Sovereignty and Direct Democracy: Lessons from Constant and the Belgian Constitution

Abstract

Interpretations of sovereignty in the Belgian Constitution – The ‘national sovereignty’ interpretation – Dismantling the myth of the consensual understanding of sovereignty in the Belgian Constitution – Benjamin Constant’s understanding of sovereignty – Influence of the paradigm of French post-Revolutionary political liberalism -- Implications of the ‘Constantian’ interpretation with regard to more direct modes of citizen participation – Arguments for reconsidering the settled case-law of the Council of State regarding the unconstitutionality of referendums