Concerns about democratic decline and deficit have recently led to repeated calls for institutional changes that could enhance civil participation and direct voter participation in public decision... Show moreConcerns about democratic decline and deficit have recently led to repeated calls for institutional changes that could enhance civil participation and direct voter participation in public decision-making (forms of direct democracy). An evergreen among the instruments proposed is the referendum, and in particular the constitutionally embedded referendum. This would grant a constitutional right to trigger a referendum and is something that is currently under consideration in the Netherlands. It is often assumed that constitutionally embedded referendums can correct systemic flaws in a representative democratic system, thus enhancing the overall democratic score of a country. This contribution considers these premises. By means of an empirical study, it examines whether the democracy index score of a country is related to constitutionally ratified rights to direct legislative influence of citizens, such as referendums and legislative initiatives by citizens. The initial results indicate that codifying referendum procedures as a constitutional right does indeed positively relate to the democratic scores of countries worldwide. This effect, however, does not hold true for the sample of EU countries studied. Show less
De afgelopen kroniekperiode was het rapport van de Staatscommissie parlementair stelsel een hoogtepunt. Maar niet het enige. Wat betreft de Europese ontwikkelingen trok de Brexit vooral de aandacht... Show moreDe afgelopen kroniekperiode was het rapport van de Staatscommissie parlementair stelsel een hoogtepunt. Maar niet het enige. Wat betreft de Europese ontwikkelingen trok de Brexit vooral de aandacht en verbleekte het overige constitutionele nieuws in Europa enigszins. Toch was er veel te beleven, zoals de historische uitspraak in de zaak Miller & Cherry en de verkiezingen voor het Europees Parlement. En niet alleen de staatscommissieleverde een bijdrage aan het vakgebied van het politieke staatsrecht: de evaluatiecommissie-Bovend’Eert bracht een rapport uit over de kabinetsformatie 2017. Ook vormde de politieke en parlementaire praktijk gewoontegetrouw weer een bron aan ontwikkelingen. Wat de vernieuwing van het binnenlands bestuur betreft, leverden de Thorbecke-lezing en de Van Poelje-lezing dit jaar nieuwe inspiratie op. Grondwetswijzigingen werden afgerond, in gang gezet dan wel verworpen en ook het Koninkrijksrecht stond niet stil. Onder de noemer rechtspraak zijn deze periode onder meer Urgenda, Dutchbat, de uitspraak over de Wet raadgevend referendum en die over de intrekking van het Nederlanderschap van Syriëgangers het vermelden waard. Show less
Op 21 december 2017 diende de regering het wetsvoorstel tot intrekking van de Wet raadgevend referendum in en één ding wil het kabinet absoluut niet: een referendum over deze intrekkingswet. Om er... Show moreOp 21 december 2017 diende de regering het wetsvoorstel tot intrekking van de Wet raadgevend referendum in en één ding wil het kabinet absoluut niet: een referendum over deze intrekkingswet. Om er zeker van te zijn dat dat niet gaat gebeuren is er een soort dubbel slot op de deur van het voorstel van de intrekkingswet Wrr gezet, de artikelen V en VI. Show less
In this contribution, we will illustrate the modern-day dynamics of the interplay between the need for expedience and efficiency on the one hand, and the demand for openness, inclusiveness and... Show moreIn this contribution, we will illustrate the modern-day dynamics of the interplay between the need for expedience and efficiency on the one hand, and the demand for openness, inclusiveness and transparency on the other by looking into one of government’s main decision-making processes: the legislative process. Particularly in the field of legislation, the balancing of both efficiency and transparency is of the essence for modern legislatures in parliamentary democracies: laws expressed by acts and legislative instruments can only be truly effective if they rest on broad societal support. As we will argue, a transparent and inclusive legislative process functions as a kind of democratic check on government action: it guarantees sufficient deliberative activity before a government may act. Throughout our contribution, a 2012 comparative study commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice, and carried out by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from Leiden University will be used as a guiding rail to illustrate some the ways in which different jurisdictions in Europe have managed to combine, or at least balance, the need for legislative efficiency and transparency. We will use this study to demonstrate how traditional legislative processes nowadays grapple to translate the will of the citizens into effective legislation, how modern administrations still need democratically underpinned legislative procedures as the basis for the legitimation of (their) decisions, how efficient delivery of decisions and careful (lengthy) scrutiny interact. On the basis of this material we will further discuss concepts of, respectively, efficiency and transparency and especially the way modern legislatures examined in the study use information and communication technology (ICT) to overcome the sometimes opposing demands on their legislative processes. Insofar as possible we will try to highlight a few ‘best practices’ that show how legislative processes can (and cannot) adapt to new present day demands. Show less
