Public Disclosure of Citizens' Electronic Petitions: Foreign Models of Digital Transparency

The paper examines the regulatory and institutional conditions under which an electronic submission of a petition by a citizen acquires the status of a legally significant public procedure. The study aims to identify the normative parameters of digital transparency in the processing of citizens' electronic submissions, drawing on a comparative legal analysis of foreign approaches, and to determine their relevance to the development of Russian legislation. The methodological framework combines comparative legal and functional methods. The legal frameworks of the United Kingdom, France, and Canada are compared according to the following criteria: an applicant's right to information on the progress of a submission; the public authority's duty to disclose the stages and time limits of its consideration; the limits of automated processing; forms of external oversight; and the legal consequences of non-compliance with the relevant requirements. The author substantiates that digital transparency constitutes an autonomous public law standard, expressed through the normatively guaranteed visibility, traceability, and verifiability of an administrative procedure. It is established that the openness of digital services, algorithmic tools, information-access regimes, and electronic-petition mechanisms does not, in itself, ensure transparency in the consideration of a submission. The author concludes that Russian legislation requires the establishment of a minimum normative standard of digital transparency, encompassing an applicant's right to information on the progress of a submitted petition, clearly defined limits on automated processing, forms of external oversight, and legal consequences for breaches of the relevant requirements.