ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the outcome of the revision process launched by Act 90/2010 creating a Constitutional Assembly, intended to satisfy public expectations for reforms through a new constitution. At the forefront is the 2011 Proposal for a New Constitution delivered by the Constitutional Council in July 2011. The chapter compares the elements with some of the principal aims of the Constitutional Council itself and, in some cases, discusses them further with regard to the basic values of European constitutionalism, such as predictability, stability, and division of powers. The Commentary also stipulated that the Constitutional Council was aware of certain risks relating to direct democracy, such as danger of decision-making becoming ineffective, the possibility of abusive decisions against minorities, and the potential decline of political responsibility by MPs. Although paying allegiance to representative democracy, the heart of the Constitutional Council therefore seemed in many respects to beat with the ideals of direct democracy creating an inconsistent framework for political decision-making.
