Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to define and show the nature and functions of the referendum ingeneral, and to examine the legislative regulation of its institution in Hungary after 2013.The brief introduction will be followed by an analysis of some of the institutional andinstrumental features of the referendum in the context of the constitutional law. Special attentionwill be paid to the question raised by, and to the pros and cons of the referendum held in 2016.The legal aspects and social consequences of this invalid referendum will be emphasized.