Introduced in Britain in 1991, "the
Citizen's Charter attempts to establish normative standards for public services. The Charter, which applies to public services at both local and national levels, identifies performance principles in six areas:
standards (including the setting and monitoring of standards and the publication of actual performance);
information and openness; choice and consultation (particularly with end-users);
courtesy and helpfulness; putting things right (including the rapid provision of a full explanation for why things went wrong);
and value for money (emphasis on efficiency, economy and effectiveness combined with independent validation of performance)."
(International Labour Organization (ILO),
Evaluation, Case of the United Kingdom, visited 2009-06-04)
Initiatives for creating
citizen's charters have been proposed both regionally and internationally by groups such as the Permanent Forum of Civil Society in Europe.
The Forum, created in 1995, "brings together some 200 European, national, regional and local NGOs active in trade union matters, social, cultural or environmental affairs, consumer protection, health, etc. Its goal is to bridge the gap between the European institutions and citizens, based on participatory democracy.
The Permanent Civil Society Forum has drawn up two official documents that outline its ideals and missions:
- The European Citizens' Charter, adopted at the Second Civil Society Conference in Rome in March 1997, which expresses its view of Europe and of European citizenship;
- The Manifesto Europe 2002, published in September 1999, which proposes a form of European governance based on a partnership of the public authorities, market forces and civil society, to address the challenges to be met by 2002 (enlargement, constitutional pact, fundamental rights, budget and fiscal reform, and a partnership between the EU institutions and civil society)."
(European Parliament,
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, visited 2009-06-04)