Abstract

The so-called “Citizens’ Assembliesµ, varied experiences of the involvement of new forms of popular bodies and expressions of so-called “deliberative democracyµ, have already found application in several legal systems. Given their variety and their progressive spread in a global perspective, it seems appropriate to propose a reflection on this issue, starting with an attempt to systematise the phenomenon in order to establish the methods of composition, objectives, tasks and place of these bodies within the legal systems in which they have been implemented. Subsequently, a critical in-depth study will be proposed with systemic considerations on the compatibility, alternativeness and competitiveness between Citizens’ Assemblies and traditional forms of direct and representative democracy: therefore, assessing the impact of these new tools on classic democratic mechanisms, whether they can actually be a viable alternative or addition to direct democracy mechanisms and whether they can be complementary instruments within the representative circuit.