Commissions délibératives : tout savoir sur ce modèle de participation réunissant élus et citoyens

Deliberative committees are a mixed model of citizen participation, initiated in Belgium, in which parliamentarians and citizens chosen by lot deliberate to produce recommendations on a given subject.

Deliberative committees have been set up in various assemblies in Belgium:

.In December 2019 at the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, and at the Brussels French-speaking Parliament (COCOF).

.In October 2020, the Walloon Parliament adopted the possibility of organising deliberative committees. However, the first Walloon deliberative committee will not be held until October 2023.

.In January 2024, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment to its rules allowing the organisation of « joint committees » bringing together MPs and citizens on the model of the Deliberative Committees. No joint committee has yet been set up in the House of Representatives.

Deliberative committees are, in a way, incorporated into the ordinary activities of parliaments, alongside traditional parliamentary committees. Members of parliament have voted to set them up, and their operation is enshrined in the rules of procedure of the assemblies that use them.

Deliberative committees can be initiated either by members of parliament or by citizens through petitions. The threshold of signatures required is relatively low: 1,000 for the Brussels deliberative committees and 2,000 for the Walloon deliberative committees, which gives the public a certain power to set the agenda.

The subject submitted by way of petition must meet a number of acceptability criteria: in particular, Parliament may exclude proposals that are manifestly rude or offensive, those that do not fall within its remit or that would infringe fundamental rights. Once this has been checked, a deliberative committee is launched.

Deliberative committees are made up of three quarters of citizens chosen by lot and one quarter of elected representatives. The exact number varies according to the assemblies concerned and their size:

.In the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region, the deliberative committees are made up of 15 members of parliament and 45 citizens.

.At the Brussels French-speaking parliament (COCOF), the deliberative committees are made up of 12 members of parliament and 36 citizens.

.At the Walloon Parliament, the deliberative committees are made up of 10 MPs and 30 citizens.

Citizens are selected by lot to reflect the diversity of the population, according to age, gender, level of education and geographical distribution. In Brussels, an officially bilingual region, the language criterion is also taken into account and the drawing of lots extends beyond the electorate to include people over 16 and foreign residents.

The parliamentary members of a deliberative committee reflect the balance of political groups within the assembly in question. For example, the first Walloon deliberative committee involved 3 PS MPs, 3 MR MPs, 2 Écolo MPs, 1 Les engagés MP and 1 PTB MP, in accordance with the proportion of these political groups within the assembly.

In theory, the parliamentarians taking part in the deliberative committees are the members of the standing parliamentary committee dealing with the subject in question. In Wallonia, for example, the first deliberative committee held between 2023 and 2024 dealt with a subject related to the Parliamentary Committee on General Affairs. It was therefore the parliamentary members of the General Affairs Committee who were to sit on the Deliberative committee. However, the rules governing deliberative committees stipulate that Members may designate a substitute to sit in their place. In practice, therefore, it is the MPs from each political group who are most motivated and interested in the subject who are taking part.

The drawing of lots for the Deliberative committees – as with the traditional drawing of lots for citizens’ panels and mini-publics – takes place in two stages:

To begin with:

.Invitations are sent out by post (10,000 for the Brussels deliberative committees and 3,000 for the Walloon deliberative committees) on the basis of an initial draw.

.Interested members of the public should respond positively to this invitation by e-mail, by calling a freephone number, by using the online platform or by return post (the procedures are different in Wallonia and the Brussels Region).

Then:

.A second draw will be held among those who have indicated their interest in taking part.

.The aim is to compose a group of citizens that best represents the diversity of the population in terms of age, gender, geographical distribution and level of education. In Brussels, an officially bilingual region, the language criterion (French, Dutch) is also taken into account, and the drawing of lots extends beyond the electorate to include people over 16 and foreign residents.

The work of a deliberative committee follows three phases:

1. Information on the subject from experts and outside speakers;
2. Deliberations in small groups ;
3. Finally, parliamentary-style amendments and vote on the proposals.

In addition to this classic progression of citizens’ assemblies, there is a major difference: at each stage, the elected representatives work actively with the citizens. Good management of this deliberation between elected representatives and citizens is a key element in the success of a deliberative committee.

The end of a deliberative committee is marked by a vote by parliamentarians and citizens on the recommendations that have been produced. This vote takes place in 4 stages:

1. Citizens vote by secret ballot on each recommendation;
2. The result of the citizens’ vote is announced;
3. Parliamentarians vote in public with the knowledge of the result of the citizens’ vote;
4.MPs must justify themselves if the majority of their votes differ from those of the general public.

This vote by members of parliament and the general public does not have any direct legal force. Its purpose is to inform the action taken on these recommendations when they are examined by the parliamentary standing committee and the plenary session of parliament.

The deliberative committees in the Brussels Region and Wallonia have a clear follow-up process:

.The recommendations produced must be examined by the standing parliamentary committee dealing with the subject in question (for example, the recommendations of the first Walloon Deliberative committee, which dealt with citizen participation, were dealt with by the Parliamentary Committee on General Affairs).

.If this parliamentary standing committee considers that one or more recommendations do not fall within its remit, these recommendations are referred to the relevant standing committee.

.Within 6 months of the end of a deliberative committee, the parliamentary standing committee produces a report setting out the action envisaged for each recommendation. If the matter has been referred to another standing committee, the deadline is extended by three months.

.The Standing Committee’s report is examined at a plenary session of Parliament.

1. Allowing citizens’ initiatives: deliberative committees can be triggered by petition with a relatively low threshold of signatures required. This mechanism gives citizens real power to set the agenda.

2. Strengthening ownership of the recommendations: Unlike most participation initiatives, elected representatives are invited to deliberate and co-construct the recommendations alongside citizens. Bringing MPs on board from the outset of the process strengthens their ownership of the recommendations and makes it easier to implement them.

3.Ensuring follow-up: The recommendations produced must be examined by a parliamentary committee and then by a plenary session of parliament. Parliamentarians must produce a report setting out the action envisaged for each recommendation. This is a major step forward compared with most participation initiatives, which neglect this follow-up process.

4.Strengthening participatory democracy: Deliberative committees are incorporated into the ordinary activities of parliaments. Their operation is enshrined in the rules of procedure of the assemblies that use them. This institutionalisation allows citizens to participate over time, benefiting from a clear framework and lasting resources: all ingredients that help to strengthen the quality and impact of participation.

5.Bringing elected representatives and citizens closer together: Evaluation questionnaires show that a majority of elected representatives and citizens have a favourable opinion of the mutual exchange they had. The public came away with a more favourable opinion of the work of their elected representatives. The involvement of members of parliament also helps them to become acculturated to co-construction with citizens.