Recall of Parliament through Popular Vote in the Council of Europe Member States

Abstract

Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic, the head of state received three citizen petitions demanding a referendum on shortening the term of office of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In this context, the paper contains a comparative analysis on the existence of a similar possibility in the constitutional systems of other Council of Europe member states in relation to nationwide parliaments and also towards parliaments of federal units. The result of the comparative analysis is that a similar instrument enabling early elections is introduced only in Liechtenstein, Latvia and in a small number of federal units in Switzerland and Germany. Compared to the Slovak Republic, the difference lies in explicit constitutional basis, and in only minimal practical use of this instrument.