In a representative democracy people vote for representatives who then enact policy initiatives. In direct democracy, people decide on policies without any intermediary. The first two forms—referendums and initiatives—are examples of direct legislation.

A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct and universal vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal and can have nationwide or local forms. This may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law.

Referendums are not legally binding, so legally the Government can ignore the results; for example, even if the result of a pre-legislative referendum were a majority of “No” for a proposed law, Parliament could pass it anyway, because parliament is sovereign.

Electoral Commission findings that Vote Leave broke the law On 17 July 2018, it was announced that Vote Leave had been found guilty of breaking electoral law by overspending following testimony from three whistleblowers. Vote Leave was fined £61,000 and referred to the police.

In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation on a popular ballot, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote.

Russia. The Russian Constitution of 1993 was adopted by a controversial referendum. Popular referendum can be called by two millions registered voters, provided they do so from at least 42 separate regions of Russia within two months, with no more than 50,000 signatures collected in any single region.

The United States is a representative democracy. This means that our government is elected by citizens. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. These officials represent the citizens’ ideas and concerns in government.

Referendums in Germany are an element of direct democracy. On the federal level only two types of a mandatory binding referendum exist – in changing the constitution and in changing the state territories.

Germany is a democratic, federal parliamentary republic, where federal legislative power is vested in the Bundestag (the parliament of Germany) and the Bundesrat (the representative body of the Länder, Germany’s regional states).

Germany is a federal republic with sixteen states and a parliamentary system. The German Bundestag (Parliament), the main legislative organ, had its inaugural meeting in 1949.

The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland), is the head of state of Germany. The president enjoys higher ranking at official functions than the chancellor, as he is the actual head of state.

The largest by members and parliament seats are the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), with its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Chancellor of Germany

Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Georg Friedrich

Germany is a federal state, composed of 16 regions (Länder). The original intent was to establish a decentralised federal structure based on a strict separation of powers and own finances for each level of government, where all power is distributed to the Länder unless otherwise mentioned in the Basic Law (Article 30).

The Richest States in Germany

Federalism in Germany is made of the states of Germany and the federal government. The central government, the states, and the German municipalities have different tasks and partially competing regions of responsibilities ruled by a complex system of checks and balances.

Germany is a parliamentary and federal democracy. The German Bundestag, the constitutional body most present in the public eye, is directly elected by citizens eligible to vote every four years. The most important tasks of the Bundestag are legislation and to oversee the government’s work.

Classifying a particular state as federal or unitary is usually straightforward, though in some cases it can be more difficult. The United States and Switzerland are clearly federal states; all of the above-mentioned characteristics of the federal state are present in their constitutional systems.

A majority of nation-states are unitary systems. They vary greatly. In the United States, all states have unitary governments with bicameral legislatures (except Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature). Ultimately, all local governments in a unitary state are subject to a central authority.

However, the various states always maintained their own laws to an extent, and still do so in modern federal Germany. In 1919 in Weimar the Weimarer Verfassung (Weimar Constitution) was created: the first democratic constitution of Germany. The democratic state of West Germany built on existing law.

Rechtsstaat (lit. “State of Rights”; “Rights’ State”) is a doctrine in continental European legal thinking, originating in German jurisprudence. It can be translated into English as “rule of law”, alternatively “legal state”, “state of law”, “state of justice”, or “state based on justice and integrity”.

At federal level, most new legislation is drafted by the Federal Government, to be passed by the Bundestag, the German parliament, with the participation of the Bundesrat before it is signed into law by the Federal President and promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette.

The Basic Law provides for a bicameral legislative structure. The Federal Parliament is the general legislature, and the Federal Council (Bundesrat) is a second chamber representing the states on the federal level. The Basic Law specifies which laws may only be passed with the assent of the Federal Council.

The German legal system is a civil law mostly based on a comprehensive compendium of statutes, as compared to the common law systems. They then must pass a second state examination that qualifies them to practice law.