Meaningful Public Participation Research Articles

Advancing Democratic Engagement in Indonesia's Treaty Ratification Process

This study explores the application of the 'meaningful participation' principle in the formation of laws ratifying international agreements in Indonesia, with a focus on social, economic, and environmental sectors. The research adopts a normative legal methodology, utilizing statutory and conceptual approaches to analyze relevant legislation, court decisions, and academic literature. The findings reveal a significant imbalance in public participation in the ratification process, primarily characterized by a top-down approach with minimal substantive dialogue with affected community groups. Despite constitutional provisions allowing the President to establish agreements without ratification, meaningful public participation in legislative and ratification processes remains limited. The study emphasizes the need for open public consultations, active involvement of non-governmental organizations, and private sector engagement to achieve policies that reflect the comprehensive interests and aspirations of the populace. It highlights the importance of community involvement, transparency, economic-environmental balance, and inclusive approaches in influencing meaningful participation levels. The research calls for recommendations to the Government and Parliament to foster more qualitative and significant public participation in the ratification process, aligning Indonesia with international principles of meaningful participation in social, economic, and environmental law. This approach is crucial for Indonesia, as the world's third-largest democracy, to promote meaningful public participation in policy-making, especially in ratifying international agreements impacting the broader society.
 Highlights:
 
 Imbalanced Participation: Dominance of a top-down approach with minimal public dialogue in treaty ratification.
 NGOs and Private Sector: Essential roles in representing diverse societal interests in legislative processes.
 Legal and Democratic Alignment: Need for transparent and inclusive law-making, balancing economic and environmental aspects.
 
 Keywords: Meaningful Participation, International Treaty Ratification, Public Involvement, Legislative Process, Indonesian Democracy

Technological Innovations and Regional Security Control towards Sustainable Development in the G5 Sahel Region

The Sahel region has suffered multiple security threats that have posed multiple challenges to the security of the entire region and other parts of the world. Following a buildup of security threats in the region since 2012, the US and EU have partnered to provide troops to bolster security and forestall the spread of radicalization into terrorism. This paper focuses on the role of technological innovations on security control and crime management, provides background to the study, with focus on the rise of technology on security control and crime management. The paper also discusses the history of the crisis in the Sahel, focusing on the G5 Sahel, and provides key recommendations on the use of technology as a panacea for security control and crime management in the G5 Sahel. The study was based on securitization theory and was carried out using case-study research design based on three objectives: to assess the current technological innovation infrastructure in use in the G5 Sahel region, evaluate the impact of technological innovations in crime management and security control in the G5 Sahel region and to assess the potential of emerging technological innovations in addressing crime and security management in the G5 Sahel and the broader Sub-Saharan Africa. Technological innovations are critical components of addressing cross border challenges. However, technology can also lead to insecurity challenges, where insurgents use them to perpetrate crimes, including using UAVs to strike at civilian targets. The researchers find that the use of technology has become consequential in the fight against crime and insecurity. They also find that technology has helped address emergent needs in crime and security management in the G5 Sahel. They recommend that there is need to re-imagine the G5 Sahel to increase coordination among member states. They also call for further studies on the impacts of “false flags” on social media, which could be used to negatively profile otherwise harmless civilians. They also call for greater and meaningful public participation to ensure the deployment of new technologies is supported by the public.

The Authority Of Bank Indonesia In Issuing Legal Products According To The State Auxillary Agencies Theory

As an State Auxillary Agencies. Bank Indonesia is authorized to make it’s own legal products that bind the public. Currently the product of he regulation is in a Bank Indonesia Regulation, as a consequence of one of the characteristics of an State Auxillary Agencies namely a self regulatory body. From this study it may be concluded that Bank Indonesia only has the authority to enforce the delegation’s regulation. Second, Bank Indonesia, in the hierarchy of regulations, should be in line with Presidential Regulations. Third, the Governor of Bank Indonesia may make State Administative Decisions in accordance with his authority. Fourth, the stages of formation of Bank Indonesia Regulations in the Bank Indonesia Regulation concerning the establishment of Regulations at Bank Indonesia, include: a.planning; b.arrangement; c.discussion; d.determination; e.promulgation; and f.dissemination. Fifth, the establishment of a Bank Indonesia Regulation in order to prioritize meaningful public participation in the process of its information, especially to involve academics. For this reason, according to the author, academics need to be empowered by Bank Indonesia in the establishment of Bank Indonesia in the Framework of improving the State Auxillary Agencies.

Current Progress on the Development of the Integrated Waste Management Consent-Based Siting Process in the United States

Consent-based siting is an approach to siting facilities that prioritizes the participation and needs of people and communities and seeks their willing and informed consent to accept a project in their community. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is firmly committed to a consent-based approach to siting one or more spent nuclear fuel management facilities that enables meaningful and inclusive public participation, addresses community well-being and community needs, and centers equity and environmental justice as core values. At present, nuclear energy accounts for 19% of U.S. electricity production and half of the nation’s carbon-free energy. Nuclear energy is key to achieving the Nation’s goal of a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by the end of the decade, 100% clean electricity by 2035, and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Nuclear power will be key to achieving the Nation’s goals, as the United States strives to reduce carbon emissions; ensure energy independence; and maintain leadership in nuclear technology, safety, and security. However, the use of nuclear energy also requires an effective, integrated system for safely managing, storing, and permanently disposing of spent nuclear fuel. Since the 1950s, approximately 90 000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) of spent nuclear fuel has been generated from commercial nuclear power generation in the United States. This inventory grows by approximately 2000 MTHM every year. This commercial spent nuclear fuel is currently safely and securely stored at over 70 sites in more than 30 states where it is enclosed in either steel-lined concrete pools of water or steel and concrete containers known as dry storage casks. The United States also has an inventory of noncommercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, which makes up less than 5% of the total inventory. Management of the Nation’s spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste is the responsibility of the DOE, under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended. This responsibility includes finding sites to store and eventually dispose of this material. Per Congressional direction, DOE’s current activities are focused on establishing a federal interim storage capability for commercial spent nuclear fuel following a consent-based approach. However, a permanent disposal solution for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste will still be needed. DOE will apply lessons learned from consent-based siting for one or more interim storage facilities to future siting efforts for other elements of an integrated nuclear waste management system. An integrated waste management system will include consolidated interim storage capacity, a permanent disposal pathway, and the transportation infrastructure needed to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants to storage and disposal facilities. This paper describes DOE’s current progress to identify one or more sites to develop a federal consolidated interim storage capability for commercial spent nuclear fuel using a consent-based siting process.

Comparing Public Participation in Coastal and Marine Planning in the Arctic: Lessons from Iceland and Norway

Amid a changing global climate, Northern coastal communities face a variety of challenges to their livelihoods, which are dependent on marine resources. Marine spatial planning (MSP) provides opportunities for cooperation between authorities, stakeholders, and the public to ensure sustainable marine management. Public participation is a crucial element of coastal and marine planning for its long-term democratic legitimacy and sustainability. However, the process of MSP is often wrought with conflict and challenges of involving stakeholders and the public in decisions concerning an often-contested marine space. Whereas coastal zone planning (CZP) is well established in Norway and a reiteration of previous CZP was conducted 2020–23, MSP is new to Iceland, and has only recently been launched with its first pilot plans in 2019. This study investigates how participation in coastal and marine planning processes compare between Iceland and Norway and what lessons can be shared between them. Data were collected from two case studies in the Tromsø region in Norway and the Westfjords of Iceland through analysis of planning documentation, literature review, as well as participant observation in the Westfjords and 11 semi-structured interviews across both case studies. The results show that public participation is formally integral to both processes but, in practice, varies considerably. Both planning processes are driven by the expansion of the aquaculture industry, and a variety of issues faced during the planning process are similar. In Norway, public participation is politically desired and guided by a participation strategy emphasising synergies between expert and local knowledge. In the Tromsø region, meaningful public participation varied across municipalities and issues regarding Indigenous participation remain. In Iceland, there is little evident political expectation of public engagement, and the process is characterised by a passive approach to participation that aims to inform the public but does not include wider sharing of decision-making power. The findings do not only make clear that a revision of current public participation processes is needed in both case studies but also point towards wider issues in marine governance that have consequences for blue justice, such as the exclusion of groups in decision-making, lack of public discussion of marine issues and top–down governance supporting established power hierarchies.

Navigating Regional Regulatory Changes in Indonesia: An In-Depth Analysis of Post-Amendment Implementation of Law Number 12 of 2011 on Legislation Formation

In the context of Indonesia as a State of Law, the imperative role of the rule of law cannot be overstated in realizing the state's objectives. The formulation of Legislative Regulations, essential for upholding the rule of law, necessitates meticulous consideration of three fundamental principles: benefit, justice, and legal clarity. To ensure the effectiveness of these regulations in aligning with the direction and goals of national legal development, the process adheres to key principles, encompassing the clarity of objectives, appropriate institutional involvement, congruence among types, hierarchy, and material content, practicability, clarity of formulation, and transparency. This procedural framework is consistently implemented in a sustainable, coordinated, and integrated manner. The legal landscape in Indonesia underwent significant transformations with the enactment of Law Number 11 of 2020 on Job Creation, introducing the omnibus law technique. However, the subsequent Constitutional Court Decision Number 91/PUU-XVIII/2020 provisionally deemed this law unconstitutional. Responding to this decision, Law Number 12 of 2011 underwent a substantial amendment through Law Number 13 of 2022, specifically addressing the omnibus approach and enhancing meaningful public participation in statutory rule creation. This legal revision significantly influences the development of legal instruments at the regional level. Consequently, an examination of the implementation of regional legal product formation becomes imperative post the amendment of Law Number 12 of 2011 on the Formation of Legislative Regulations.

Digital Participation Models as Public Engagement Tools in Planning: A Concept Exploration

This paper critically and empirically explores how planning professionals understand a digital engagement tool and its use in effective and meaningful public participation. Through a series of focus groups where planners engaged with a Digital Participation Model (DPM), the research studied the functionality of this digital tool in relation to key communicative principles such as communication, comprehension and transparency. In doing so, this paper contributes to critical literature on the implications and politics of generalised technology developments for planning participation. Additionally, it offers a conceptual lens to critically guide application of digital engagement tools with the aim of reducing the risk that new technology dictates how we understand participatory engagement.

Moving to next generation community-based environmental assessment

ABSTRACT Undertaking environmental assessments for small, rural development projects has proven to be both vexing and essential. Our research considers one approach to assessing such projects, community-based environmental assessment (CBEA). The purpose of our work was to gauge current CBEA practice and consider next generation approaches in the face of challenges such as lack of adequate capacity, resource and power imbalances, achieving meaningful participation, narrow conceptions of sustainability, and weak follow-up and monitoring. Through a literature review and semi-structured interviews with various EA experts from around the globe, we consider these issues and propose a framework for next-generation community-based environmental assessment (NG-CBEA) that builds on four key next generation themes; sustainability, meaningful public participation, follow-up and monitoring, and learning.

Democratizing AI: Principles for Meaningful Public Participation

Democratizing AI: Principles for Meaningful Public Participation

Public Participation after the Law- Making Procedure Law of 2022

Constitutional Court Decision No. 91/PUU-XVIII/2020 affects Law no. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation. More than that, the Constitutional Court’s decision seems to portray the fundamental problems of the law-making process that must be corrected immediately. These problems are, first, the Omnibus method in Law no. 12 of 2011 concerning the Establishment of Legislation. Second, procedural error and a change in the text after the mutual agreement. Third, ignoring meaningful public participation in the formation of laws. This research will focus on correcting the Constitutional Court to the process of law formation to prioritize meaningful participation, not just a mere formality. The legislators then followed up the Constitutional Court’s notes by revising Law no. 12 of 2011 concerning the Establishment of Legislation for the second time become Law no. 13 of 2022, one of the substances of which is to change the provisions of Article 96, which contains the regulation of public participation in the formation of laws. The formulations of the problem raised in this study are: what is the meaning of meaningful public participation in the construction of rules based on the Constitutional Court Decision No. 91/PUU-XVIII/2020, and what is the ideal arrangement in Law no. 12 of 2011 concerning the Formation of Legislations to accommodate meaningful participation in the formation of laws. This study found that Law no. 13 of 2022 cannot accommodate meaningful participation because it is still a right and not an obligation. Then legislators must create information technology-based tools that help increase meaningful participation in law-making.

The Urgency of Reharmonization in Construction of The Stage Formation of Law

Indonesia is a state of law that relies on a rule of law formed as a basic rule in the state and society. The law as the primary basis must be made following the principles of the Formation of good law so that it is expected that later it can be applied and has binding legal force for all levels of society. However, the current situation is far from the expectation of the formation of good law. For example, the Formation of a job creation law which is considered not to involve the community actively, many articles are contrary to legal principles, disharmonized and unsynchronized between law. The formation of law seems in a hurry so there are many errors in writing (typo) and many other things. Therefore, it is necessary to reconstruct the stages in making good law. This paper uses normative research with a statutory approach, a comparative approach, and finally concludes with a conceptual approach where concepts that are considered suitable can be applied in Indonesia. This article provides two conclusions. First, the practice of harmonization, synchronization and consolidation of conceptions that have been well implemented but only exist at the planning and drafting stages of the Bill. While after the discussion/mutual agreement (plenary), no further harmonization and synchronization are carried out. Second, the post-discussion (plenary) re-harmonization stage can provide space for the implementation of educational facilities, consultations and publications of pre-validation and enactment of law that will be ratified in the form of meaningful public participation

Public participation in seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction: Lessons learned from national regulators in the terrestrial mining sector

Public participation is internationally recognized as a useful process during Environmental Impact Assessments for many activities in the extractive industry sector. It is a practice that informs the population who might be affected by the proposed activity and can influence the decision-making process for activities that are potentially harmful to the environment. Meaningful public participation in the seabed mining sector is a fundamentally important step for the licensing process for the extraction of minerals from the seafloor. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) manages this emerging industry in the international seabed (the Area), in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines the Area as the common heritage of mankind. The ISA is in the process of developing a strategy for stakeholder engagement to comply with its obligations and ensure meaningful public participation. Recent developments at the ISA, including Nauru's request to finalize the exploitation regulations within two years, have made developing coherent public participation practices even more urgent before mining commences. This article looks at public participation procedures in extractive industries of several countries with robust mining regulatory regimes to identify common themes that the ISA might usefully apply. Stakeholder engagement practices in Australia, Chile, China, Indonesia, Jamaica and South Africa are studied to offer insight and common themes from a regulatory point of view that may be worth considering in the context of seabed mining in the Area.

Transboundary environmental publics and hydropower governance in the Mekong River Basin: A contested politics of place, scale and temporality

AbstractThis study proposes a conceptualisation of transboundary environmental publics (TEPs) to interrogate the distinctive pathways through which contestations over public participation and ‘stakeholder engagement’ in transboundary environmental governance have emerged. While much attention has been paid to how the discourse and practices of public participation have been co‐opted by powerful actors to serve vested interests, fewer studies have questioned how the contingent and fragmented nature of ‘publics’ entangled with a politics of representation have contributed towards the failings of public participation. This paper examines how state and nonstate TEPs have emerged as multi‐dimensional, material and discursive entities within hybrid hydropower governance arrangements in the Mekong River Basin. Public participation in relation to hydropower dams on the Mekong River's mainstream is intertwined with the contingent formation of TEPs through the Mekong River Commission's Procedures for Notification, Prior Consultation and Agreement (PNPCA). Contestations over public participation may be understood by examining the specific ways in which 1) ‘publics’ were assembled, 2) notions of ‘place’ were interpreted, 3) scalar constructions were influenced by centre‐periphery power dynamics and 4) temporality was defined. To understand how this convening of ‘publics’ fundamentally influences the potential for meaningful public participation, this paper contrasts the TEPs formed through the PNPCA and the Save the Mekong Coalition (STMC), a transnational activism network. The STMC TEP provided reimaginations of scalar constructions and broadened definitions of publics, places, and temporality in participation, reflecting how the topographical and discursive practices that underlie the creation of TEPs have important implications for their legitimacy and effectiveness in influencing decision making.

Openness and privacy in born-digital archives: reflecting the role of AI development

Galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) are striving to retain audience attention to issues related to cultural heritage, by implementing various novel opportunities for audience engagement through technological means online. Although born-digital assets for cultural heritage may have inundated the Internet in some areas, most of the time they are stored in “digital warehouses,” and the questions of the digital ecosystem’s sustainability, meaningful public participation and creative reuse of data still remain. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), are used to bring born-digital archives to light, aiming to enhance the public’s engagement and participation. At the core of this debate lies both the openness of data and issues of privacy. How open to the public should born-digital archives be? Should everything be open and available online, and what does it take to achieve balance between openness and privacy, especially through AI initiatives? The study is qualitative and builds on the rationale of grounded theory. The role of AI development is critically investigated in relation to opening up born-digital archives online, by considering privacy and ethics issues. Grounded in the context of the author’s PhD research, the paper proposes a human-centred approach to AI development for democratising its development towards fairness and social inclusion, contrary to the stereotypical cliché of blackboxing, allowing space for the plurality of born-digital archives to flourish.

Public participation in decision‐making on conservation translocations: the importance and limitations of a legislative framework

Conservation translocations are a frequently used management tool applied by nature conservationists. Many conservation translocations have a low success rate, which is caused by various biological and societal factors. While conservation translocations are often set in human‐dominated landscapes, they tend to be poorly embedded in social‐ecological systems. Indeed, the primacy of biological aspects in translocation processes seems to undercut attention for societal dimensions. A key societal dimension is public participation. In this article, we identified and analyzed processes that affect the implementation of public participation. In addition, we considered whether, and under which circumstances, a legislative framework enables meaningful public participation. We used a Policy Arrangement Approach to grasp the processes at play. Sixteen semi‐structured interviews were conducted with key‐actors involved in the design and planning of conservation translocations in Scotland. Interviewees argued that inclusive decision‐making was either unintentionally or deliberately neglected. Underlying causes related to regularly witnessed barriers such as traditional expert‐driven approaches, entrenched power relations, and uncertainties on how to deliver open and inclusive public participation practices. Moreover, there was a mismatch between conservationists' expectations on how public participation should be implemented and recognized fundamentals of public participation, e.g. transparency and dialogue. The results demonstrate that while a legislative framework raises awareness and provides guidance, it is unable to take away current barriers. Due to the uncertainties around democratic decision‐making, it is unrealistic to expect that a mere legislative framework alone would solve current challenges. Yet, conversely the absence of one may increase current challenges.

Universal Health Coverage for Non-communicable Diseases and Health Equity: Reflections on the Role of Ideas and Democratic Decision-Making; Comment on "Universal Health Coverage for Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Equity: Lessons from Australian Primary Healthcare".

Fisher et al have published a thought-provoking article exploring the complex relationship between universal health coverage (UHC) and equity. This commentary builds on two of the lessons they highlight: the importance of ideas in determining how exactly UHC advances equity, and the political difficulties of addressing the commercial determinants of health. I argue that equity in UHC can be advanced through interventions that address popular prejudices against public health systems, greater emphasis on structural and commercial drivers of ill-health in health professionals’ training, and by ensuring meaningful public participation in decision-making about the institutionalisation and management of UHC. These strategies are important for ensuring that the political, power-laden nature of concepts such as "universality", "health" and "care" are explicitly acknowledged and publicly debated – rather than continuing the current trend of allowing technocrats to reduce UHC to a matter of efficiently and expeditiously financing curative healthcare services.

The Use of PPGIS: Towards Reaching a Meaningful Public Participation in Spatial Planning

Together with technological innovations and the development of a digital society, PPGIS approaches have been rapidly growing popular in the last years, in Poland’s local administration. Local governments take significant interest in online tools; however the principles of public participation, which, in fact, should also be applied to e-consultations, are still missing. One of the assumed roles of PPGIS is to support public participation—not just in terms of the number of stakeholders, but especially in terms of the impact on decision making. The present paper discusses the results of investigations into two decision-making processes, regarding local spatial planning in the Poznań agglomeration, Poland, conducted in 2015–2021. Its aim is to verify the hypothesis that the use of PPGIS facilitates more meaningful involvement of citizens in spatial planning. As a result of the case study analysis, in-depth interviews with local authorities and officials, and analysis of the planning documents and the role of PPGIS in public participation in decision making, was investigated. It was shown that in both processes there was no direct participation of society in decision making. However, the use of PPGIS, according to local authorities, had implications in the context of the wider process of local governance.

Legislation in Illiberal Poland

ABSTRACT Poland and Hungary seem to represent the same type of constitutionalism. It can be defensibly labelled as illiberal, as it is based on a longing for a charismatic leader and specific national identity, combining individual freedom with non-liberal values, and distances itself from western standards comprising the Rule of Law, democracy, and human rights protection. Weak restraint is provided by EU and international norms and procedures. The aim of this paper is to recognize the tendencies in legislative practice in Poland since 2015 that are associated with the illiberalization of the constitutional system, and investigate their role in deterioration of the legislative quality, and thus, maintenance of illiberal constitutionalism. These tendencies are detected as inequality, defective constitutional justice and compromised judicial independence, accelerated and pure majoritarian approach to legislation, and illiberal content of laws. It is found that the legislation has been fuelled by the majoritarian vision of a state community that is emphasized in the political narrative of the ruling alliance. This vision has been transformed into political decision-making and situated against rule-of-law considerations. It generates de facto discrimination against certain groups of people (LGBTQI+), de iure inequalities (retirement age and pension), and the will of the (majority of) people is placed above the Constitution. A captured constitutional court is not able to defend the Constitution. The legislative process has been accelerated to such an extent that there is no meaningful discussion, consultation, or public participation in the procedure. The statutes are abused for informal constitutional changes or have symbolic meaning without proper legislative effectiveness. Legislation during the COVID-19 crisis has not improved the quality of laws at all and could not properly addressed the criticism emerged after some experiences of the pandemic-related functioning of the parliament and government. The combination of all these tendencies makes the Polish legislative practice distinctive in its illiberal tone.

Organizational Responses to Issues Concerning the Delegation of Authority in Situations Involving Public Participation

The delegation of authority presents ideological and structural problems for organizations implementing programmes of public participation. Two specific ideological fallacies are examined as these embody rationalizations for opposition to public involvement in decision-making and at most only the “mechanistic” incorporation of public participation bureaus within existing organizations. Since effective public participation requires a flexible organization that can respond quickly, directly and authoritatively in interaction with local resident groups, and mechanistic bureaucracies can do none of these, this organizational structuring guarantees the failure of public participation. It is therefore suggested that those organizations that wish to engage in meaningful and useful public participation programmes will have to alter their internal organizational structures in the direction of the “organic” type.

Is Chile building good climate governance? Reflections on the drafting process of the climate change framework law

This article provides a critical account of the genesis of the first Chilean climate change law. Analysis and discussion on national climate policies and laws must take into account the constitutional, legal, political and social context of each country. Along with a description of the main objectives and regulatory instruments in the law, this article contains a review of the drafting process -with a special focus on the actors involved and public participation-.This review demonstrates a centralised decision-making process which lacked meaningful public participation. These violations to the right of democracy lead to the disappointing prediction that this climate change law and the instruments that will be enacted to implement it will be unfit to respond to the climate crisis in a country that – like many others – desperately needs to take climate change-related action.