The bill seeks to address grievances that citizens present to Parliament in the form of a petition. The bill will not override existing provincial legislation on petitions and does not intend to introduce anything that is not in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and other laws in the Statute Book. It seeks furthermore to give practical effect to the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom, as set out in section 7(1) of the Constitution. In terms of section 7(2) of the Constitution, the state is obligated to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights, including the right given in section 17 where it is stated that "everyone has the right... to present petitions".