first
century.
5. The Assembly stresses the need for further efforts to be undertaken
by the Council of Europe and member states for the strengthening
of democratic institutions at national, regional and local level,
in order to avoid current challenges rendering representative democracy
more fragile, although it is the sole political system which guarantees
that a state is governed by the rule of law and respects the fundamental
rights and freedoms of everyone.
6. The Assembly is convinced that a feeling of disenfranchisement
from political decision-making will grow in the countries where
an active parliamentary dimension is lacking, whether at national
or international level. The growing globalisation of trade, economies
and financial markets poses challenges to national governments and
parliaments which are beyond their control through national law
and policies, provoking a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty
within society, and requiring the reinforced multilateral co-operation
of states. Therefore, the Assembly reiterates that the interparliamentary
dimension in such co-operation is an essential requirement for bringing
international decision-making closer to the citizen and for broad
democratic legitimacy, as expressed in its Resolution 1289 (2002)
on parliamentary scrutiny of international institutions.
7. The Assembly believes that, where the parliamentary process
of dealing with important political disputes is not functioning
or is perceived as not functioning, those disputes tend to cause
public disregard for parliamentary democracy as well as political
extremism, or even violence. Such failures of parliamentary functioning
may be avoided by including conciliatory processes and constructive
elements in internal parliamentary procedures, both at local and
regional level. These conciliatory processes will be impossible
to put into place without the active support of a strong network
of civil society organisations.
8. The Assembly is conscious that participation in elections
at local, regional and national levels in several member states
is often characterised by relatively low turnouts and considers
this as alarming, although abstentions in elections may also be
conscious expressions of a popular will. It also regards the low
active participation of young people in political parties and democratic
institutions as a challenge for parliamentary democracy.
9. The Assembly is convinced that people’s identifying with political
processes may be enhanced by greater openness; the introduction
of more direct elements of democratic decision-making; and the development
of civil society based on an increasing role for citizen participation
in social activities and democratic decision-making. However, more
direct popular participation requires citizens to be adequately informed
about those matters to be decided upon, as well as about the democratic
decision-making process in general. In this context, the Assembly
believes that the Council of Europe should reinforce its activities
on education for democratic citizenship.
10. The Assembly notes the possibilities offered by the new communications
technologies for greater participation of everyone in democratic
debates and decision-making processes. The experiences of several member
states may provide useful guidance in this respect, and the Assembly
thus welcomes the work currently undertaken by the Council of Europe
on standards concerning electronic voting, governance and democracy.
11. The Assembly also emphasises the need to take all necessary
measures for the full civic participation in democratic decision-making
by people with disabilities or special needs, and welcomes the initiatives
identified by the Second European Conference of Ministers responsible
for Integration Policies for People with Disabilities, held in Malaga
on 7 and 8 May 2003.
12. The Assembly considers that political parties – in spite of
their sometimes diminishing numbers of members – are a vital element
of parliamentary work, since they contribute to the transparency,
stability and accountability of political activities and decision-making
by formulating, promoting and channelling political ideas. This
privileged position of political parties should require from them
and their members a high degree of openness, transparency, stability
and accountability. In addition, political parties should also be
open to civil society organisations dealing with democratic standards.
The essential task of democratic political parties should be not
only to participate in the electoral process and the control of
government, but equally to stimulate the development of the role
of civil society and citizens’ actions.
13. The Assembly stresses the necessity for a democratic system
of mutual control and the separation of powers between public authorities.
The system of checks and balances is indispensable for achieving
public confidence in the functioning of democratic institutions.
The Assembly recalls in this context also the role of the media
as a public watchdog, hence requiring free and pluralist media as
a platform for a public political debate, as well as ethical professional
standards of journalists. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen
the legal protection of the political independence of the media.
14. The Assembly reaffirms the importance of combating corruption
in all sectors of society including parliaments, where even individual
cases of corruption can undermine the credibility of democratic
decision-making processes as a whole. In this respect, the Assembly
stresses the usefulness of action taken under the Council of Europe’s
Agreement establishing the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO),
and resolves to strengthen its own monitoring work in this field.
15. The Assembly resolves to support an active discussion of the
current challenges faced by democratic institutions in Europe and
to promote measures which may strengthen democratic institutions
at national, regional and local levels. Where this has not yet been
achieved to an adequate extent, the Assembly calls on its members
and Observers to consider ensuring:
a greater
accessibility and openness of the democratic decision-making processes
by:
15.1.1 introducing or, where
it already exists, facilitating distance voting for citizens in
national, regional or local elections, including by electronic means;
15.1.2 introducing the notion of a civic obligation to vote in
democratic elections, in particular by raising awareness of the
experience of states with a legal obligation to vote;
15.1.3 considering more direct elements of democratic decision-making,
such as popular initiatives and referendums, in particular at local
level, as a means of increasing the public’s identifying with political
decisions thus taken;
15.1.4 providing for the possibility for members of the public
to submit petitions to parliamentary and other representative bodies
and members of the executive branch, and by introducing concrete
results of civic action into education programmes;
15.1.5 introducing the possibility of consulting specialists
in the context of parliamentary and governmental work, for instance
for local authorities, non-governmental organisations, professional
associations, youth associations and the public at large;
15.1.6 introducing measures to increase the active participation
of young people in political parties and democratic institutions;
15.1.7 introducing measures to increase equal participation of
men and women in political parties and democratic institutions;
b greater openness and transparency of political decision-makers
and decision-making bodies by:
15.2.1 making
publicly available the programmes and political positions of political
parties;
15.2.2 broadcasting parliamentary debates of public concern,
including parliamentary votes;
15.2.3 providing access to information about the income and property
interests of parliamentarians and members of government while they
are exercising their public functions;
15.2.4 providing mechanisms of transparent and democratic decision-making
within political parties;
c greater accountability of political decision makers and
decision-making bodies by:
15.3.1 introducing
the possibility of direct election of parliamentarians, which would
allow voting for open lists of candidates rather than solely through
closed party lists proposed by parties themselves, which allow only
for a vote for a particular party;
15.3.2 providing for the possibility of parliamentary investigations
into the misconduct of parliamentary bodies, members of parliament
and senior government officials, in particular through investigation
commissions;
15.3.3 defining rules concerning situations of conflict of interest,
the incompatibility of public and private functions of parliamentarians,
and the accumulation of political mandates;
15.3.4 defining adequate and proportional national rules on the
immunity of parliamentarians;
d stronger constructive and conciliatory elements in parliamentary
decision-making processes by:
15.4.1 providing
for possibilities to create conciliatory commissions on matters
of public concern which are the object of a dispute between the
political parties, local and national authorities, or representative
and executive bodies;
15.4.2 providing for such conciliatory measures, particularly
where parliamentary voting rules allow for the right of veto to
block parliamentary action;
e greater accountability of the executive branch of government
to parliament by:
15.5.1 providing
for the possibility of a parliamentary vote of no confidence against
the head of government;
15.5.2 providing parliament with the possibility of subjecting
ministries and bodies of the executive branch of government to scrutiny.
