This document contains CSL2601 Assignment 2 (Answers) Semester 1 (2023) Footnotes and Bibliography included. Guaranteed pass.
Assignment Questions
1.1 By way of examples and references to the appropriate Constitutional Law authorities, briefly explain the different forms of democracy. (16...
1.1 By way of examples and references to the appropriate Constitutional Law
authorities, briefly explain the different forms of democracy.
Democracy refers to government by the people. The word democracy derives from the
Greek words Demos meaning the people and Kratos meaning power. Democracy
comes in two forms direct democracy and representative democracy 1.It has been
incredibly challenging to describe democracy in a clear and unambiguous way;
instead, many writers have offered their own interpretations of the term. However,
democracy's fundamental tenet is that choices that have an impact on its constituents
should be made by those constituents themselves, or at the very least by elected
officials who have the members' consent to do so.
Although the definition of democracy is not exhaustive, it is related to the concept that
the people's will be honoured and that they should have a say in how their government
operates. The different forms of democracy are; direct democracy, representative
democracy, participatory democracy, and constitutional democracy. It is important to
be able to distinguish the various forms of democracy and to understand how these
forms of democracy relate to one another. The fundamental idea of democracy is that
decisions affecting the constituents of a political community should be made by those
constituents themselves, or at the very least by elected officials whose authority to do
so ultimately comes from the constituents2.
Direct democracy refers to a form of government where citizens directly participate in
the rule and decision-making of their political group rather than through elected
representatives. Citizens directly engage in decision-making in a direct democracy by
using tools like town hall meetings and referendums. Although South Africa lacks a
pure form of direct democracy, it does have methods for direct involvement, such as
the holding of national and municipal elections and public participation in parliamentary
proceedings. Several provisions that ensure and acknowledge mechanisms for
citizens to act directly in influencing choices are the constitutional expression of direct
1
Council of Europe, Manual for Human Rights Education with Young people, available at
https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/democracy
2
de Vos et al South African Constitutional Law in Context 2nd edition (2020) Oxford University Press 165 BOOK
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