09 September 2020
Constitutional Dullness
Should the number of Italy’s Members of Parliament (MPs) be reduced from 945 to 600? Italian citizens will decide on that question in a constitutional referendum that will take place in less than two weeks. While other referendums in Italian history have been vectors of remarkable civic mobilisation, this one fails to capture the constitutional imagination of Italian citizens. What could – and should – be a radical public debate about Italy’s political system and the current order, in fact revolves around pettiness and trivial constitutional engineering. Continue reading >>
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19 May 2020
Chile and COVID-19: A Constitutional Authoritarian Temptation
Due to the pandemic, Chile's 2020 electoral calendar has been modified, delaying the most important political event of the year: the April referendum for a new constitution. While the postponement is reasonable considering the current sanitary situation, recent suggestions that there be a further postponement due to a possible post-pandemic economic crisis threaten the democratic legitimacy of the process. As argued in this post, these measures and opinions, when read together, put the government close to an authoritarian use of the constitution. Continue reading >>24 July 2018
„Do not go. Do not vote“: an Interview with WOJCIECH SADURSKI
The Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced a referendum about the reform of the Polish Constitution of 1997. According to Wojciech Sadurski, the questions he intends to ask the Polish people are either meaningless, redundant or downright detrimental - with one important exception. Continue reading >>07 May 2018
A Constitutional Referendum to Delegitimize the Constitution
President Andrzej Duda has just announced that on 10 and 11 November a referendum will be held in Poland on the need to amend the Constitution, in which he will put to the Polish people numerous questions arising from ongoing public consultations. This consultative referendum is an attempt to delegitimise the Constitution, on which the referendum’s own legitimacy is based. Continue reading >>
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20 July 2017
Why Do We Need International Legal Standards for Constitutional Referendums?
Important substantive and institutional guarantees ensure the democratic quality of the general elections. In the case of a referendum these substantive and procedural guarantees are almost completely missing. Only international soft law deals with the question of the democratic quality of the referendum. Recent experience with Turkey, Hungary and other places show that this needs to change. Continue reading >>
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01 June 2017
The Constitutional Referendum in Turkey: A far Stretch from Right to Free Elections to Referenda?
The Constitutional referendum in Turkey left many voters uncertain about the actual outcome: Unstamped ballots were registered as valid and an appeal against that procedure did not show any satisfying results. Will an appeal in front of the ECtHR show more favourable results? Continue reading >>13 May 2017
Why the Announced Constitutional Referendum in Poland is not a Constitutional Referendum after all
The President of Poland has announced that a constitutional referendum will be held in 2018. This is surprising for at least two reasons. Continue reading >>
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21 April 2017
Türkei-Referendum vor dem EGMR: Warum der Gang nach Straßburg diesmal wohl nicht helfen wird
Nachdem die türkische Wahlkommission den Antrag einiger Oppositionsparteien auf Annullierung des Verfassungsreferendums vom 16. April verworfen hat, erwägt die oppositionelle CHP Medienberichten zufolge den Gang nach Straßburg. Dem halten türkische Spitzenpolitiker entgegen, der EGMR sei hierfür nicht zuständig. Was ist hiervon zu halten? Continue reading >>05 February 2017
Marine Le Pen’s Constitutional Programme on the European Union: Use, Misuse and Abuse of Referenda
Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate for President of France, was asked in an interview about her constitutional programme should she be elected in May. Her answer can be summarised in one word: referenda. One of them would be, of course, about “Frexit”, the other would include a vast set of amendments to the French Constitution and would take place just after the legislative elections. That, however, would not most likely not be the end of it. Continue reading >>27 July 2016
“Vote Yes for a Safe Italy” or “Vote No to Defend the Constitution”: Italian Constitutional Politics between Majoritarianism and Civil Resistance
In the run-up to the constitutional referendum in October, the Italian government meets considerable resistance towards its plans for a comprehensive reform of the Constitution of 1948. Both Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Constitutional Reform Minister Maria Elena Boschi regularly sustain that in case of a ‘No’ vote, chaos will rule. Public debate seems trapped in a Manichean game between yes-proponents that accuse the opposition of conservatism, and no-proponents that accuse the government of authoritarian leanings. Continue reading >>
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