What is the difference between a legislative referendum and a popular referendum?

Unlike an initiative or legislative referendum that allows voters to suggest new legislation, a popular referendum allows them to suggest repealing existing legislation.

What is a binding referendum?

The government of New Zealand may, at any time, call for a referendum on any issue. This requires enabling legislation to determine whether the outcome will be binding on the government or merely indicative. This allows parliamentary scrutiny of the issue and wording of the question.

Why is Switzerland the best government?

There are few middlemen and everyone is accountable Switzerland doesn’t have the massive bureaucratic class that many European neighbors and other governments, and the voter has more power than almost anywhere else. That includes the ability to vote on public spending, and elect judges.

Are referendums legally binding?

Referendums are normally not legally binding, so legally the Government can ignore the results; for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a majority of “No” for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway, because Parliament is sovereign.

What is a consultative referendum?

As such, consultative referendums are effective ways through which voters can exercise political pressure—or power—on their elected representatives, without binding them to act in a particular way, since the concept of a political mandate supposes that representatives retain a certain measure of freedom to act as they see fit.

What is a legislative referendum?

As such, the legislative referendum is effectively a procedure by which the population of active citizens substitutes for—or at least bypasses—any other legislative bodies established by the constitution.

What are sovereignty referendums?

“ Sovereignty Referendums: People Concerned and People Entitled to Vote .” In The Routledge Handbook to Referendums and Direct Democracy , ed. Morel, Laurence and Qvortrup, Matt. London: Routledge.

What are some good books to read about constitutional referendum?

Constitutional Referendums. The Theory and Practice of Republican Deliberation . Oxford: Oxford University Press. CrossRef Google Scholar Tuck, Richard. 2016. The Sleeping Sovereign. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar Urbinati, Nadia. 2006. Representative Democracy: Principles and Genealogy. Chicago: Chicago University Press.