Direct Legislation Research Articles

Citizen participation through direct legislation: a road to success? A perspective from Switzerland

Citizen participation is generally considered crucial to ensuring that policies effectively address public needs. But there is a long-running debate over how far such participation should go. This article focuses on one of the most far-reaching forms of citizen participation in public policy making– direct legislation– and asks to what extent it can bring about good governance outcomes in the political, economic and social spheres. Focusing on the case of Switzerland, where direct legislation is established and frequent, the article draws on existing studies to discuss long-term impacts of citizen participation in public policy-making. The evidence shows that, in the Swiss case, direct legislation contributed to consensual politics, a favourable environment for economic development, as well as high citizen satisfaction. The conclusion discusses to what extent these findings generalise beyond the Swiss case.

Benjamin Urner, Utopian Socialism, and the Origins of Direct Legislation

Benjamin Urner, Utopian Socialism, and the Origins of Direct Legislation

Law’s Silence on Cyberbullying to Children in Indonesia

With the advancement of the Internet, cyberbullying is fast emerging as a significant issue and a new form of violence in Indonesia. Additionally, whether the Internet has become a catalyst for conventional bullying is a critical question that must be addressed. In Indonesia, cyberbullying is now recognized as an imminent concern with regard to juvenile behaviour and development outcomes. The Indonesian legal system, however, has no direct legislation on cyberbullying. The existing laws on juvenile crimes and online offenses do not adequately address specific concerns raised by cyberbullying. This article explores the correlation between high exposure to violent content over the Internet and the recent increase in violence among children in Indonesia. The effect of cyberbullying victimization and its potential to create perpetrators of bullying has been explored within the context of the inadequacy of the current Indonesian legal system’s response to online harassment, particularly the lack of adequate laws against cyberbullying.

Reimagining Democracy: The Socialist Origins of the Initiative and Referendum in the United States

AbstractThe initiative and referendum are commonly characterized as quintessentially Populist or Progressive reforms, but transatlantic socialism deserves pride of place in the intellectual history of direct legislation in the United States. A decade and a half before the People’s Party famously commended the idea of direct legislation at its 1892 nominating convention in Omaha, Nebraska, the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) made the demand for direct legislation a plank in its first party platform. That demand was shaped by the 1875 Gotha Program formulated by the Socialist Workers Party of Germany and informed by socialist debates during the First International and the pioneering work of Moritz Rittinghausen. The diffusion of these ideas among Gilded Age labor radicals is a crucial and underappreciated part of the story of the origins of the initiative and referendum in the United States. That socialists’ pioneering role in the origins of the initiative and referendum in the United States has largely been slighted is particularly ironic since the individual arguably most responsible for securing the direct legislation resolution at Omaha was among the nation’s most successful radical labor organizers and a committed socialist, Joseph R. Buchanan.

The Swedish Tradition of State Care for Cultural Heritage

The Nordic countries are notable for their ancient practice of reasonable care of their historical monuments. There were no ‘laws’ in the strict sense – it was replaced by numerous royal decrees. The decree of the King of Sweden, made in 1886, about patronage and protection of antiquities had the same goals as the parliamentary act about monuments. Sweden is in a particularly good position, because the state has long since taken over the protection of all antiquities in the country and it has established the principle that monuments and artefacts uncovered by excavations on private land do not come under the custody of the owner, but are the subject of state care. At the end of the 19th century it was not possible to establish this principle by direct legislation, but in Sweden it was due to the traditional custom that monuments and their protection have been of incalculable benefit. In this regard, Swedish legislation on the protection of cultural heritage is considered the oldest in the world. The tradition of state care for historical monuments here goes back some four centuries. At the beginning of this tradition in the 17th and early 18th centuries, a centralized Swedish state with great imperial ambitions and an important role in justifying its historical patrimony was formed.
 The second half of the 19th century was a turning point in monument conservation, resulting in the 1867 decree, which was amended twice, in 1873 and 1886. It reflects the tendencies of professionalization and centralization of monument preservation. The decree complicated the mechanism of approving the demolition of monuments during economic works. The mechanism for granting the right to investigate archaeological heritage was clarified. The overall progressive nature of Swedish regulations by the beginning of the twentieth century cannot but inspire respect, even though the whole legislation on monument conservation was comprised of royal decrees. It was not until 1942 that the Comprehensive Swedish Monument Preservation Act was adopted.

Financial Inclusion: Globally Important Determinants

Abstract This paper highlights the globally-important determinants of financial inclusion. The determi-nants identified in this paper are formal account ownership; demand for formal savings; demand for formal borrowing; financial literacy and education; debit and credit card usage; the need to receive remittances from family and friends; size of the financial system; number of automated teller machines (ATMs); number of bank branches; proximity to a bank; availability and access to mobile phones; availability of digital financial products and services; technology infrastructure; government policy; culture and traditional belief systems; national financial inclusion strategy and implementation; and direct legislation.

Can't buy me votes? Campaign spending and the outcome of direct democratic votes

Recent American studies that investigate the influence of money on the outcome of direct democratic votes find campaign spending effective for both supporters and challengers. Taking advantage of Switzerland’s far-reaching experience with direct legislation, this article tests the role of money in a ‘harder’ context, where government plays an active role in direct democratic processes. It assesses the impact of campaign spending on 323 federal votes, and on a subset of 60 votes, offering finer-grained cantonal-level data. On the one hand, the results highlight the crucial role of the partisan coalition supporting the government for the outcome of votes; on the other hand, campaign spending is effective for both government and challenger camps, yet more so for the latter. Furthermore, the effects of government camp spending vary depending on the expected vote outcome and the difference in spending between both camps.

Reconstructing State Republics

Our national political dysfunction is rooted in constitutionally dysfunctional states. States today are devolving into modern aristocracies through laws that depress popular control, entwine wealth and power, and insulate incumbents from democratic oversight and accountability. These unrepublican states corrupt the entire United States. It is for this reason that the Constitution obligates the United States to restore ailing states to their full republican strength. But how? For all its attention to process, the Constitution is silent on how the United States may exercise its sweeping Article IV power to “guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” As states descend into aristocratic cabals, the question of how to enforce the guarantee is of existential importance. This Article illuminates three enforcement mechanisms: direct legislation, federal incentives, and reconstructing state governments. It establishes that Congress, not the U.S. Supreme Court, is the institutional actor most capable of addressing the republican rot now plaguing the states.

Treading a Path for Effective Renewable Energy Regulation in Nigeria: Lessons from Brazil

Rising temperatures, rising sea levels, droughts and other climate change induced variants are mounting pressure on national governments to reassess their commitment to global climate change goals and their general approach to energy production and consumption within their territories. Renewable energy has become a recurring theme in the drive towards attaining clean energy and maintaining a sustainable culture. Failing to reconcile with this reality will result in negative environmental, as well as economic consequences on any nation, as less and less investment are being made in conventional energy sources. This paper aims to assess Nigeria’s current attitude to renewable energy development from the perspective of the nation’s regulatory framework. Using a comparative analysis methodology, it finds the presence of an indirect and inefficient regulatory regime on renewable energy in the country. It compares this to Brazil’s regulatory regime where it finds a comprehensible and direct regulatory structure. It asserts that the success of the Brazilian renewable energy integration is attributable to the presence of a detailed energy licensing process, direct legislation, supported research and development scheme and adequate market strategy for renewable energy. Recommendations were made along this line for more efficient renewable energy regulation in Nigeria.

Analysis of the Legislative Function of Banyuasin Regency Legislative Council Members during the Recess Period

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the recess carried out by the Banyuasin District Parliament with a theoretical approach from Harel Arnon on direct legislation. The qualitative approach method used interviews with informants, then the data found were broken down and analyzed with theory, and conclusions drawn. The results found that the recess period carried out by the Banyuasin District Parliament in the process was effective because it could encourage increased community participation in development issues. The factor that made the exercise of the recess period effective was because the majority geographical area was quite difficult to reach by board members.

THE VICTIMS OF RIGHTS DRAFT OF A LAW WITH THE RECONCILIATION INSTITUTION FOR ELIMINATION OF VICTIMIZATION

21.yüzyılda hakim olan ceza adaleti sistemi, failin cezalandırılırken suç mağdurlarının ortaya çıkan mağduriyetlerinin giderilmesi anlayışını ön planda tutan bir sistemdir. Var olan ceza adaleti sistemine hakim olan bu anlayış, onarıcı adalet anlayışıdır. Bu anlayışın en temel gayelerinden birisi, işlenen suçtan dolayı sanığın devlet tarafından cezalandırılmasının yeterli görülmeyerekten, mağdurun veya suçtan zarar görenin zararının giderilmesidir. Bu anlayışın hakim olduğu devletlerin ceza sistemlerinde, bu anlayış esasına göre bir çok düzenlemeler, kurumlar bulunmaktadır. Onarıcı adalet anlayışının etkisinde kalan ülkelerden birisi olarak Türk Ceza Sistemi de bu alanda gereken kurumların oluşturulmasına ve düzenlemelerin getirilmesine tanıklık eden bir sistemdir. Bu yönde getirilen kurumlardan uzlaştırma kurumu ile mağdur hakları tasarısı da birkaçından birisidir. Bu mevzuu da Türk Ceza Muhakemesi Hukukunda yer alan uzlaştırma kurumu, hem kamu hem özel hukuk ile ilgili olan uyuşmazlıkların giderilmesinde alternatif çözüm yöntemi olarak Türk Ceza Sistemine tezahür eden onarıcı adalet anlayışının önemli bir yansımasıdır. Uzlaştırma kurumu Türk mevzuatına 2005 yılında getirilmiştir. Şuan itibariyle esasen sistemin önemli araçlarından birisi konumundadır. Onarıcı adalet anlayışının kazandırdığı en önemli bir diğer hususta doğrudan mağdurlar haklarına yönelik ve mağduriyetlerinin doğrudan giderilmesi yönünde mevzuat bulunmasını sağlamasıdır. Bu yönde ülkemizde bir çok defa tasarı aşamasında kalan mağdur haklarına ilişkin çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmalardan en önemlisi ve kanunlaşma evresinde olan 2017 tarihli mağdur hakları tasarısıdır. Bu tasarı ile devletin korumasız bıraktığı mağdurların yine devlet tarafından doğrudan korunması, mağduriyetlerinin giderilmesi sağlanmaktır.

Compensatory Voting in Direct Legislation. Evidence from Switzerland

AbstractIn elections, voters sometimes compensate for post‐election bargaining processes by electing parties that are more extreme than themselves. We investigate compensatory voting in direct democracy. Our goals are to develop and test a measure of compensatory voting in direct legislation and assess its extent of compensatory voting. Empirically, we draw on the case of Switzerland, a country with frequent popular votes. We operationalize compensatory voting as voting ‘yes’ on a popular initiative in spite of endorsing arguments that speak against this initiative, under the condition of being well‐informed about the initiative. Using data from post‐ballot surveys on 17'570 individuals having voted on 63 popular initiatives in the period 1993 to 2015, our analysis shows that compensatory voting has not significantly increased in Switzerland in this period.

Taking the initiative: Direct democracy, coalition governments and welfare state expansion

Direct democratic rights are increasingly adopted around the world. However, what are the consequences of the introduction of initiative and referendum rights for welfare state development? The existing literature holds a pessimistic view on the role of direct democracy for welfare state development and generosity. Whereas referendums are argued to constitute a major roadblock to the extension of social expenditure, the link between initiatives and social security provision is unclear. I contribute to the existing literature by arguing that the effect of direct democratic instruments on welfare state extension is systematically related to the political environment. More precisely, I contend that governments with a few parties deviate from the median voter preference by providing insufficient social expenditure, whereas the opposite is true in settings with many governing parties. In both cases, voters employ direct legislation to correct for the spending behaviour of governments. Using time-series cross-sectional data on social expenditure in the Swiss cantons from 1930 to 2000, I show that initiatives and referendums constrain social expenditure growth in settings with many governing parties, but expand it when a few parties are in government.

The Politics of Pay: The Unintended Consequences of Regulating Executive Compensation

The persistent outrage over CEO pay expressed by politicians, the press, media, labor unions, and the general public (but not shareholders) have prompted the imposition of a wide range of disclosure requirements, tax policies, accounting rules, governance reforms, direct legislation, and other rules constraining executive compensation stretching back nearly a century. We analyze the regulations that have substantially damaged the efficacy of CEO pay practices, ranging from the first disclosure rules in the 1930s to the 2018 Trump tax rules. We discuss the political forces behind the regulatory interventions, and assess the continuing unintended consequences of these interventions. Our emerging conclusion is that the best way the government can fix executive compensation is to stop trying to fix it, and by undoing the damage already caused through existing regulations that have, in aggregate, imposed enormous costs on organizations, their shareholders, and social welfare.

Before the Wedding Dance: Citizen Policymaking on Same-Sex Marriage

While activists have the public in mind when engaging in framing activity throughout a long policy struggle, ballot measure campaigns create a context in which the public and policymakers are closely related audiences. Lacking the formal deliberative mechanisms present in other institutional venues, voters as policymakers rely almost entirely on information, framing, and cues from groups involved in direct legislation. California is the only state where voters approved two different measures prohibiting same-sex marriage: Proposition 22 in 2000 and Proposition 8 in 2008. Thus, it offers a useful case study for studying activist groups' messaging and framing in the context of policymaking via ballot measures. This paper relies on campaign materials from Proposition 22 and Proposition 8 to examine whether or not activists learn from and alter their messaging strategies based on prior campaigns and changed legal and political contexts.

Comparison of the Canadian and US Laws, Regulations, Policies, and Systems of Oversight for Animals in Research.

The Canadian and United States' approaches to oversight of animals in research are both based on the "3Rs" principles outlined in Russell and Burch's classic text, The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. Each country seeks to protect the welfare of animals, while permitting the legitimate goals of scientific research to be attained according to the legal principles, cultures, and strengths and constraints of their jurisprudential and societal traditions. Canada is one of the most decentralized federations in the world, and regulation of activities is based to a great extent on custom and practice. The United States is more hierarchical and, at least with respect to laws governing animal research, more centralized. Accordingly, the Canadian approach is rooted in the concepts of social contracts, with a greater emphasis on guidance and policy and less reliance on legislation. No federal (national) direct legislation of laboratory animal welfare exists, although the federal government uses its criminal and spending authorities to shape behavior. The central feature of the Canadian system is the Canadian Council on Animal Care, which was formed to support universities and government departments involved in animal-based science. Animal care committees play a central role in implementing the guidelines and policies in facilities that carry out animal research. The United States has enacted two federal (national) laws applicable to animals in research. The Animal Welfare Act is a more traditional, command-and-control law that gives authority to the US Department of Agriculture to promulgate regulations, inspect facilities, and enforce violations. The Health Research Extension Act, which amended the US Public Health Services (PHS) Act, applies to any activity conducted or supported by the PHS, including research efforts supported by the US National Institutes of Health. It is largely nonregulatory and establishes a system of assurances and policies that covered research facilities must follow. States play only a minor role in animal research protection. As in Canada, institutional animal care and use committees are tasked with self-regulation of activities that use animals for research.

Indirect legislation: it is just a question of time

ABSTRACTThis paper focuses on unveiling the underlying conceptions required to elaborate a concept such as indirect legislation, and on possible methods of distinguishing it from direct legislation. Three elements will be put to the test to analyse whether they could be used as distinguishing criteria. Firstly, indirect legislation – like contemporary forms of indirect means to influence behaviours, such as the famous nudges of Thaler and Sunstein – relies heavily on an accurate and complete account of human nature. However, so does direct legislation. Having human psychology as a foundation for legislation leads to several epistemic and evidential issues. Secondly, temporality seems initially to be a likely candidate for the sought for criterion: direct legislation, through punishment, applies after the offence, whereas indirect legislation applies before the offence, precisely in order to prevent it. However, I will show that this understanding needs to be revised. Thirdly, the solution to the difficulty might lie in resolving the issue of what is really the target of influence: what is it that indirect means attempt to modify. At the end of this paper, I will show that the difficulties faced both by Bentham and by contemporary nudge theory seem to imply that a complete re-evaluation of indirect means to influence behaviour is needed.

Jeremy Bentham, choice architect: law, indirect legislation, and the context of choice

ABSTRACTThe goal of this paper is to locate indirect legislation within Bentham’s art of legislation, and to distinguish it, as far as possible, from direct legislation. Along the way, some parallels are drawn between indirect legislation on the one hand, and the Nudge theory of Thaler and Sunstein on the other. It will be argued that many expedients categorized by Bentham as indirect legislation are simultaneously exercises of direct legislation. Another set of indirect expedients act on knowledge, and involve efforts to eliminate asymmetries of information between potential offender and potential victim by providing official standards and disseminating a plethora of factual information. Other forms of indirect legislation threaten the coherence of Bentham’s theory of law, firstly by regarding all government actions as exercises in legislation, and secondly by turning the formers of public opinion into legislators. Insofar as some forms of indirect legislation operate by sleight of hand, they conflict with Bentham’s commitment to transparency in the exercise of public power, reflecting a tension between reality and appearance which runs through his thought.

Direct Democracy, Postal Voting, and the Composition of Turnout

Existing work on the effects of electoral reforms suggests that decreasing the costs of voting may exacerbate rather than reduce representational biases in turnout. We argue that some electoral institutions may have more uniform mobilization effects than previously thought and exploit the sequential introduction of postal voting in Switzerland to analyze how an exogenous decrease in voting costs affects the political and socio-demographic composition of turnout in direct legislation. In contrast to previous studies we find that postal voting mobilizes equally along many dimensions including individuals' political knowledge, employment status, and religious denomination. Although it does mostly activate supporters of leftist and centrist parties, less politically interested individuals, and high earners, these changes have only limited effects on the overall turnout composition and are unlikely to affect referendum outcomes. Our results alleviate some of the concerns about the negative side effects of electoral reforms on political choice in large electorates.

Prohibition Plebiscites on the Prairies: (Not-So) Direct Legislation and Liquor Control in Alberta, 1915–1932

Since its introduction into North America in the late nineteenth century, direct democracy, particularly in the form of direct legislation, has periodically piqued the interest of legal scholars. A handful of studies have examined the history of direct legislation in the United States and in Canada; however, these studies often fail to examine how direct legislation was actually used. Brief references might be given to which initiatives the voters attempted to secure via direct legislation, but the actual mechanics of the vote, and questions such as what the ballot said, for example, are typically overlooked.