Petitions Committee at House of Representatives Discusses the Amendment of the Two Organic Laws on Submitting Motions and Petitions

The Petitions Committee at the House of Representatives held a meeting on Monday, June 15^th, 2020, under the chairmanship of Committee's Chairperson Rachid El Abdi. The meeting discussed the amendment of Organic Laws 64.14 and 44.14 relative to the submission of motions on legislation and petitions.

The Committee's Chairperson initiated the meeting by wishing His Majesty King Mohammed VI full and quick recovery. In his opening statement, the Chairperson stated that "this meeting is part of launching the project to amend the Rules of Procedure of the House, which incited the Committee to engage actively in enriching the discussion through special proposals to contribute to the elaboration of a novel conception of the Rules of Procedure." Mr. El Abdi added that "following the creation of a committee to examine the proposed amendments by the House's Board, the Committee engaged in this project considering its expertise and openness on the experiences of friendly countries."

Among the observations raised in the previous meeting was the difficulty of owning and exercising this democratic mechanism, considering the high number of signatures, and the imperative to check the signatories' identities, which strictly limits the efficiency of this mechanism.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee members, the meeting was an occasion to give a detailed presentation on the suggestions of the Petitions Committee and to discuss and consult about them before handing in the work record.

Besides, Mr. El Abdi presented in his statement "the Committee contributions, involving the symposiums organized by the House of Representatives and the Petitions Committee to evaluate the progress of participatory democracy, the operational and actual experience, the field visits, the national contributions like the recommendations issued under the National Dialogue on Civil Society, which provide a ground and framework for the Committee to present its reading of the review and amendment of the two organic laws on petitions and motions." Mr. El Abdi also presented "the opinions of the National Human Rights Council, and those of a group of university professors, researchers, and interested parties."

The work of the Committee revolves around the structuring of the law and its basic concepts, the examination of the conditions and elements that form the basis for motions and petitions, and the development of their operational outcomes when addressing them.

At the level of structuring, the Chairperson presented seven main recommendations, including the merging of the two organic laws into a single one, verifying the nature of the petition and motion, canceling the exclusion of organic laws from motions, decreasing the requirements of motions and petitions, extending the competences of the Petitions Committee, establishing a legal framework for the electronic platform, and the presentation and discussion of the Committee’s record in plenary sittings.

As for developing the operational outcomes when addressing the motions and petitions, which aims to create a tangible impact for these mechanisms, the Committee members recommended an online follow-up of the outcome of the petition and the process of addressing it. Also, they suggested hearing the petitioners by the Committee and ensuring their presence in the plenary sittings or the meetings of the competent committee, allowing all deputies to adopt the motion via a parliamentary bill that should not be limited to the members of the committee to whom the motion was referred. The participants also suggested enabling one or several deputies to adopt a petition and advocate it before the House.

In the discussion following the presentation, the Committee members, representing majority and opposition groups, agreed on the importance of renewing the process of communication with citizens through improving this mechanism, which will give new impetus to the works of the Committee. They also highlighted the low number of digitally submitted motions, which entails simplifying the procedure by adopting it in the amended Rules of Procedure. Regarding some of the previously mentioned impediments, the Committee members stated that they are related to some procedures like identity check and coordination with institutions. Besides, they suggested extending the competences of the Committee to surpass its mere consultative role via upgrading and digitizing the instruments of participatory democracy in alignment with the 2011 Constitution.