從直接與間接民權的角度檢視瑞士與法國的公民投票制度

Referendum in Switzerland and France: Direct and Indirect Approaches to Democracy

公民投票原本是一種直接民權的表達方式，其發展至今，則各國均以不同的程度與代議士的民主方式相互為用。而盧梭直接民權的主張，以及霍布斯與洛克所提出的代議士民主制度，則為此兩種民主方式奠定了理論的基礎。基於其特殊的高山地形，瑞士的公投制度，是一種由下而上經過長時間逐漸發展而成的制度，其直接民主的基礎極為堅實，統治者與被統治者合一的情況經常出現，公投也均由人民發動，且門檻也不高，因而使得瑞士成為當前世界實施公民投票最頻繁以及最為成功的國家，這對於瑞士的民主發展，貢獻良多。法國也經歷了百餘年公民投票的發展，而形成後戴高樂時期公投的成熟展現。但是，從法國的發展經驗可知，公投多半成為統治者的工具，且統治者與被統治者的界線一直壁壘分明，公投的發動權，也多半屬於政府與國會議員，因而，在法國代議士的民主制度中，公投對於法國民主政治的影響相較比較小。綜觀瑞士與法國公民投票的經驗可以得知，公民投票的立意良善，可以彌補不少代議政治的缺失，若處理得當，對於國家的存續與民主的發展，可謂貢獻良多。但是，要發揮公投這種正面的效果，必須有相當的條件予以配合，比如瑞士長年的直接民主傳統，否則，公投經由民粹的方式被濫用，將有形成獨裁的可能。

The referendum is part of direct democracy which functions along with any system of representative democracy. The theoretical fundaments of these types of democracy are Rousseau's idea of direct democracy and the representative democratic system advocated by Hobbes and Locke. Due to its special mountainous location, Switzerland has a long history of experience with the referendum. The government and the governed are often the same and the referendum is usually initiated by the people. Thus the referendum is an easily-used political tool. Therefore Switzerland can be treated as model of direct democracy and the referendum's contribution to Swiss democracy has been remarkable.In France, the plebiscite has become mature in the post-de Gaulle era thanks to its hundred-year long development. The plebiscite is a tool of the government and line between governor and governed is always clear. Not the people but the government or parliament is the initiator of plebiscite. Therefore the plebiscite has contributed relatively less to France's democratic development. The experiences of Switzerland and France show that the referendum practice can make up for deficits in their parliamentary system. Under the proper conditions-as in Switzerland-the referendum can be beneficial to democratic development. In other cases, the abuse of referendum through populist means can lead to dictatorship.