What is a petition?

In accordance with Article 17 of the German Constitution and Article16 of the Constitution of the Federal State of Hesse, everyone has the right, individually or as a group, to submit written requests or complaints to the competent office and to the representatives of the people.

In parliamentary language, a person who uses this right is called a petitioner. The request or complaint submitted by the petitioner is called a petition.

In order to ensure that petition law can be exercised without any bureaucratic obstacles, there are no special formal requirements or specifications for submitting a petition.

There are several ways of submitting a petition. The request can be sent to the State Parliament by post or fax or online through our homepage.

However, as laid down in Article 17 of the German Constitution, a petition must be submitted in writing, include the name and address of the petitioner and be signed by hand. If you submit an online petition - which, contrary to the above, does not require a written signature - you will receive a confirmation e-mail in the e-mail post box for the e-mail address given by you. The owner of this post box must click on the link contained in the mail; in this way you can prove that you are the petitioner. The data in the form is transferred using an encrypted connection for special protection.

Apart from personal data, the petition should include a very clear description of the matter that needs improving so that the Petition Committee has a clear picture of the issue.

Petition law, in which the supreme constitutional body of the nation gives everyone a chance to voice their concerns, is at the heart of the constitutional law that allows everyone the right to appeal to the representatives of the people with a request.

Suggestions or ideas may also be submitted. This means that citizens can make direct contributions to policy-making, control of the administration and in exceptional cases, even legislation - contributions that help the administration to be more flexible and citizen-friendly.

Anyone who applies to the Committee with a request or complaint can be sure that his or her petition will be examined objectively.

The meetings of the Petition Committee are fundamentally not open to the public in accordance with Sect. 89 (1) of the Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament of Hesse (GOHLT).

The petition files are kept secret and only members of the Committee are allowed access (Sect. 13 of the Directive on Classified Information of the State Parliament of Hesse, 1986).

The Chairperson of the Petition Committee reports regularly about the main areas of work of the Committee.

A petition can be sent in writing by post, fax or using the online form provided.