Asia
  • Citizen engagement in South Korea

The Korean National Assembly has a long-standing practice of receiving and addressing public petitions, dating back to the Petition Act of 1961 and the revision of the National Assembly Act in 1988. To further enhance this tradition, it introduced the Sinmungo e-petition platform in 2020. Petitions that receive over 100 signatures within 30 days are published, while petitions with over 100,000 signatures in less than 30 days are referred to a special committee.

The National Assembly’s Petitions Support Center manages all e-petitions and has so far seen 18 petitions referred to the special committee. The adopted petitions, along with an “opinion report,” are then forwarded to the government. Post which, any further steps taken by the government concerning the petition are reported to the National Assembly.

  • Post-Legislative Scrutiny in India

The Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), also known as the House of Representatives, is made up of elected members from political parties participating in general elections. It has effectively integrated a systematic Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) into its committee. The findings from the PLS play a crucial role in determining the legislative agenda and deciding the need for repeal or amendment of specific laws.

The House of Representatives is well-equipped with each committee assisted by 10 to 20 specialists. The significance of PLS was formalised in the legislative process with the amendment of the law in September 2019.

  •  Technology-driven Parliament in Bahrain

The Shura Council of Bahrain faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic as it sought to transition its operations online, including remote work, virtual committees and plenary sessions, and online voting. In response, the council focused on four technological advancements: migrating to the cloud, enhancing member support, promoting mobility, and reinforcing cybersecurity.

 AI-powered solutions were developed, including speech-to-text for legislative reporting in the Bahraini dialect, live captioning of online video content, and a document search chatbot. In 2022, a comprehensive five-year plan was created to utilise AI applications in services and procedures. Furthermore, the Council plans to bring on board AI experts within parliament to drive these advancements forward.

Asia
  • Post-Legislative Scrutiny in India

The Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), also known as the House of Representatives, is made up of elected members from political parties participating in general elections. It has effectively integrated a systematic Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) into its committee. The findings from the PLS play a crucial role in determining the legislative agenda and deciding the need for repeal or amendment of specific laws.

The House of Representatives is well-equipped with each committee assisted by 10 to 20 specialists. The significance of PLS was formalised in the legislative process with the amendment of the law in September 2019.

  • Citizen engagement in South Korea

The Korean National Assembly has a long-standing practice of receiving and addressing public petitions, dating back to the Petition Act of 1961 and the revision of the National Assembly Act in 1988. To further enhance this tradition, it introduced the Sinmungo e-petition platform in 2020. Petitions that receive over 100 signatures within 30 days are published, while petitions with over 100,000 signatures in less than 30 days are referred to a special committee.

The National Assembly’s Petitions Support Center manages all e-petitions and has so far seen 18 petitions referred to the special committee. The adopted petitions, along with an “opinion report,” are then forwarded to the government. Post which, any further steps taken by the government concerning the petition are reported to the National Assembly.

  •  Technology-driven Parliament in Bahrain

The Shura Council of Bahrain faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic as it sought to transition its operations online, including remote work, virtual committees and plenary sessions, and online voting. In response, the council focused on four technological advancements: migrating to the cloud, enhancing member support, promoting mobility, and reinforcing cybersecurity.

 AI-powered solutions were developed, including speech-to-text for legislative reporting in the Bahraini dialect, live captioning of online video content, and a document search chatbot. In 2022, a comprehensive five-year plan was created to utilise AI applications in services and procedures. Furthermore, the Council plans to bring on board AI experts within parliament to drive these advancements forward.

Europe
  • Artificial Intelligence to manage Amendments in Italy

The Italian Senate uses an electronic submission system for amendments. The process of managing amendments can become cumbersome, particularly during prolonged debates, leading to spikes in workload for Senate staff.

The IT Department of the Italian Senate has implemented an AI-powered amendment management system to alleviate this burden. It employs text clustering algorithms to detect clusters of similar modifications quickly. The Senate is also exploring the potential to identify related laws that may be impacted by the amendments and to find both textual and semantic similarities.

  • Monitoring Parliamentary affairs in Austria

The EULE Media Monitor is a comprehensive monitoring tool created by the Austrian Parliamentary Administration to provide updated information to parliamentarians in an accessible format. It is managed by the Parliamentary staff, which curates and visualises content relevant to legislators. The EULE Media Monitor helps MPs save time and resources while staying informed by analysing social media, news, and expert research across multiple policy areas.

Africa
  • Evidence-based policymaking in Kenya

The Kenyan Parliament established the Parliamentary Caucus on Evidence-Informed Oversight and Decision-Making (PC-EIDM) in 2015 to advance Kenya’s development goals. It is a non-partisan caucus comprised of representatives from both the National Assembly and Senate. PC-EIDM encourages lawmakers to utilise evidence in their decision-making processes to enhance accountability and oversight.

Evidence-based decision-making has allowed for a more efficient allocation of resources and minimised waste.

  • Citizen engagement in Zambia

The National Assembly of Zambia embraced modern communication to improve engagement with citizens. To make parliamentary information accessible, the Parliamentary proceedings are streamed live during sessions, and viewers are encouraged to participate in the “Parliamentary Business Update.” Experts respond to questions during the live broadcast, or the next day if more research is needed. Another service that allows citizens to engage with their leaders is “Know Your MP”, which encourages asking the MPs questions directly.

The Assembly aims to stay updated with social media by expanding to Facebook and hosting Question & Answer sessions, subject to staffing and policy considerations.

  • Gender-Inclusive Parliament in Sierra Leone

The Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act, signed by President Julius Maada Bio on January 19, 2023, seeks to address gender inequality in Sierra Leone. The law mandates that a minimum of 30% of parliamentarians, government officials, local councils, diplomats, and civil servants be women. It also mandates that private sector companies with 25 or more employees must have at least 30% female representation. The act extends maternity leave from 12 to 14 weeks and is viewed as a crucial step towards improving the status of women in the country. Currently, only 12.33% of MPs in Sierra Leone are women, making this law a significant legislative intervention towards gender equality.

North America
  • Public participation in budget-making in Canada

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance takes an active role in shaping the national budget by conducting pre-budget consultations. This process, initiated in 1993, aims to gather public feedback and insights on the upcoming budget. The committee issues a formal press release to announce the start of the consultation period, inviting Canadians to share their thoughts on targeted topics. The statements given by witnesses during in-person and online consultations are documented and made accessible on the committee’s website, along with a summary of written submissions. The consultation period lasts for a considerable time frame, with online consultations open for 60 days and in-person open for at least two weeks.

South America
  • Virtual Congress in Chile

The Chilean National Congress established the Virtual Congress, an innovative platform for public engagement, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank. The parliamentary administration uploads draft legislation and other topics in plain language for public consultation.

Over the first half of 2022, 25 draft laws and 7 questions were posed for public input. With more than 150,000 registered users, it collects and summarizes citizens’ responses and recommendations. The reports are then shared with participants, Members of Parliament, and the public through online channels.