CONSTITULUX was a follow-up of the 2015 citizens’ consultation CIVILEX, to contribute to understanding the expectations of Luxembourgish citizens with respect to constitutional reforms. 60 citizens took part in the 2-day deliberation.
Problems and Purpose
CONSTITULUX examined the opinions of Luxembourgish citizens with regard to the constitutional proposal debated during 2013-2018. In doing so, its objectives were the following:
- to test citizens on constitutional reform and its main issues;
- to inform policymakers of the levels of understanding and approval of constitutional reform by citizens;
- to communicate new constitutional proposals to decision-makers, that reach consensus among these citizens;
- to identify the objects of communication policies toward target groups and all citizens during a referendum campaign.
Background History and Context
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
CONSTITULUX was created in cooperation with TNS-ILRES to contribute to the understanding of the expectations of Luxembourgish citizens towards constitutional reforms. The debate was structured and moderated by the Chaire de recherche et études parliamentaires of the University of Luxembourg which produced a study of the results. Overall, the study cost 55,000 euros and people who participated received 200 euros for their contribution.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The work of the groups was synthesized by the Committee Service of the Chamber of Deputies and comments were made anonymous. The study was presented to the parliamentary committee on Constitutional Review and the Conference of Presidents to help them to work in the Committee of Constitutional Review more effectively. The following conclusions were drawn from the deliberation:
- Citizen Consultations should be continued, for example, at the level of all municipalities;
- Referendum brochures should be extended in a way that would ensure multilingualism (Fr; Lux, All, and Portuguese) as well as neutral article-by-article explanatory comments on the internet;
- Neutral TV talks and short and frequent TV spots for 2/3 months should be increased;
- More interactive use of social media;
- Campaigns shouldn't be politicized; instead, they must appreciate the interests of the country as a whole;
- Other actors ought to be allowed to explain and discuss the Constitution, along with politicians;
- Referendum campaign should be initiated and structured as soon as possible, while being free from electoral and political contingencies.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
External Links
Notes
This entry is based on the POLITICIZE dataset. More information can be found at the following links:
- Paulis, Emilien; Pilet, Jean-Benoit; Panel, Sophie; Vittori, Davide; Close, Caroline, 2020, "POLITICIZE Dataset", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/Z7X6GT, Harvard Dataverse, V1
- Pilet J-B, Paulis E, Panel S.,Vitori D & Close C. 202X The POLITICIZE Dataset: an inventory of Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe. European Political Science.