THE PROCEDURE OF REPRESENTATIVE RECALL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AS COMPARED TO THE US MODEL (Instytucja recall w Kolumbii Brytyjskiej na tle wzorca amerykanskiego)

• Authors: Jakubiak Lukasz
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

This article deals with a representative recall as a form of direct democracy. It is a procedure for removal of an elected official (or a holder of certain public functions) from office through a direct vote. The recall procedure is allowed, inter alia, in several states of the USA, in South American states, and - since the mid-1990 - in British Columbia, a province of Canada. The author describes the origins of this procedure in Canada and, then, relevant regulations existing in British Columbia. He takes into account the following criteria: the scope of regulation, territorial extent, application prerequisites, as well as the consequences of gathering the required number of signatures for an elected official (a holder of a given function). In British Columbia, recall procedure may be used to remove a sitting representative from office in a provincial legislature. The law does not provide for any concrete prerequisites for using this procedure by the voters. There is a requirement that a petition to recall a particular member be supported of at least 40% of voters registered in a given constituency. If this requirement is met, that member is removed from office. In contrast to the US model, no voting is to be held to this aim. The procedure existing in British Columbia differs considerably from the model established in the United States. It may provide inspiration to adopt similar regulations in other parts of the Canadian federation. However, despite the initiatives undertaken to extend the area of application of this procedure, no success has been reported yet.

Keywords

EN

CANADIAN FEDERATION; LAW OF BRITISH COLUMBIA; PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE; RECALL PROCEDURE

• Publisher: Kancelaria Sejmu / Chancellery of the Sejm
• Journal: Przegląd Sejmowy
• Year: 2011
• Issue: 4(105)
• Pages: 75-88
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Jakubiak Lukasz

• Lukasz Jakubiak, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, Wydzial Studiow Miedzynarodowych i Politycznych, ul. Jablonowskich 5, 31-114 Krakow, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA09754