PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

A parliament that is open and transparent I 43
3. A parliament that is open
and transparent
For a parliament to be ‘open’ means, most obviously, that its proceedings
are physically open to the public. This is not always straightforward in
an age when the security of public figures is a pressing concern. Yet many
parliaments have found it possible to strike a balance between openness and
security, in such a way that parliament is manifestly seen to belong to the
people as a whole, and not just to its members. In a number of countries, such
as South Africa, it is a constitutional requirement that the public must have
reasonable physical access to parliament.
In practice, of course, most people are unable to visit parliament in person.
For parliamentary proceedings to be open to the public, therefore, means in
effect being open to the press and broadcasting personnel who act as the ‘eyes
and ears’ of the public as a whole. The first part of this chapter will look at
ways in which parliaments can facilitate journalists and the media in reporting
their proceedings, and will consider issues such as access, freedom of
information, freedom of expression and media regulation, all of which can
contribute to a better informed citizenry.
Informing citizens about the work of parliament is not just a concern for
independent media, however, but is a responsibility of parliaments themselves.
Over the past few years, parliaments everywhere have been making
strenuous efforts to inform and educate the public about their activities, and to
engage their interest and attention. In this they have been helped by the rapid
development of new forms of communication such as the Internet, which also
facilitates an interactive relationship between representatives and citizens
rather than just a one-way communication. From this point of view the division
of the Guide into separate chapters, dealing with the transparency and
accessibility of parliaments respectively, may seem somewhat artificial.
However, it will be convenient to distinguish them in the interests of more
thorough treatment. Citizens cannot hope to influence parliaments unless they
are first fully informed about what they are doing; neither will they be able to
hold their representatives properly to account (see chapter 5). So the second
half of the chapter will review parliaments’ own efforts to inform and engage
with the public, and the different ways in which they seek to do so.