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Mark · Site Admin Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 1052

How direct democracy makes Switzerland a better place

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1...s-Switzerland-a-better-place.html

Excerpt:

While it embraces direct democracy, Switzerland is nevertheless still a representative democracy. Most laws are made and decided by parliament. The important difference, however, between the Swiss system and the "indirect" democracy of Britain is that citizens are entitled to put almost every law decided by their representatives to a general vote - if they want.

For this to happen, members of the public need to gather 50,000 signatures (approximately one per cent of the electorate) within 100 days of the publication of a new law. In 96 out of 100 cases, no such referendum is triggered, because the parliamentary process enjoys a very high level of legitimacy. That is because the elected lawmakers know that their work will be seriously checked by the public, so do a very good job indeed.

The comprehensive system of checks and balances in Switzerland also gives the citizens the right to propose almost any constitutional amendment they wish. Such an amendment cannot, of course, violate international law or human rights. To put forward such an initiative, citizens need to gather a minimum of 100,000 signatures within 18 months.

Last but not least, the basic rules of the game of Swiss democracy are controlled by the citizens of the country, who have the last word on all constitutional changes - even those proposed by the government and parliament - as well as most international treaties.