An effective system of appeal

a. The appeal body in referendum matters should be impartial and independent, endowed with the necessary powers of cognition and decision to afford an effective remedy, established by law and bound to apply the law, with limited discretion. A final appeal to a court of law is the preferred option in most Council of Europe member states.

b. The procedure must be simple and devoid of formalism, notably for the admissibility of appeals.

c. The appeal procedure and, in particular, the powers and responsibilities of the various bodies should be clearly regulated by law, so as to avoid conflicts of jurisdiction (whether positive or negative). The law must specifically designate the competent body in each case.

d. The appeal body must be competent to deal with the sphere covered by these guidelines, in particular with:

- the franchise and electoral registers;
- the completion of popular initiatives and requests for referendums from a section of the electorate;
- the procedural and, where applicable, substantive validity of texts submitted to a referendum: the review of the validity of texts should take place before the vote; domestic law determines whether such review is obligatory or optional;
- campaign financing issues;
- respect for free suffrage;
- the results of the ballot.

e. The appeal body must have authority to annul the referendum where irregularities may have affected the outcome. It must be possible to annul the entire referendum or merely the results for one polling station or constituency. In the event of annulment of the global result, a new referendum must be called.

f. All voters must be entitled to appeal. A reasonable quorum may be imposed for appeals by voters against the results of a referendum.

g. Time-limits for lodging and deciding appeals must be short.

h. The applicant’s right to a hearing involving both parties must be protected.

i. Where the appeal body is a higher electoral commission, it must be able ex officio to rectify or set aside decisions taken by lower electoral commissions.