Monitored Alarm Systems

A recurring theme here on Techdirt is the persistent lack of transparency in the drafting of new laws or the negotiation of new treaties. Most governments seem to think they know better than the voters should not worry about all the boring details discussed in the secret negotiations between the racks, and that, since the public can see the result when all is finished, what's the problem?

However, the world of government is changing, largely as a result of movements that promote the opening of various types. In particular, efforts to promote open government and open data has important implications for transparency. The last event of the opening pressure is OpeningParliament.org ", a forum designed to help civil society organizations to connect in the world involved in the monitoring, support and openness of their country parliaments and legislative institutions ".

Here is more information about its objectives:

parliamentary watchdogs

(OMB) are working to create strong parliaments, open and accountable by enhancing citizen participation in the legislative process and bring Parliament of the citizens they represent. OpeningParliament.org provides a forum for international cooperation in efforts to improve access to parliamentary information and share experiences and best practices between the PMO. It is also the home of the Declaration on the opening of Parliament, a number of common principles of openness, transparency and accessibility of parliaments in development by the PMO of the international community.
Declaration
is quite long and extensive. Here is their stated goal:

Statement parliamentary transparency is a call to national parliaments and legislative bodies of sub-national and transnational civil society scrutiny (PMO) for a greater commitment to transparency and participation citizens in parliamentary work.



The Declaration includes a number of sections which deal explicitly with the transparency and the participation of:



2. Promote a culture of openness through Legislation

Parliament shall enact laws and internal rules of procedure and codes of behavior that promote environment to ensure the public's right to government information and parliamentary promoting a culture of open government, to ensure transparency of political financing, guarantees freedom of expression and assembly, and commitment to ensure civil society and citizens in the legislative process.

5. The participation of citizens and civil society




Parliament has a duty to actively involve citizens and civil society, without discrimination of parliamentary processes and decision-making, in order to effectively represent the interests of citizens and uphold the right of citizens to hold their government.