Comparative Solutions of Referendum Democracy Concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The authors consider the referendum as the most pronounced form of direct democracy, which is direct decision-making where citizens express themselves by direct and secret ballot on a particular issue. It is not a substitute for representative democracy, but its corrective factor. In this paper, the authors give a systematic overview of good practice of referendums as an instrument of direct democracy, primarily in Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, USA, UK, etc., but also the place of referendum democracy in the legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The authors will try to show that a referendum in some of these countries can be a great democratic step forward, but that it can often be not only an instrument for direct will but a negation of direct democracy in several cases. In support of this claim, the authors will point out the legal and political aspects of conducting the referendum.