Academic

Twomey on Constitutional Amendment by Initiative

By Lawrence Solum

Anne Twomey (University of Sydney - Faculty of Law) has posted Dangerous Democracy ? Citizens? Initiated Referenda in California (Public Law Review, Vol. 21, No. 2 pp. 70-76, 2010) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

In theory, the use of citizens? initiated referenda as a means of amending the Constituiton offers the promise of a more representative and participatory democracy, where government works to serve the interests of the people, rather than the interests of government. This article looks at the experience of citizens? initiated referenda in California, through Australian eyes. It considers the detrimental effects of citizens? initiated referenda, including the debasement of the status of the Constitution as a fundamental document, the failure to achieve outcomes that are genuinely representative of the will of the people and the undermining of the capacity of governments to govern.

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on November 08, 2010 (boomark / email).