The right to petition must not be denied.

It is the oldest form of seeking justice and a redress of wrongs and it may well be that when it vanishes a civilization deteriorates thereby.

Therefore these policies apply:

1. Any one individual has the right to petition in writing any senior or official no matter how high and no matter by what routing.

2. No person may be punished for submitting a petition.

3. No two persons or more may simultaneously petition on the same matter and if so the petition must at once be refused by the person petitioned. Collective petition is a crime under Ethics as it is an effort to hide the actual petitioner and as there may be no punishment for a petition collective petition has therefore no excuse of safety and is to be interpreted as an effort to overwhelm and may not be regarded as a petition.

4. No generality may be used in a petition such as a report of collective opinion unspecified as to identities. This is to be interpreted as an effort to ARC Break a superior and the petition must be refused.

5. Only one person may petition on one matter or the petition must be refused.

6. Threat included in a request for justice, a favour or redress deprives it of the status of "petition" and it must be refused.

7. Discourtesy or malice in a request for justice, a favour or redress deprives it of the status of "petition" and it must be refused.

8. If a "petition" contains no request it is not a petition.

9. There may be no special form for a petition beyond these policies.

10. A petition which cannot be deciphered or understood should be returned to the sender with a request that it be made legible or comprehensible, but this should not be interpreted as a refusal or acceptance of the petition.

11. A copy of a petition seeking justice against another person or group must be sent that person or group to qualify the request as a petition. No action may be taken by the person or group but he or they should append the copy to their own statement of the matter and send it at once to the executive being petitioned.

12. Petitions are normally directed to the heads of activities such as the head of a portion of an org (HCO or the Org in the persons of the HCO Executive Secretary and the Organization Executive Secretary) or the Continental Heads of orgs or to Mary Sue Hubbard or L. Ron Hubbard.

13. Petitions may not demand Committees of Evidence or punishment for executives but may only state what has happened and request the matter be righted.

14. A petition is itself and is not a form of recourse and making a petition does not use up one's right to recourse.

15. All petitions delivered in person verbally or in person with a note particularly when this restricts a senior's freedom of motion, must be refused.

16. HCO Secretaries or Communicators receiving petitions directed to be forwarded to higher executives which do not comply with these policies should append a copy of this policy letter to the petition and return it to sender. The sender should then reform the petition into acceptable form and return it on the same channels. When receiving his petition back with this policy letter attached to it,the sender must not assume it has been refused and become apathetic. He or she should realize that a favour has been done for a petition in violation of these policies would have to be refused by the person to whom the petitioner addressed it and that by rewording or complying with these policies the petition now has a chance and will undoubtedly be given courteous attention. A petitioner should consider himself fortunate if a discourteous or collective or threatening petition is returned as it would not be regarded as a petition by the executive to whom it is addressed and might color his or her opinion of the petitioner, perhaps obscuring some real wrong which might well have received attention.