Procedural guarantees in referendum authorization

This chapter introduces the procedural guarantees that are evaluated in the referendum authorization practice of the selected eight states. It offers some insight into why the particular procedural guarantees were chosen. In the next chapters the referendum practice of selected European states is analysed to show how four guarantees - the independence and impartiality of the decision-maker, the right to a reasoned decision, the right to be heard, and the right to an effective remedy - are ensured. The four procedural guarantees were selected based on the fair trial rights guaranteed by international treaties, on the procedural understanding of rule of law, and on the procedural recommendations of the Venice Commission’s Revised Code on the Holding of Referendums.