First byte at electronic petitions

WWF Scotland is calling for the protection of marine habitat

The Scottish Parliament's public petitions committee has considered its first electronically-submitted petition.

One of the stated aims of the Scottish Parliament was to create greater access for the general public.

That was to include the use of technology to improve openness and, from the start, individuals wishing to submit a petition could indicate their intention using the internet and e-mail.

Printed copy

However, campaigners still had to provide a printed copy for verification.

All that is changing with the adoption of the E-Petitioner system which has been developed by the International Teledemocracy Centre at Napier University in Edinburgh.

Using the E-Petitioner website, users can create their petition, set up an online debate and encourage supporters to sign.

Petitioners can do away with paper

Sophisticated checks can then be made on the names, addresses and postcodes, weeding out duplicates and false names.

There have been fears that electronic petitioning might run out of control with the collection of thousands of frivolous names and addresses.

However, supporters argue that signatories have to be more committed to the cause to make the effort to log on and sign the petition.

Petition precedent

The World Wide Fund for Nature is the first group to use the E-petitioner website to gather support for a petition relating to the National Parks Bill.

The group's petition, calling on the parliament not to ignore the nation's marine habitat, is the first of its kind to be considered by the committee.

The organisation says that overfishing, pollution and decline in wildlife reflects a natural crisis which could be prevented with the designation of national marine parks.

Its petition, which closed on 29 February, attracted more than 200 "signatures" from all over the world.