Are referendum results binding?

Erik L?štic, “If It Works, Fine, If Not, So What? Initiatives in Slovakia,” in Maija Set?l? and Theo Schiller, eds.: Citizens’ Initiatives in Europe: Procedures and Consequences of Agenda-Setting by Citizens. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

“The main problem with the constitutional provisions on the referendum, as the experience to date has shown, is the legal effect of the referendum outcome. The constitution itself offers several possible interpretations. It states that the valid result of a referendum is to be published as a law. However, this addresses only the procedural aspect of the referendum outcome, not its legal effect. Article 99 (1) of the constitution suggests that a referendum outcome is supra legal, because it allows the legislature to change or revoke the referendum result only by an approval of a constitutional law and only three years after the referendum took place. Therefore, if it is possible to change the result of the referendum only by a constitutional law, does it mean that the result of the referendum is of the same legal status? Another valid interpretation offers the opposite reading of the article: By allowing the legislature to change the referendum result by means of a constitutional law, the supremacy of representative democracy is declared and the referendum as a direct democratic instrument is intended to play only a substitute role. Although the possible interpretations of seven constitutional articles on the national referendum seem to be endless, they show that a part of the problem with the referendum lies in the constitutional text itself.” (p. 155-156)

CONSTITUTIONOF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

(Adopted 1992; lastamended 2006)

http://www.nrsr.sk/web/default.aspx?SectionId=124

Chapter5: Legislative Power

Part2: The Referendum

Article 98

(1) The resultsof the referendum are valid if more than one-half of eligible votersparticipated in it and if the decision was endorsed by more than one half ofthe participants in the referendum.

(2) Theproposals adopted in the referendum will be promulgated by the National Councilof the Slovak Republic in the same way as it promulgates laws.

Article 99

(1) TheNational Council of the Slovak Republic may amend or annul the result of areferendum by means of a constitutional law no sooner than three years after theresult of the referendum came into effect.

The text of theConstitution is ambiguous on this matter (see source).