Parliaments more transparents, Open parliaments

Abstract

The evolution of the contemporary State and of the institutions that exercise its powers is moving towards unprecedented standards where, essentially, greater openness to society is being imposed. Disaffection with the public sphere is largely explained by the progressive distancing of the elected officials from the electorate and, in part, by episodes of corruption that have generated distrust among citizens. Like other bodies, parliaments are undergoing a process of approaching society, subjecting themselves to the regulations of transparency and access to information and to new demands for accountability and integrity. In this paper we analyze the treatment of these institutions in the Spanish regulations governing these matters and the proposals to reform them, and also from the perspective of what will probably be the First Open Parliament Plan in Spain. All this will be done within the framework of international trends in the transformation of parliaments.