Petition

Formally understood as a written document signed by a significantly large amount of people urging a person or an institution to act in accordance to the request/s made in the document. This can be a large group of people requesting change, or to be heard regarding a sensitive topic. It is a political tool, recognised by parliament and by members of parliament in the UK, where the document in question retains the ability to, in several instances, amount to significant change in legislation when heard by Parliament. There are guidelines specifying the requirements for a petition to be heard in Parliament, and often those will take place online containing digital signatures in the form of individual persons’ emails. A petition can also be understood as an official document asking a court to proceed with a specific desired course of action. A petition will most often be interpreted as a legally binding document. The document may be a letter, for instance, filing a petition for divorce. It may also refer to the verbal understanding of the term “to petition”, referring to the taking of a course of action for or against something or somebody. For instance, one may colloquially say they will “petition” a person or an institution, organisation, to request a favour. To petition is mostly associated with a formal request made towards an authority, in a written document.