Пряка демокрация и плебисцити в Древния Рим
Direct Democracy and Plebiscites in Ancient Rome

Summary/Abstract: The main motivation for discussing the problems of direct democracy and plebiscites in Ancient Rome is an ongoing debate and concerns (ISSUES) related to the preparation of a draft law which allows for direct citizen participation in the government process. The article reviews the historical and comparative legal aspects of direct democracy as well as problems which involved direct democracy in ancient times and particularly in Rome. "Direct Democracy and Plebiscites in Ancient Rome "presents a comparative analysis of the two major forms of the direct democracy principle of governance in the modern world - referenda and plebiscites. The article explores the use of two Latin terms from Roman legal sources – “referendum" and "plebiscitum". It discusses the evolution of plebiscites and stresses the fact that they acquired equal force with leges in the Late Republic. The article concludes that there is no reception of these institutes (especially plebiscites, because in Rome referenda were not recognized as a form of direct democracy), beyond the boundaries of the specific historical epoch. The different legislative technique, social and political realities of ancient Rome prevent us from speaking of them as the direct genetic precursors of modern referenda and plebiscites. Despite the acceptance of ideas and terminology, the specific modern the European Community realization of national sovereignty is a creation of a later epoch.

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