| Abstract: |
There is a basic tension between the principle of democracy and the rule of
law. This becomes obvious whenever the Swiss citizens accept an initiative
that is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. First, we
discuss the traditions behind these two principles before we survey the
empirical papers about the relation between direct democracy and minority
rights in the US as well as in Switzerland. Then we discuss the literature on
the relation between direct democracy and death penalty. There, the conflict
becomes rather obvious. Solutions, which will always involve compromises
between these two principles, necessitate some role of the Supreme Court, at
the cost of some, but only minor limitations of direct popular rights. |