Designing Deliberation Systems of Referendum: Focusing on the Subject of Debate and its Discussion
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Liou, Yu-Ming
Abstract
The real practice of Referendum Law in Taiwan shows how democracy gets mature in this place. Sure we can be proud of this accomplishment so far; however, forms of direct democracy in the structure of representative democracy can incur criticisms. There are three major criticisms of this. First, overuses of referendums can damage the basic political responsibility structure. Second, referendums can simplify major political issues to a “yes or no” choice. Third, the procedural mechanism of referendum isn’t sound enough that people question the legitimacy of the legal effect of referendums. Therefore, this article claims that referendums should only supplement representative democracy, and the deliberation systems of referendums, including those run by public or private sectors, should be further improved. This way, the direct democracy system in Taiwan can be put to use in a reasonable way.
Based on these acknowledgments, this article suggest we increase the intensity of deliberation first by narrowing down the issues of referendums, making complicated issues into simple, clear ones. To achieve this, we need to cut off those too professional, technical parts, and instead focus on the political or ethical parts. Moreover, making the issues more flexible, clear, and easy to understand, we can reintroduce the advisory forms of referendums consisting of multiple choices. The institution performing this task would be the Referendum Review Committee, on the premises that we reinforce the structure of this committee. Furthermore, in order not to restrict direct democracy, people not satisfied with the committee’s decision can choose to appeal directly to the constitutional court.
Also, on the bases of four basic ideas will this article establish the neutral stance of the administration and the duty to disclose information of which during the referendum deliberation, respectively the basic ideas of hearings, administrative neutrality, people’s right to know, and the purpose of direct democracy, using public resources to help people discuss certain issues. The core case supporting this argument is the referendum on “casino issue” in Penghu, 2009. The purpose of all this design is to reduce the intensity between representative democracy and direct democracy, putting deliberative democracy into practice. If all these goals achieved, the threshold requirement of holding a referendum should be lowered.
The referendum law is a region where law and politics, law and society interact strongly. Further improvement of the referendum law lies in not only legal theories, but also legal practices.
Subjects
Referendum
Representative Democracy
Direct Democracy
Narrowing Down the Issues of Referendums
the Neutral Stance and the Duty to Disclose Information of the Administration
Deliberative Democracy
Type
thesis
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