Quality criteria for HomeParliaments on openPetition

Voting question/main question

• The question relates to a specific parliamentary decision in the future or is intended to trigger a specific parliamentary decision on an issue that is already known to the public as an urgent matter.
• No suggestive or tendentious questioning.
• The question must be asked as a decision question that allows the answer to be agreement, disagreement or abstention.
• The results of the HomeParliament session are available before a parliamentary decision is made.

Balancing questions/sub-questions

• The main question must be divided into at least 3 specific sub-questions, each of which sheds light on different aspects of the voting question in order to give the debate more depth. The aspects should overlap as little as possible. Partial questions address the effects of the voting question on the areas of society, social affairs, economy, ethics and aesthetics.
• The sub-questions must be weighing questions for which a degree of agreement can be meaningfully indicated (scale 0-10). Sub-questions are evaluation questions that cannot be answered scientifically or objectively. They promote a differentiated, subjective assessment of the situation.
• No suggestive or tendentious questioning.

Background texts

• The background and initial situation of the claim are presented in a generally understandable manner. Even people who have not yet studied the topic in detail can understand the problem and proposed solutions.

addressee

• The recipients can be individual MPs, one or more parties, entire parliamentary groups or even non-partisan committees.
• The question is relevant for the addressees and they have the (co)decision-making authority about it.
• The addressees undertake to submit a public statement on the issue promptly after the HomeParliament session and to what extent they follow the results of the round or not and why.
• The voluntary commitment is documented in writing.
• The statement must be made in those groups in which you have committed to a statement (as an individual, parliamentary group, etc.).

Arguments

• The arguments provide scope for opinions from across the democratic, political spectrum.
• Pro and con arguments should be as balanced as possible. A one-sided distorted representation is not permitted.

Sources

• Sources must reflect the current generally accepted scientific consensus.
• The sources must be well-known and have a proven reputation and reputation in their field.
• Sources must be available in the languages of the HomeParliament.

Understandable language

• Texts are written in language that is as easy to understand as possible. If technical terms are used, they must be explained.
• Texts are available in languages spoken in the state(s) where the HomeParliament is held.

petitions

The quality criteria for petitions also apply to HomeParliaments.

Questioner

Use of the HomeParliament platform is free of charge provided that the questioners refer to openPetition and their role in the process in every report.

Status: February 2021