Institution of all-Ukrainian referendum in the constitutional law of Ukraine

Abstract

The referendum is an institution of direct democracy, auxiliary in the conditions of the regime of representative democracy, in which the direct adoption of a binding decision by the people is possible only in exceptional cases. The problems of harmonizing the institute of a national referendum with the functioning of a modern constitutional state are analyzed on the example of the regulation of the referendum in the legislation of Ukraine. The Constitution of Ukraine envisages both mandatory referendums with exclusive powers and optional referendums on issues that, in the conditions of representative democracy, are assigned to the competence of the highest authorities of the State (first of all, the parliament – the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Optional referendums are initiated by popular initiative and announced (not appointed) by the President of Ukraine. The problems of limiting a subject of the referendum by popular initiative, requirements for formulating the referendum question, as well as preventive constitutional control of the referendum question are analyzed. The criteria for making a decision by referendum and the legal consequences of such a decision in cases of a legislative referendum and a referendum on an issue of general importance are considered. The similarities and fundamental differences of the referendum process and the election process are emphasized. These differences are manifested in the set of the subjects of the relevant processes and the conditions for holding the principle of equal opportunities in the activities of these subjects, primarily in the process of referendum campaigning.