The Right to Popular Initiative
Conference with Prof. Felix Uhlmann, Armin Capaul, Prof. Ernst Hafen, Daniel Straub und Andreas Hugi. Organised by Prof. Andreas Kley and Prof. Andreas Glaser.
Deliberations regarding the best form for the state to take have been ongoing for 2,500 years, and they have progressed in different ways at various times. A quite exceptional way to think through, together, how the state might be improved is by launching a popular initiative.
In Switzerland, this can be accomplished by a committee of maximum 27 members, and it requires that 100,000 valid signatures be collected within an 18-month period.
Concrete reflections regarding how the state might be improved politically take place in small groups, which are responsible for formulating the text accompanying the initiative. Afterwards, the committee is convened, and the operation progresses from collecting signatures to holding a vote. First, the workshop will provide testimonials from three initiators, who will report on the emergence of the initiative and their experiences with the law.
In the second part of the workshop, participants will be separated into three groups. Each group will first decide on a theme and then work with experienced constitutional lawyers to develop a text to accompany the initiative. This will then be presented before the assembly. An experienced advisor working in the field of political communication will explain how a successful form of communication might look in the case of the initiatives.
We kindly ask for a registration, it is not compulsory however.
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kley is Professor for Public Law, Constitutional History and Political and Law Philosophy at University of Zurich. He is the vice-president of the Fondazione Centro Giacometti and biographer of Zaccaria Giacometti (Von Stampa nach Zürich, Der Staatsrechtler Zaccaria Giacometti, sein Leben und Werk und seine Bergeller Künstlerfamilie, Zürich 2014). More
Prof. Dr. iur. Andreas Glaser is Professor for Constitutional, Administrative and European Law at University of Zurich and Director of the Center for Democracy Aarau. More
Ernst Hafen, Initiator of the für informationelle Selbstbestimmung. Picture: Ernst Hafen
Daniel Straub, Initiator of the Grundeinkommensinitiative. Picture: Grundeinkommen.ch
Armin Capaul, Initiator of the Hornkuh-Inititative. Picture: bielertagblatt.ch
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