ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to discuss what public participation in the context of constitution making entails and illustrates characteristic features of different types of participation in constitution making processes. The initiators of the constitution making process have the possibility to design the process such that public influence is reduced or increased. Their aspiration to involve the general public so that genuine participation becomes a viable option depends on how the initiators communicate and inform the people about the constitution-making process. Some constitution making processes employ a one-way model of communication, which only serves to keep the public informed about the process without allowing feedback. In order to be able to make an assessment of how participatory a constitution-making process is, the extent of inclusion is also a factor that must be considered. The question of final authority is an essential aspect to determine how participatory a constitution making process.
