From E-Parliament Wiki

For version 2 go to: Section 1: General Information about Parliament

[back]

Please enter your comments directly in the Wiki version below. You must be logged on and click on “Edit” to add text. When you are done, please send a brief email to the entire group to let them know you have added comments. Alternatively, you may download the Word version, add your comments and send them to me. I will then add them to the Wiki version. Instructions for formatting your comments are at the beginning of both versions of the document. 

[word version]

Contents 1 1. CONTENT: GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT PARLIAMENT 1.1 1.1 Access to parliament 1.2 1.2 History and role 1.3 1.3 Functions, composition, and activities 1.4 1.4 Elected leaders and officials 1.5 1.5 Parliamentary committees, commissions, and other non-plenary bodies 1.6 1.6 Members of parliament 1.7 1.7 Political parties in parliament 1.8 1.8 Elections and electoral systems 1.9 1.9 Administration of parliament 1.10 1.10 Publications, documents, and information services 1.11 1.11 General links to websites 1.12 1.12 Bicameral legislatures

1. CONTENT: GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT PARLIAMENT

1.1 Access to parliament

A. Information about access to the parliamentary building, such as visitors’ centre, guided tours, educational visits, visiting hours, access to plenary sessions and information services open to the public

B. Diagram of seating arrangements in the plenary and other official meeting rooms

[JCG: Added “other official meeting rooms”]

C. Virtual ‘Guided tour’ of the parliamentary building

D. Page (printed and online) explaining the organization of the website

1.2 History and role

A. Brief history of the parliament

B. Description of the role and legal responsibilities of the national legislature.

[JCG: Added new 1.2.B]

1.3 Functions, composition, and activities

A. Overview of composition and functions of the national parliament and its constituent bodies, including a description of the specific role of each parliamentary chamber (for bicameral parliaments) and non-plenary bodies (committees, commissions, etc.), understandable to a variety of audiences.

[JCG: Added phrase “understandable to a variety of audiences”

B. Overview of parliamentary procedure and routine order of business

C. Full text of the Standing Orders, Rules of Procedure or similar rule-setting documents

D. Text of the country’s Constitution

E. List of international and regional parliamentary assemblies of which the parliament is a member

F. Statistics on the activities of the current and previous parliaments, such as the number of bills considered, number of committee hearings and meetings held, scrutiny instruments employed, hours of plenary debate, etc.

[JCG: Added “scrutiny instruments”]

G. Texts of official press releases of the parliament

H. Organizational chart of parliament

[RC: I think that this is ambiguous. I  presume it means some sort of diagram of how business is conducted or plenary, commitetes, praesidium etc realte to each other, rtaher than the administrative organisation, as the latter is covered in 1.9A. But, if that is the case,  I wonder if we need to be more specific about what is being sought here]

1.4 Elected leaders and officials

A. Biodata and picture of the current and previous Presiding Officers of the parliament or parliamentary chamber

B. Brief description of the Presiding Officer’s powers and prerogatives

C. Names of Deputy- and/or Vice-Presidents

1.5 Parliamentary committees, commissions, and other non-plenary bodies

[JCG: Changed order of some items]

A. Complete list of non-plenary parliamentary bodies with link to website of each body.

[JCG: Added “link to website”]

B. Description of the mandate and terms of reference of each body.

C. Description of the activity carried out by the body since the beginning of the mandate

D. Membership and names of presiding officer(s) of each body

E. Contact information (addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail) of each body

G. Selection of links to websites relevant to the field of activity of the non-plenary body

F. Composition and other relevant current and historical information concerning the National IPU Group, parliamentary friendship groups as well as national delegations to international and regional parliamentary assemblies of which the parliament is a member.

[RC: 'and' rather than 'as well as'?.  And NB F and G are the wrong way round!]

1.6 Members of parliament

A. Up-to-date list of all current members of Parliament with publicly available biodata and photo; information about each MP’s constituency, party affiliation, membership in parliamentary committees and/or commissions, and link to personal website

[JCG: To address the security and privacy concerns, this guideline refers to information that is “publicly available”]

B. Description of representative duties and functions of members

[JCG: Added 1.6.B]

C. List with biodata of previous members of Parliament with dates served.

D. Contact information for each member of parliament including his or her e-mail address.

E. Activities of individual members of parliament, such as legislative proposals, questions, interpellations, motions, political declarations, voting record, etc.

F. Basic information concerning the status of a member of parliament, such as parliamentary immunity, inviolability, salaries and allowances, etc.

G. Statistical data (current and historical) on MPs (gender, age, education, job, etc.)

1.7 Political parties in parliament

[JCG: Added this new section on parties in response to the general consensus of comments received]

A. List of all political parties represented in parliament

B. Link to each party’s website

1.8 Elections and electoral systems

A. Explanation of the election procedure (voting system, electoral divisions/constituencies, who votes, who can be elected, nomination requirements, who conducts the election, etc.)

B. Link to the electoral commission

C. Results of the last elections by party affiliation and constituency

D. Current composition of party groups and coalitions

E. Results of previous elections

[JCG: Moved reference to Party websites to 1.7 above]

1.9 Administration of parliament

A. Diagram/organization chart and functions of the Secretariat of Parliament together with the names of, and other relevant information about, the Secretary General/Clerk of Parliament and other heads of bureaus

B. General descriptions of jobs in the legislature; a list of current vacancies; and details of how to apply.

[JCG: Added and enhanced ‘B’ based on comments received]

1.10 Publications, documents, and information services

[JCG: Added “information services”]

A. Description of the types and purposes of parliamentary publications and documents

B. Information about how and where to obtain parliamentary publications and documentation either directly through the website or through other means if not available online.

C. Information about parliamentary library, archive, and information services.

[JCG: Added ‘C’ based on comments received]

1.11 General links to websites

A. Presidency, Government, Constitutional and Supreme Courts

B. Ministries and other national agencies

C. State/provincial legislatures

D. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

E. Other international, regional, and sub-regional parliamentary organizations

F. National parliaments of other countries

G. Other links of interest to parliament as the people’s representative body

[JCG: Dropped “National Press”]

1.12 Bicameral legislatures

[JCG: Added this section based on discussion in Principles and Issue]

A. A single page that introduces citizens to both chambers with links to the websites of each

B. A prominent link on the websites of each individual chamber to the website of the other.

C. Information that explains the legislative and oversight responsibilities and procedures of both chambers.

D. Status reports from both chambers regarding documents and events requiring joint action.

[RC: I am not sure what this means - sorry]