The petitions in brief
A petition is a request filed by an individual or a group of individuals with the Luxembourgish Parliament for the purpose of obtaining a decision in favour of a collective interest they are defending. The Parliament does not handle any petition concerning issues of individuals’ personal interests.
! The petition can only be written in French, German or Luxembourgish.
There are two types of petitions: a public (online) petition and an ordinary petition. Only public petitions can be signed on the Parliament’s website and - under specific conditions - be discussed in a public debate.
Unlike a public petition, the petitioner who is submitting an ordinary petition cannot collect “online” signatures for his cause. There won't be a public debate.
How to submit a public petition?
Anyone has the right to submit a public petition, provided they are at least 15 years old and listed in the “National Register of Natural Persons”, i.e having a Luxembourgish social security card. You do not have to be a Luxembourg resident to submit or sign a petition.
! Attention: your identity will be checked by the Parliament’s administration.
A public petition must meet the following criteria:
- Be of general and national interest i.e. having a purpose serving all citizens or a purpose concerning the communal area
- The individual interests are excluded (for example a dispute between neighbours)
- The “I” and “we” should be avoided
- Respect ethical principles (no racist, violent, xenophobic, homophobic etc. content)
Several validation steps are necessary: the Committee on Petitions examines/reviews the request and decides if the public petition is admissible. If this is the case, the « Conférence des Présidents » must give its consent for the petition to be published on this website.
The petitioner has 42 days to collect signatures either online or on paper (via the form made available by parliamentary administration).
If the public petition does not fulfill the criteria mentioned above, the request is rejected. If the public petition is not clear, the Committee on Petitions can request the petitioner to clarify the details of the petition within one month. Failing a response within that time limit, the Committee on Petitions will reject the admissibility of the public petition. A request can also be rejected if the topic of the petition has already been the subject of another petition submitted in the same year.
Once the public petition has received 4.500 signatures – online AND on paper- a public debate is organised in the presence of the members of parliament and the competent minister.
Please note! The parliamentary administration regularly checks the validity of the signatures collected (no duplicates etc.). A thorough check is carried out when the signature period is over.
The petitioner may be accompanied by five other persons to discuss with the members of parliament and the members of government.
The debate is broadcasted live on Chamber TV and in streaming (www.chd.lu or www.petitiounen.lu). The meeting is also accessible to the public (on the stands of the plenary hall). The entrance is via rue de l’Eau and the visitors need to bring an ID card.
A public petition posted on this website cannot be reintroduced within one year of its tabling. This also applies to petitions on the same topic.
The petition can be written in one of the three administrative languages: French, German or Luxembourgish. The petitioner can submit his petition in several languages. The parliamentary administration does not translate petitions.
How to submit an ordinary petition?
The petitioner cand send his petition:
- in person by fixing an appointment in advance,
- by e-mail to petition@chd.lu
- by postal mail to the following address:
Speaker of the Parliament
23,rue du Marché-aux-Herbes
L-1728 Luxembourg
The petitioner has to sign with his first name and surname and his address.
The ordinary petition is reviewed by the Committee on Petition, which can:
- Request a position statement form the competent Minister;
- Forward the petition to another committee;
- Invite the petitioners or invite any expert concerned by the topic of the petition at one of its meetings, or even make on-site visits as part of the petition inquiry.
The petitioner is informed by post of the procedures undertaken by the Committee on Petitions.
How to sign a public petition ?
Anyone has the right to sign a public petition, provided they are at least 15 years old and listed in the “National Register of Natural Persons”, i.e having a Luxembourgish social security card. You do not have to be a Luxembourg resident to submit or sign a petition.
! Attention: your identity will be checked by the Parliament’s administration.
The public petition can be signed:
• on this website;
• by means of a paper form made available by the parliamentary administration.
The data provided by the petitioners or signatories will be kept until the end of the administrative procedure. Then they will be deleted. In addition, the parliamentary administration reserves the right to verify your identity in the National Register of Natural Persons.
The electronic signature with the full name will now - with the signatory's consent - be visible on this website*. The signatory can decide to conceal his identity; only the parliamentary administration will know his identity. The list of electronic signatures remains available on the website until the Committee on Petitions certifies the outcome of the public petition. Personal data will be stored on a computer until the end of the administrative procedure.
Signatures collected on paper are not published on the website.
*The display of signatures is not yet operational.
