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Ovaj rad ispituje pravne odraze autonomije političkog predstavništva u kontekstu tekuće pandemije. U njemu se iz vizure ustavne teorije razmatraju dva događaja. Jedan je odluka Ustavnog suda o izbornosti uvjeta ograničenja temeljnih prava. Drugi su građanske inicijative kojima se Sabor nastoji prisiliti na pridržavanje tih uvjeta. Koristeći koncept ustavne šutnje kao instrument, ova se dva razvoja povezuje kako bi se istražilo prostore koje Ustav Republike Hrvatske ostavlja političkim praksama, ali i moguće djelovanje građanskih inicijativa na njih. Svrha je toga tvrditi da se građanske inicijative ne može smatrati neustavnima ako ne pokušavaju nadglasati legitimne ustavne šutnje političkog predstavništva. ; In this paper author explores the legal dimensions of the autonomy of the legislature in the context of the current pandemic. The paper is situated in Croatian constitutional theory and is written against the background of two developments. The first one is a decision of the Constitutional Court of Croatia that authorized the Croatian parliament to avoid a more demanding procedure for adopting the restrictions of fundamental rights enacted in the pandemic. The second development is the use of ballot initiatives to force the parliament to adhere to this procedure. Using the concept of constitutional silences as a tool, I bring these two developments together to explore what are the spaces for unwritten political rules left by the Croatian Constitution and how does the ballot initiative challenge them. I do this to argue that ballot initiatives should not be considered unconstitutional when they do not attempt to override legitimate constitutional silences of parliamentary representation.

Ovaj rad ispituje pravne odraze autonomije političkog predstavništva u kontekstu tekuće pandemije. U njemu se iz vizure ustavne teorije razmatraju dva događaja. Jedan je odluka Ustavnog suda o izbornosti uvjeta ograničenja temeljnih prava. Drugi su građanske inicijative kojima se Sabor nastoji prisiliti na pridržavanje tih uvjeta. Koristeći koncept ustavne šutnje kao instrument, ova se dva razvoja povezuje kako bi se istražilo prostore koje Ustav Republike Hrvatske ostavlja političkim praksama, ali i moguće djelovanje građanskih inicijativa na njih. Svrha je toga tvrditi da se građanske inicijative ne može smatrati neustavnima ako ne pokušavaju nadglasati legitimne ustavne šutnje političkog predstavništva. ; In this paper author explores the legal dimensions of the autonomy of the legislature in the context of the current pandemic. The paper is situated in Croatian constitutional theory and is written against the background of two developments. The first one is a decision of the Constitutional Court of Croatia that authorized the Croatian parliament to avoid a more demanding procedure for adopting the restrictions of fundamental rights enacted in the pandemic. The second development is the use of ballot initiatives to force the parliament to adhere to this procedure. Using the concept of constitutional silences as a tool, I bring these two developments together to explore what are the spaces for unwritten political rules left by the Croatian Constitution and how does the ballot initiative challenge them. I do this to argue that ballot initiatives should not be considered unconstitutional when they do not attempt to override legitimate constitutional silences of parliamentary representation.

As an exceptional device in the life of contemporary constitutional democracies, direct democracy is normally considered to be separate from representation. In this paper, I explore this well-established divide, asking how it interacts with our understanding of the central subject of direct democracy, the people. I show how theorizing that takes its cue from the dichotomy between "absence" and "presence", ascribed to the separation of representation and forms of direct democracy, is tied with identifying the active electorate and the people. On the other hand, this approach is inept for comprehending the ways representations of the people are produced and instrumentalized in the wake of direct democracy. In this paper, I suggest that this phenomenon may be approached by examining how direct democracy is entangled with representing "the people" through arguments, processes and constructs.

Nedavno održani referendum o izlasku Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva iz Europske unije te najave budućih referenduma u drugim državama članicama, uz pozivanje na prvenstvo "volje naroda", nameću potrebu podrobnijeg istraživanja stvarne uloge neposrednog odlučivanja građana u Uniji. Ovaj rad pridonosi tome analizom temeljnih problema s kojima se, kao složeni politički sustav, Unija mora nositi. Oslanjanjem na usporedno federalističko iskustvo ističemo dvostruki problem višerazinskog političkog prostora te problem prevođenja ovlasti i osporavanja takva prijevoda izravnodemokratskim putem. Te dvije teškoće zajedno dovode do toga da je od izravnog sudjelovanja građana u odlučivanju o "europskim pitanjima" teško očekivati ikakav siguran ishod. ; The purpose of this paper is to present two basic ways in which a path has been laid for EU citizens to directly participate in decision-making on issues related to the Union, and to analyse the main obstacles for them to functioning. The direct participation criterion removed from our attention those forms of citizen engagement that rely on intermediaries who are either elected national or European representatives, or are embodied in civil society organisations. The idea of participation should have covered two fundamental instruments that directly relate to citizens: national referenda on European issues and the European Citizens' Initiative. Our analysis shows that there are several obstacles in the construction of the Union which have a significant effect on any reference to the directly expressed will of the people. The basis of this great number of problems is certainly the specific multi-layered political arena of the Union, which, on one hand, weakens any national referendum in terms of its supranational significance, and, on the other hand, imposes on citizens, through the European Citizens' Initiative, high requirements to adapt to the logic of supranational mechanisms. When considering the complaints that are usually directed at the direct decision-making of citizens, the idea of establishing a direct link between the Union and the citizens of particular Members States still has a long path of development before it.

Nedavno održani referendum o izlasku Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva iz Europske unije te najave budućih referenduma u drugim državama članicama, uz pozivanje na prvenstvo "volje naroda", nameću potrebu podrobnijeg istraživanja stvarne uloge neposrednog odlučivanja građana u Uniji. Ovaj rad pridonosi tome analizom temeljnih problema s kojima se, kao složeni politički sustav, Unija mora nositi. Oslanjanjem na usporedno federalističko iskustvo ističemo dvostruki problem višerazinskog političkog prostora te problem prevođenja ovlasti i osporavanja takva prijevoda izravnodemokratskim putem. Te dvije teškoće zajedno dovode do toga da je od izravnog sudjelovanja građana u odlučivanju o "europskim pitanjima" teško očekivati ikakav siguran ishod. ; The purpose of this paper is to present two basic ways in which a path has been laid for EU citizens to directly participate in decision-making on issues related to the Union, and to analyse the main obstacles for them to functioning. The direct participation criterion removed from our attention those forms of citizen engagement that rely on intermediaries who are either elected national or European representatives, or are embodied in civil society organisations. The idea of participation should have covered two fundamental instruments that directly relate to citizens: national referenda on European issues and the European Citizens' Initiative. Our analysis shows that there are several obstacles in the construction of the Union which have a significant effect on any reference to the directly expressed will of the people. The basis of this great number of problems is certainly the specific multi-layered political arena of the Union, which, on one hand, weakens any national referendum in terms of its supranational significance, and, on the other hand, imposes on citizens, through the European Citizens' Initiative, high requirements to adapt to the logic of supranational mechanisms. When considering the complaints that are usually directed at the direct decision-making of citizens, the ...

Citizens of contemporary constitutional democracies adhering to particular religions may submit themselves to laws administered by their religious communities insofar as they remain within limits outlined by the national legal order. In this paper I analyse this usual response to religious norms against the background of the growing presence of Sharia law in Canada and the United Kingdom. In particular, I argue that it creates the "transformative space", allowing believers to determine by themselves the extent and the way in which religious law will apply to their lives. This space, however, remains riddled with limitations that have already been discussed in the existing literature. However, the authors that dealt with the problem thus far tended to overlook the nature of the transformative space as the groundwork of difference. Instead, they conceptualised it as a barrier towards diversity. I look at how this oversight might cause additional problems for the always tense religion-state relationship. ; U suvremenim ustavnim demokracijama primjena vjerskog prava u određenim je granicama prepuštena pojedinačnom vjerniku te se država u to obično neće miješati. U ovome radu autor analizira taj uobičajeni odgovor na vjerske norme u kontekstu rastuće prisutnosti šerijatskog prava u Kanadi i Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu. Utvrđuje se da on pojedinačnim vjernicima prepušta mogućnost da sami određuju kako će se i u kojoj mjeri vjersko pravo na njih primjenjivati. To nazivamo prostorom promjenjivosti. Na njegova ograničenja već ukazuje niz autora. Posebno se ističe problem pretjerane izloženosti pojedinca neumoljivoj vjerskoj tradiciji. Mi napominjemo da u potrazi za valjanim rješenjima tih i drugih problema treba imati na umu da odvojenost države i vjerskog prava te prostor promjenjivosti što iz nje proizlazi nisu prepreka različitostima, već njihova podloga. Zanemarivanje toga može dovesti do dodatnih poteškoća u uvijek napetom odnosu vlasti i religije.