Constitutional legal nature of the referendum institution

Introduction: this study deals with the constitutional legal nature of referendum in its objective and subjective meanings. Referendum as a constitutional legal form of exercising power by the people appears to be the fundamental right of the people and one of the constitutional system components. The latter circumstance reflects the objective meaning of referendum, which is expressed, on the one hand, in the right of people to require that the state takes measures to create conditions for implementation of the right to referendum and, on the other hand, in the duty of the state to ensure regulation and protection of this right. In its subjective meaning, referendum determines the right of every citizen to participate in a referendum related to its initiation, preparation and running, voting, etc. The subjective right gives rise to the obligation of state bodies and officials to guarantee the status of a citizen both as a person who holds this constitutional capability and as a person who exercises it in practice. Purpose: to substantiate the current relevance of the chosen research topic; to perform a comparative retrospective analysis of scientific approaches to the development of the ‘referendum’ concept; to show that the objective and subjective meanings of the ‘referendum’ institution are the obligatory characteristics of the democracy regime, which are integrated at the substantial level and appear to be the constitutional foundations of the rule of law in society. Methods: the research is based on the dialectic method as a commonly employed scientific tool; there are used general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, system structural analysis) and specific scientific (formal legal, formal logical, structural functional) methods of cognition. Results: the constitutional content of the ‘referendum’ concept in its objective (Article 3 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) and subjective (Article 32 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) aspects is determined. The key powers of the people as a subject of referendum law and of a citizen as a participant in the referendum process are identified. There is substantiated the necessity of polling on the issues put to a referendum and their discussion as the obligatory preliminary stages of the popular vote (poll - discussion - referendum). Conclusions: in its objective meaning, referendum is the fundamental right of the people and the substantial component of the constitutional system. Due to this circumstance, the people have the right to demand from the state, state authorities and authorized officials to implement measures and create conditions for exercising the right to referendum, including settlement of the people's right to referendum. In its subjective meaning, referendum is a system of constitutional legal guarantees for the right of every eligible citizen to participate in a referendum. This right restricts state power and obliges the state to take measures to protect the status of a person as a subject that exercises this right.