TYPES OF REFERENCES REGULATED IN THE MEMBER STATES

The referendum designates the procedure by which all citizens with the right to vote are called upon to give their own judgment (the participants have to answer a specific question by choosing one of the answers that accompany the question) on a real (not personal), deliberative (the result of the vote having immediate legal effects) or in an advisory capacity (the result of voting being only an element of appreciation for the governors for the adoption or not of certain decisions / measures). The term and the legal institution of the referendum have their origins in Roman law, where the reference word designates the procedure by which the electoral body (made up of citizens with the right to vote) was consulted directly on a precise topic, in order to confer legitimacy on a decision. At present, the referendum is considered to be, by excellence, an instrument of direct democracy through which voters express their opinion and make a decision (usually normative) directly. The referendum is not an alternative to parliamentary democracy, and its abusive use can lead to the mitigation of the legitimacy and role of parliament as a representative body of the people.