Political rights (law)
The political rights include all constitutional rights of citizens to have a say in the political process.
Most important political rights are
- the active and passive right to vote as well as the
- Right to vote in votes .
In so-called (semi) direct democracies there are additional rights. In Switzerland , for example, basic political rights (people's rights) include
furthermore also the
- cantonal individual initiative ,
- Volksmotion and the
- Popular proposal (also constructive referendum ).
Political rights belong - wherever they are restricted, e.g. B. be reserved for the citizens - only limited to the general basic rights , since they are not granted to all people living in a country. Restrictions include age ( majority ), age , citizenship , and sometimes domicile in Germany. Historical restrictions are e.g. B. Gender ( women's suffrage ), class, ownership of real estate, taxpayer affiliation, affiliation group (e.g. "Race", for example the Separation of Voters Act in South Africa) and the like.
Political rights are based on the principles of freedom and equality , which in addition to private autonomy also include political self-determination or at least the right to co-determination.
In constitutional states with a separation of powers , political rights are not only individual rights , but also belong to the exercise of an "organ function" (mostly legislative ). Some states also have voting obligations or compulsory voting.