Saarland`s parliament

Plenaries: Only a part of the daily work
Having only 51 members, Saarland’s Parliament is the smallest of the altogether 16 Parliaments of the German Federal States. Nevertheless, the 51 MPs need to fulfil the same duties as their big counterparts when they meet in the old mess building just beneath Saarbrücken castle. While the public mostly only becomes aware of Saarland’s Parliament when the media reports of plenary sessions, these are only a small part of a parliament’s daily work. The rest of its manifold tasks, from legislation to control of government, from helping the people to form a political will to tackling problems of individual citizens, are performed at various places, in different decision-making bodies and at varying levels.

Parliamentary committees: Responsible for the real work
The parliamentary fractions meet once a week to discuss and prepare the working week ahead and to plan political initiatives. Parliamentary work is prepared in the fraction working groups, in which the MPs responsible for certain political topics meet for detailed planning.

The working groups’ results are then again debated in the fractions. The actual working levels of parliament are the committees, which mirror the composition of parliament on a smaller scale. Therefore, MPs of all fractions are represented. The committees debate legislative proposals and hear experts and representatives of associations. Also, members of government or their representatives are questioned and requests to the plenary are prepared. The results of committee debates are then again discussed and voted on in plenary.

An open ear for citizens’ concerns
The committee for petitions is a unique committee, which all citizens feeling that they have been treated unfairly by the authorities, can call upon. The committee will examine the matter and request a statement by the executive authority in question. If the committee finds that the petitioner is right, the administrative decision in question will have to be reversed.

In order to cope with the amount of work, the fractions employ assistants. Parliament makes a great effort to make its decisions and work as transparent as possible. The new design of the area surrounding the Parliament building is a symbol of this effort. Instead of walls, the building is surrounded by an open park inviting people to tarry, relax, and also perhaps get into contact with MPs. Requests, decisions and debates are documented and available for free, either in written form or on the parliament homepage.