How to implement successful people’s initiatives

After the people vote in favour of an initiative, parliament gets to work. It’s their job to figure out how they can make new decisions compatible with existing laws.

It’s not always easy to implement a decision taken by the people. Popular initiatives in Switzerland are often launched as ‘elaborate drafts’ – a complete text. When a majority of the people vote in favour of an initiative, this text is added exactly as it is proposed, directly into the Constitution. Neither parliament nor the government may alter this text. 

When initiatives are unclear or contradict the Constitution, parliament has to create additional laws in order to best reflect the people’s will. Law scientist Nagihan Musliu is working on a manual to help this process of implementation along.

In our series, ‘Inside the Democracy Labs’, researchers answer all kinds of questions about democracy.