Equality by lot

Sénat Citoyen is a French organization whose manifesto offers the following principle:

For every authority, government or elected assembly, there must exist an allotted citizen assembly which monitors, creates proposals and controls this authority.

Citizens’ Assemblies is a book by the Polish activist Marcin Gerwin which he describes as “a step-by-step presentation of how to organise a citizens’ assembly, with the primary focus on the city level”. It is available online for free in 6 languages.

On the website Gerwin lists “Basic standards for organizing citizens’ assemblies”, which are:

1. Random selection of participants
2. Demographic representation
3. Independent coordination
4. Citizens’ assembly can invite experts
5. Inclusion of a widest practical range of perspectives
6. Inviting all stakeholders
7. Deliberation
8. Openness
9. Sufficient time for reflection
10. Impact
11. Transparency
12. Visibility

Filed under: Elections, Proposals, Sortition |