It has been established that a nationwide referendum is a form of direct democracy, which provides for the management of state affairs and the solution of issues of national scale through the exercise of direct will by citizens on issues provided by law. A nationwide referendum is a worthy addition to the activities of a representative body of state power, as it allows the people to express their will directly. The use of a referendum as a form of direct expression of the will of citizens will help reduce the number of corruption cases within public authorities, as well as provide a practical counterweight to them (provided that the constitutional and legal requirements for organizing and holding a referendum are met). It is proposed to highlight the following stages of development of the national referendum in Ukraine: 1991-1996 - adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On All-Ukrainian and Local Referendums" on July 3, 1991; 1996-2000 - referendum on December 1, 1996 (which resulted in the adoption of the Act of Independence of Ukraine); consolidation of the basic principles of the procedure for organizing and conducting a nationwide referendum in Ukraine in Section III of the Constitution of Ukraine “Elections. Referendum"; 2000-2012 - holding an all-Ukrainian referendum on April 16, 2000 (on reducing the number of people's deputies in parliament, changing the model of parliament to bicameral, establishing additional grounds for dissolution of parliament by the head of state, and limiting parliamentary immunity), which did not result in amendments to legislation ; 2012-2018 - adoption on November 6, 2012 of the Law of Ukraine "On All-Ukrainian Referendum" and further recognition of its unconstitutional Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in the case on the constitutional petition of 57 deputies of Ukraine on compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (constitutionality) ; 2018 - January 25, 2021 - work towards the legislative regulation of the national referendum, development and submission of relevant bills, preparation for the second reading of the draft Law on Democracy through an all-Ukrainian referendum, which was initiated by the President of Ukraine; January 26, 2021 - until today - the period beginning with the adoption of the Law on Democracy through an all-Ukrainian referendum. It is established that in modern democracies the legislator seeks to develop the most perfect model of the institution of a referendum, including a nationwide one, as the latter plays a significant role in the constitutional construction. At the same time, the initiation of referendums under the constitutional legislation of many foreign states is possible, as a rule, not only by public authorities, but also directly by citizens. Often the constitutions of foreign countries set certain conditions for the legitimacy of referendums. As a rule, it is a matter of regulating the number of citizens who expressed their will and also voted "for" the proposal submitted to the referendum (Poland, Italy, Austria, Estonia). Regarding the definition of such conditions at the constitutional level, it should be noted that the participation of the majority of the electorate is generally established. In terms of legitimacy, the basic laws may regulate the number of votes on the issue - more than half of all received.
