Suspensive referendum
The suspensive referendum or pending referendum is a special form of the referendum and an instrument of direct democracy . It is initiated by the population and enables them to postpone the entry into force of a simple law that has already been passed but not yet effective or another simple legal asset (e.g. a state treaty ) for a certain period of time. In order for a suspensive referendum to actually lead to a direct vote by the population, it is necessary to collect a certain number of signatures from eligible voters within a mostly short period of time (a few weeks to a few months). Regardless of whether the necessary number of signatures can be collected by the expiry of the deadline, the suspensive, i.e. the suspensive effect that comes into force, applies from the date of the official registration of the referendum.
In practice, most of the optional and compulsory referendums are also suspensive referendums, since the entry into force of the bill is postponed until the ongoing procedure has been completed. In rarer cases, such postponement is explicitly excluded, mostly when it comes to decisions with a particular urgency, e.g. in the case of an acute emergency.
etymology
The German word referendum is a foreign word from Latin and is made up of the prefix " re " (= " back ") and the verb " ferre " (= " carry " or " bring "). The prefix suspensiv is derived from the Latin verb " suspendere " (= " hang up " or " float ").
In a suspensive referendum, the coming into force of a law or political matter passed by the elected representative (parliament or government) "hovers" as long as it is "carried back" or "brought back" to the sovereign (the people).