Electronic legislative initiative as a Tool to improve Citizens' Public activity in Cyberspace: Common issues in the BriCs Countries, europe and the russian Federation

• Author: K. Ivanova
• Position: Tyumen State University (Tyumen, Russia)
• Pages: 102-126

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume VI (2019) Issue 1

ELECTRonIC LEGISLaTIVE InITIaTIVE

aS a TooL To IMPRo VE CITIZEnS’ PuBLI C aCTIVITY In CYBERSPaCE:

CoMMon ISSuES In THE BRICS CounTRIES, EuRoPE

anD THE RuSSIan FEDERaTIon

KSENIA IVANOVA,

Tyumen State University (Tyumen, Russia)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2018-6-1-102-126

Around the world, parliaments, governments, civil society organizations and even

individual parliamentarians are taking measures to make the legislative process more

participatory. A key instrument of such measures is e-democracy. In the 1980s, a number

of pilot projects on electronic voting and online discussions were introduced. However,

only since 2000, with the active development of the Internet, has considerable interest

in utilizing electronic initiatives to advance democracy emerge.

Today, researchers warn that despite all the talk about “e-democracy,” the circle of actual

decision makers is likely to remain as small as it has been heretofore.

In this article, the author analyzes the pros and cons of electronic initiatives in the BRICS

countries, Europe and the Russian Federation, and provides practical information for

improvement.

The author suggests that the next step needed to improve civil activity in ling legislative

initiatives is the application of a regular mechanism to establish the possibility of

organizing the process of civil legislative initiative nomination and the collection of

signatures in electronic form, in particular via the Internet, with the possible use of crowd

sourcing technologies.

Keywords: electronic resource; civil legislative initiative; e-democracy.

Recommended citation: Ksenia Ivanova, Electronic Legislative Initiative as a Tool to

Improve Citizens’ Public Activity in Cyberspace: Common Issues in the BRICS Countries,

Europe and the Russian Federation, 6(1) BRICS Law Journal 102–126 (2019).

KSENIA IVANOVA 103

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The Possibilities of Citizens’ E-legislation in the BRICS Countries

2. Citizens’ Legislation Initiatives in the Laws of European Countries

3. The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) with Regard

to European Participative Democracy

4. Possibilities of Electronic Civil Legislation Initiatives

in European Countries

5. The Modern Possibilities of Citizens’ Electronic Initiatives

in the Russian Federation

Conclusion

Introduction

One of the necessary conditions for the development of a democratic civil society

is the comprehensive realization of the legislative initiative that is created directly by

the people. The civil legislative initiative is a form of direct implementation of a part

of state power by the people. It is achieved through the introduction of a legislative

proposal or the drafting of a proposed law, or repealing or amending previously

adopted laws, with a view to the subsequent adoption of such a regulatory act by

the legislative body of the appropriate level. Citizens prepare the draft act and collect

the signatures, for the very fact that this particular project was considered by the

authorized government body. In political terminology, the initiative is a process that

enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes, and

in some states, constitutional amendments, on the ballot.

The civil legislative initiative refers to the initial, primary forms of democracy and

lawmaking, the expression by the people of their will, and it comes along with such

forms of direct democracy as the referendum and elections. It is the right of a certain

group of voters to propose a draft law, which is subject to mandatory review by the

legislature.

Citizens’ initiatives allow the electorate to vote on a political, constitutional or

legislative measure proposed by a number of citizens, not by the government, the

legislature or other political authority. To bring an issue to a vote, the proponents of the

measure must gather enough signatures in support of it as the law requires. Citizens’

initiatives may deal with new proposals, existing laws or constitutional measures, as

determined by the particular jurisdiction. Depending on the authorizing law, the

result of an initiative vote may be legally binding or advisory. Agenda initiatives are

procedures by which citizens can place a particular issue on the agenda of a parliament

or legislative assembly. As with citizens’ initiatives, in order for the initiative to be