Journal of Constitutional Law (Sep 2023)
Permissibility of Holding a Referendum under the Conditions of Occupation of the Territories of Georgia
Abstract
It is acknowledged truth in the sphere of legal hermeneutics, that when interpreting a legal norm, we should not always rely only on grammatical and word-for-word interpretation, and we should also refer to other ways and methods of interpretation, because sometimes the norm may seem simple, but in reality its understanding requires a complex approach. We are dealing with such a case in relation to the issue of holding a referendum in Georgia. In this case, no one disputes the democracy of the referendum, the issue only concerns the admissibility of holding a referendum under the conditions of occupation of a part of the country's territory, which is aggravated by one norm of the Organic Law of Georgia "On Referendum", literal interpretation of which leads to the only conclusion, that holding a referendum in Georgia is not allowed before the restoration of territorial integrity. The present article is an attempt to answer this question not only with one approach but in a comprehensive manner, applying the main methods of legal hermeneutics.
