Resolution
1353 (2003)1
Future of democracy: strengthening democratic institutions
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:
i. introducing or, where it already
exists, facilitating distance voting for citizens in national, regional or
local elections, including by electronic means;
ii. 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;
iii. 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;
iv. 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;
v. 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;
vi. introducing measures to increase the
active participation of young people in political parties and democratic
institutions;
vii. 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:
i. making publicly available the
programmes and political positions of political parties;
ii. broadcasting parliamentary debates
of public concern, including parliamentary votes;
iii. providing access to information
about the income and property interests of parliamentarians and members of
government while they are exercising their public functions;
iv. providing mechanisms of transparent
and democratic decision-making within political parties;
c. greater accountability of political
decision makers and decision-making bodies by:
i. 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;
ii. 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;
iii. defining rules concerning
situations of conflict of interest, the incompatibility of public and
private functions of parliamentarians, and the accumulation of political
mandates;
iv. defining adequate and proportional
national rules on the immunity of parliamentarians;
d. stronger constructive and conciliatory
elements in parliamentary decision-making processes by:
i. 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;
ii. 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:
i. providing for the possibility of a
parliamentary vote of no confidence against the head of government;
ii. providing parliament with the
possibility of subjecting ministries and bodies of the executive branch of
government to scrutiny.
1.
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).
