Adopted
of 30 March 1994 (No. 2914 - XII). Amendments and alterations made by Laws of 3
March 1995 No. 3634 -XII, of 6 February 1997 No. 1-L, of 7 July 1997 No. 51-L, of
16 June 2000 No. 401-L, of 04 January 2003 No. 183-L, and of 03 November 2005
No. 53-L.
Article 1
Functions of the Constitutional Court
Supervision of the constitutionality of enforceable enactments in the Republic
of Belarus shall be exercised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Belarus.
The Constitutional Court shall be established to safeguard the supremacy of the
Constitution and to assure its direct action on the territory of the Republic,
to insure the conformity of acts issued by the governments authorities to the
Constitution, to strengthen lawfulness in law-making and the application of
laws, to address other issues provided by the Constitution and this Law.
Article 2
Basic Principles of the Constitutional Court Activities
The basic principles of the Constitutional Court activities shall be
lawfulness, independence, collegiality, the public and oral nature of
proceedings, equality of the rights of the parties and adversarial proceedings.
The Constitutional Court shall be independent in exercise of its functions.
Any form of pressure on the Constitutional Court or its members in connection
with constitutional supervision shall be prohibited and liable to prosecution
under law.
Article 21
Lawfulness
The Constitutional Court shall make its rulings on the basis of the
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, legal instruments of international law
ratified by the Republic of Belarus as well as laws and other enforceable
enactments.
When considering issues concerning the compliance of enforceable enactments
with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Constitutional Court
shall proceed from the presumption of their constitutionality.
Article 22
Independence
The independence of the Constitutional Court shall be guaranteed by specific
rules for the appointment, election of judges and the termination of their
office, by their immunity, by the procedure laid down for the examination of
cases and issues falling within the competence of the Constitutional Court, by
the secrecy of judges' deliberation in the deliberative room, by liability for
disrespect for the Constitutional Court or interference in its activities, by
the creation of the necessary organisational and technical conditions for its
work and also by the granting to judges of material and social benefits in
keeping their elevated status. status.
Article 23
Collegiality
Matters falling within the competence of the Constitutional Court shall be
examined by judges in benches.
Article 24
Public Nature of Proceedings
The Constitutional Court shall rule on matters publicly, except in the cases
provided for in the third paragraph of Article 26 of this Law. Judgments of the
Constitutional Court shall in all cases be publicly announced.
Article 25
Oral Nature of Proceeding
The proceedings at sittings of the Constitutional Court shall be conducted
orally. When considering cases, the Constitutional Court shall hear the
parties, their representatives, experts, specialists and witnesses and read out
the documents relating to the case.
Article 26
Equality of the Rights of the Parties and Adversarial Proceedings
The parties shall enjoy equal rights during consideration their case by the
Constitutional Court.
Constitutional legal proceedings shall be based on the adversarial principle.
Article 3
Language of the Constitutional Legal Proceedings
Proceedings before the Constitutional Court shall be held in Belarusian and
(or) Russian languages.
Article 4
Legislation on the Constitutional Court
The jurisdiction, organisation and working procedures of the Constitutional
Court shall be defined by the Constitution and the present Law.
Issues concerning guarantees of the activities of the Constitutional Court and
its members may be by other legislative texts.
In accordance with the present Law, the Constitutional Court shall adopt
regulations governing its activities.
Article 5
Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall be competent to consider the cases and produce
rulings on:
the conformity of laws, decrees and edicts of the President, international
agreements and other obligations of the Republic of Belarus to the Constitution
and other instruments of international law ratified by the Republic of Belarus;
the conformity of instruments of interstate formations of which the Republic of
Belarus is part, edicts of the President of the Republic of Belarus which are
issued to the execution of the law, the Constitution, the laws, decrees and
instruments of international law ratified by the Republic of Belarus;
the conformity of the ordinances of the Council of Ministers and orders of the
Supreme Council, the Supreme Economic Court, Procurator-General to the
Constitution, laws and instruments of international law ratified by the
Republic of Belarus, laws, decrees and edicts;
the conformity of enactments of any other state body to the Constitution, laws
and decrees as well as to the laws and instruments of international law
ratified by the Republic of Belarus.
The Constitutional Court shall consider issues concerning the constitutionality
of the enactments referred to in the first part of this Article, may discuss
the issues of both as a whole and in respect of their individual provisions.
In instances specified by the Constitution, the Constitutional Court with
regard to the proposal of the President shall give its conclusion on the
presence of instances of systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution
of the Republic of Belarus by the chambers of Parliament.
Article 6
Procedure for Submitting Cases for Consideration by the Constitutional
Court
The Constitutional Court shall consider cases on the appropriate proposals of
the initiators.
Applications to review the constitutionality of an enactment may be submitted
to the Constitutional Court by the President of the Republic of Belarus, the
House of Representatives, the Council of the Republic, the Supreme Court of the
Republic of Belarus, the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus, the
Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
If, under Article 112 of the Constitution, during the hearing of a specific
case, a court concludes that an enforceable enactment is contrary to the
Constitution, it makes a ruling in accordance with the Constitution and, after
a ruling of a court becomes valid, raise before the Supreme Court or the
Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus accordingly the issue on
submitting by them the application to the Constitutional Court of whether the
enforceable enactment in question should be deemed unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court or the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus
shall be obliged to submit to the Constitutional Court, in the period of one
month, the application of whether such an enforceable enactment should be
deemed unconstitutional.
Other state bodies, public associations and also citizens shall apply to the
bodies or persons empowered to submit an application for review of the
constitutionality of an enactment.
The Constitutional Court shall be entitled to refuse, giving reasons, an application
to review the constitutionality of an enactment on the grounds provided for in
the present Law.
The Constitutional Court on the grounds of the proposal of the President of the
Republic of Belarus shall give its conclusion on the presence of instances of
systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
by the chambers of Parliament. The Constitutional Court shall not be entitled
to refuse to consider this issue.
Article 7
Right the Constitutional Court to Submit Proposals to State and Other
Bodies
The Constitutional Court shall be entitled to submit to the President of the
Republic of Belarus, the chambers of the Parliament of the Republic of Belarus,
other state bodies, according to their competencies, proposals as to the
necessity of amending an supplementing the enactments of legislation in force,
and as to adoption of new enforceable enactments. The Constitutional Court
shall furthermore be entitled to submit to state and other bodies other
proposals deriving from its powers.
The proposals of the Constitutional Court submitting to state and other bodies
shall be considered by them in terms and according to the procedure established
for these bodies.
Article 8
Working System of the Constitutional Court
The sittings of the Constitutional Court shall be held as and when necessary
and shall be convened by the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court at his or
her own initiative or at the request of no less than three Constitutional Court
judges.
Article 9
Juridical Force of the Constitutional Court Decisions. The Consequences of
an Enactment Being Declared Unconstitutional
Laws, Decrees and Edicts of the President of the Republic of Belarus,
international agreements and other obligations of the Republic of Belarus, instruments
of interstate formations of which the Republic of Belarus is part, the
ordinances of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, orders of
the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, the Supreme Economic Court of the
Republic of Belarus, Procurator-General of the Republic of Belarus, enactments
of other state bodies found by the Constitutional Court to be contrary to the
Constitution or to other enactments which have supreme legal force shall be
considered void either as a whole or in respect of some of their provisions
from a date specified by the Constitutional Court.
Declaration of an enactment or its individual provisions to be contrary to the
Constitution or to enactments which have supreme legal force shall be ground
for abolition in established procedure of other enforceable enactments based on
such an enactment or on its individual provisions or those which reproduce it
or contains these provisions. The provisions of such enforceable enactments may
not be applied by courts, other bodies and officials.
Article 10
Binding Force of the Judgements of the Constitutional Court and Time Limits
for Considering Them
The judgments of the Constitutional Court within its area of competence shall
be binding throughout the territory of the Republic of Belarus for all state
bodies, enterprises, institutions, organisations, officials and citizens.
The judgments the Constitutional Court shall be considered by the bodies and
individuals to whom they are addressed to. Those bodies and individuals must reply
to the Constitutional Court within the time specified by it, unless otherwise
stipulated in the present Law.
Any refusal to consider a judgment of the Constitutional Court or evasion of
the obligation to do so, any non-observance of time limits and any failure to
enforce or inappropriate enforcement of a judgment of the Constitutional Court
shall entail liability in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of
Belarus.
Article 11
Limits of the Competence of Constitutional Court
The limits of the competence of the Constitutional Court to rule on cases shall
be determined by the Constitutional Court according to the present Law.
In its consideration of the constitutionality of an enactment in question, the
Constitutional Court shall determine its conformity to the Constitution,
instruments of international law ratified by the Republic of Belarus, the laws,
decrees and edicts of the President of the Republic of Belarus:
1) on the content of norms;
2) on the form of an enforceable enactment;
3) from the view point of power differentiation among state bodies;
4) on the order of adoption, signing, publication and coming into force.
In its consideration of issues, the Constitutional Court shall not be bound by
the arguments and opinions of the parties concerned.
The Constitutional Court may also give rulings on enactments based on an
enactment already reviewed or reproducing certain provisions of that enactment,
even if they are not referred to in the application.
When reviewing an enactment, the Constitutional Court shall take into
consideration both its literal meaning and the meaning attributed to it by its
practical application.
The Constitutional Court shall not be entitled to undertake a review or
analysis draft enactments whose constitutionality it may be called upon to
consider.
Article 12
Membership of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and
ten judges.
The Constitutional Court shall be competent to give rulings and shall begin
work when no less than eight members of the Constitutional Court have been
appointed and elected (henceforce - judge).
Article 13
Procedure of Forming of the Constitutional Court
Six judges of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the President of
the Republic of Belarus and six elected by the Council of the Republic of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall be appointed by the President
of the Republic of Belarus with the consent of the Council of the Republic of
the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus from among the judges of the
Constitutional Court.
The Vice-Chairperson shall be elected by the Constitutional Court from among
its appointed an elected judges on a proposal from the Chairperson of the
Constitutional Court.
In the event of prematurely removal of an elected or appointed judge from the
Constitutional Court, another judge shall be elected or appointed in accordance
with the analogous procedure.
In the event of the absence of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the
Constitutional Court or in the event of their inability to exercise their
functions, the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court shall exercise the
powers set up in Article 19 of the present Law.
Article 14
Requirements for Application for the Office of the Constitutional Court
Judge
Citizens of the Republic of Belarus having received higher education in law,
holding an advanced legal qualification, having as a rule a scientific degree
and possessing high moral standards shall be eligible for the office of
Constitutional Court judge. After their appointment and election, Constitutional
Court judge is attributed by the President of the Republic of Belarus on
specified order the rank of qualified judge.
The permissible age limit for the members of the Constitutional Court shall be
70 years.
Article 15
Term of Office of Judges of the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court judges shall be appointed and elected for a term of eleven
years and may re-appointed and re-elected for another term. The Chairperson of
the Constitutional Court may be removed from office of the Chairperson of the Constitutional
Court by the President of the Republic of Belarus on the grounds provided by
the present Law with the notice of the Council of the Republic of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. Vice-Chairperson of the Constitutional
Court shall be elected by the judges of the Constitutional Court on the
submission of the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court.
Article 16
Activities Incompatible with the Office of a Constitutional Court Judge
The Constitutional Court judges may not engage in business activities or other
remunerated activities besides teaching and research work. They may not be
members of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic
of Belarus, deputies or members of political parties or other public associations
pursuing political aims.
Article 17
Oath to be Taking by a Member of the Constitutional Court Member
A member of the Constitutional Court may take part in the Court's activities
only after having taken the Oath of office.
The Constitutional Court judges both appointed by the President of the Republic
of Belarus and elected by the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly
of the Republic of Belarus shall be sworn in by the President of the Republic
of Belarus in the presence of the Chairpersons of the House of Representatives
and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of
Belarus.
Each member of the Constitutional Court shall take the following Oath:
"I, (surname, first name, patronymic), hereby assume an obligation to the
people of the Republic of Belarus to perform the duties of the judge of the
Constitutional Court honestly, conscientiously and impartially, to protect the
constitutional order and the supremacy of the Constitution".
A judge during his or her term of office at the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Belarus shall be sworn once.
Article 18
Early Termination of the Term of Office of the Constitutional Court Judge
The term of office of a Constitutional Court judge may be terminated in before
the appointed time in the following cases:
1) on his or her request for resignation;
2) if he or she has forfeited citizenship of the Republic of Belarus;
3) when he or she has reached the permissible age specified for the office of
the Constitutional Court judge;
4) if he or she, in spite of warning by the Constitutional Court, continue to
be engaged in activities incompatible with the office of a judge;
5) if his or her actions defame the honour and dignity of a judge or other
actions which discredit the Constitutional Court;
6) when a guilty verdict passed in respect of him or her by the court of law
that has come into legal force;
7) if he or she is recognised incapable by the court decision that has come
into legal force;
8) if he or she is declared as a missing or a dead person by the court decision
that has come into legal force;
9) if he or she is recognised in prescribed order to be disable or incapable
due to health reasons to perform duties of a judge during an extended period of
time (not less than one year);
10) in case of his or her death.
The term of office of a Constitutional Court judge shall be done by the
President of the Republic of Belarus on the basis of the submission of the
Constitutional Court (points 2- 10 of paragraph one of the present Article) or
personal written application of a judge (point 1 of paragraph one of the
present Article), with notification of the Council of the Republic of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus included. In addition, the
submission of the Constitutional Court shall be adopted by the majority of the
total number of judges of the Constitutional Court besides the case when the
submission on the termination of term of office is made in accordance with
point 5 of paragraph one of the present Article which shall be adopted by the
majority of not less than two thirds of the total number of judges.
Article 181
Suspension from Office of a
Judge of the Constitutional Court
The powers of a judge of the Constitutional Court may be suspended in the event
of :
1) the President of the Republic of Belarus giving his consent to the arrest of
a judge or having him or her brought to criminal responsibility;
2) the Constitutional Court judge has been registered as a candidate to the
deputies of the House of Representatives, members of the Council of the
Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, deputies of local
Councils of deputies.
Suspension of powers of a Constitutional Court judge shall be done by the
President of the Republic of Belarus. Decision on the suspension of powers of a
Constitutional Court judge shall be taken without delay after the grounds for
such suspension have been revealed.
No Constitutional Court judge, whose powers have been suspended, may
participate in sittings of the Constitutional Court or send official documents
to state bodies and other bodies, officials and citizens and to demand from
them any documents or other information in accordance with the present Law.
Restoration of powers of a Constitutional Court judge shall be admitted after
grounds for the suspension lapse and shall be formalised by the President of
the Republic of Belarus.
Article 182
Resignation of a Constitutional Court Judge
A judge shall be deemed to have resigned in the event of his or her term of office
being terminated on the grounds provided for in points 1 and 3 of the first
paragraph of Article 18 of the present Law.
Length of service of a Constitutional Court judge, which gives him or her the
right to resignation and payment of the monthly allowance, shall be defined by
the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. Furthermore, the period of work in
a specialised legal field previously completed by the Constitutional Court
judge in question shall be counted as part of the period of service giving
entitlement to life-long monthly allowance.
The procedure for the calculation and payment of the life-long monthly
allowance shall be defined by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 19
Chairperson of the Constitutional Court
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall enjoy all the rights and bear
all the obligations of a Constitutional Court judge.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall represent the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Belarus in relations with state bodies and
organisations, social associations.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall:
- direct the work of the Constitutional Court and distribute duties among its
members;
- call and preside over the sittings of the Constitutional Court;
- take measures to encourage or penalise the judges of the Constitutional
Court, in accordance with the regulations;
- perform general administration of the work of the Secretariat of the
Constitutional Court and be entitled to engaged and dismiss its staff;
- be entitled to resign from office at any time.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall issue instructions on matters
relating to the internal activities of the constitutional Court.
The Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall exercise other functions in
accordance with the present Law and the Regulations of the Constitutional
Court.
Article 20
Vice-Chairperson of the Constitutional Court
The Vice-Chairperson of the Republic of Belarus shall enjoy all the rights and
bear all the obligations of a Constitutional Court judge, and shall perform the
duties of the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court in the latter's absence
or if instructed to do so by the latter.
The Vice-Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall be entitled to resign
from office at any time.
Article 21
A Constitutional Court Judge
A Constitutional Court judge shall:
- be entitled to demand the convening of a sitting of the Constitutional Court,
to submit issues for the Court's consideration and express a dissenting opinion
in respect of the Constitutional Court's decisions;
- participate in all sittings of the Constitutional Court and be entitled to
vote;
- enjoy the other rights and bear the responsibilities provided for in the
present Law;
A Constitutional Court judge shall be entitled to resign from office at any
time.
Until a ruling is given on issues being studied or deliberated by the
Constitutional Court, none of its members shall be entitled to express an
opinion publicly, unless it is necessary to do so in order to prepare an issue
for consideration by the Constitutional Court.
Constitutional Court judges shall have equal rights in deciding on all issues
falling within the competence of the Constitutional Court.
Article 22
Entitlement of Constitutional Court Judges to Attend Sittings of State
Bodies
Constitutional Court judges shall be entitled to attend open (and also closed,
by invitation) sittings of any state body.
Article 23
Immunity of a Constitutional Court Judge
Constitutional Court judges shall enjoy immunity.
The immunity of a judge shall extend to his or her home, office premises,
transport, means of communication, correspondence, belongings and documents
used by them.
Persons appointed and elected to the Constitutional Court shall not have
criminal proceedings instituted against them or be arrested or deprived of
their personal freedom in any other manner without the consent of the President
of the Republic of Belarus, except where they are arrested while committing a
crime.
Criminal proceedings against a Constitutional Court member may be instituted
only by the Procurator General of the Republic of Belarus with the consent of
the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 24
Guarantees of the Activity of the Constitutional Court
Funding for the Constitutional Court shall be drawn from the budget of the
Republic and shall guarantee the complete independence of legal proceedings
before the Court. A separate heading in the annual budget of the Republic shall
provide for the funds required to guarantee the work of the constitutional
Court, and the Court shall be free to use those funds as it sees fit.
The premises required by the Constitutional Court to carry out its duties shall
be the property of the Republic; the Court shall be responsible for their
day-to-day management.
The Constitutional Court shall independently acquire the information facilities
and personnel required for its activities.
The physical and technical resources required for the activities of the
Constitutional Court, including means of transport and communication, shall be
provided by the appropriate state bodies in accordance with a procedure
established by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 25
Guarantees of the Independence of the Constitutional Court Judge
Material guarantees of independence of a judge of the Constitutional Court of
the Republic of Belarus relating to their social security, social and consumer
services shall be established in order determined by the President of the
Republic of Belarus. In addition, the measures for legal and social protection
of the Constitutional Court judges may not be lower than those set up for the
judges of the ordinary courts. In the event of other legal enactments
envisaging different norms, enhancing the level of legal protection, material
and social security of the judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of
Belarus and the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus or other
officials of state apparatus, the provisions of those enactments shall apply to
the Constitutional Court judges.
Article 26
Sittings of the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court sittings shall be conducted in a solemn environment, with
the observance of all requirements of judicial etiquette.
All persons present in the courtroom shall be bound to show respect for the
Constitutional Court and its rules and procedures and shall obey the orders of
the presiding official.
Closed sittings may be held in cases where the Constitutional Court decides
that they are necessary in the interests of state secrecy.
No judge shall have the right to absence in the sitting of the Court without
reasonable excuse. No judge shall be debarred to participate in the sitting of
the Court if his or her powers have not been suspended or terminated in the
order determined by the present Law.
Article 27
General Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court
One or more issues may be considered at a sitting of the Constitutional Court.
A report shall be prepared on each issue and presented by a member of the
Constitutional Court.
Sittings of the Constitutional Court shall as a rule continue without
interruption, except time allocated for rest or for participants to prepare
their final address.
A sitting may be suspended on application by one of the parties for the
additional study of material submitted by the other party and also in the event
of circumstances obstructing the normal progress of consideration of a case or
upon the necessity of considering another issue within a certain time limit. In
such a case, the presiding official shall announce the suspension of
proceedings for a specified time. Proceedings shall continue from the point at
which they were suspended.
Proceedings may be discontinued if the application on the basis of which the
case was being considered is withdrawn or if the enforceable enactment whose
constitutionality was disputed is amended or supplemented in such a manner that
the grounds bringing the case before the Court no longer apply or such an enactment
is repealed, except in the events where inalienable human rights and freedoms
have been violated by the operation of this enactment and have not been
restored after its repeal. Proceedings shall be discontinued if during a
sitting the grounds for the refusal to consider the application are revealed.
Fresh submission of the issue to the Constitutional Court in such circumstances
shall be possible only after three months have elapsed since the announcement
of the decision to discontinue examination of the issue, provided that the
grounds leading the Constitutional Court to announce that decision have been
removed.
The suspension of the Constitutional Court's examination of one issue shall not
prevent it from considering other issues.
Article 28
Officials Presiding Over Sittings of the Constitutional Court
Sittings of the Constitutional Court shall be presided by the Chairperson of
the Constitutional Court or, in his or her absence or on his or her
instructions, the Vice-Chairperson of the Constitutional Court. The Judge
reporting on the case may not preside the sitting.
The presiding official shall conduct the sitting, take the necessary measures
to ensure the orderly nature, completeness and thoroughness of the examination
and to record its progress and results; he or she shall rule out any
considerations which are irrelevant to the case; he or she shall interrupt,
after a warning, speeches by the participants in the sitting, should they
concern matters unrelated to the case or lying outside the competence of the
Court; he or she shall deny participants the floor if they wilfully breach the
order of speaking, use strong or abusive language or otherwise violate the
procedure and rules for examining issues in the Constitutional Court.
The presiding official shall be entitled to remove from the courtroom any
person committing a breach of order or failing to comply with his lawful
instructions.
Article 29
Parties and Participants in Sittings of the Constitutional Court
Participants in Constitutional Court sittings shall be the parties involved,
representatives of the parties, witnesses, experts, specialists and
translators.
Sittings of the Constitutional Court may be attended by the President of the
Republic of Belarus, the Chairperson of the House of Representatives of the
National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Chairperson of the Council of the
Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Prime
Minister of the Republic of Belarus, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of
the Republic of Belarus, the chairperson of the Supreme Economic Court of the
Republic of Belarus, the Procurator General of the Republic of Belarus and the
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. They shall be entitled to state
their position on all the issues examined.
Parties to Constitutional Court sittings shall be:
officials who signed or issued the enactment whose constitutionality is
disputed, or their representatives;
the persons who submitted the application for review to the Constitutional
Court, or their representatives.
Barristers, specialists and other persons whose authority to act is confirmed
in writing by the parties in accordance with the established procedure may
participate in sittings as representatives of the parties.
The parties (their representatives) shall appear when called before the
Constitutional Court and provide explanations and answer issues. A party (its
representative) shall be entitled to state their own position in respect of the
case, put issues to the adverse party (its representative), witnesses and
experts and also to lodge petitions, submit documents, written comments and
other material concerning the case, and have access to the documents, written
comments and other material submitted to the Constitutional Court by the adverse
party (its representative).
The parties, their representatives, witnesses, experts and specialists taking
part in sittings of the Constitutional Court shall be required to state
accurately and truthfully all the circumstances of the case which are known to
them.
The failure of parties or other participants to appear in a Constitutional
Court sitting shall not provide obligatory grounds for discontinuing or
suspending examination of the case.
Article 30
Responsibility for Covering the Expenses of Parties and Participants in
Constitutional Court Sittings
The parties shall cover the expenses arising from their participation in a
sitting of the Constitutional Court from their own means; they may demand
reimbursement of their costs through a civil action.
The expenses incurred by participants summoned to appear by the Constitutional
Court shall be covered by the budget of the Republic in accordance with the
procedure established for this purpose by the juridical system.
Article 31
Notification of and Summons to Constitutional Court Sittings
The parties, and other participants if so decided by the Constitutional Court,
shall be sent notice of the sitting, the agenda, and copies of the application,
of the enactments in question and of opinions on them ten days prior to the
start of the sitting at the latest. If necessary, the parties may be provided
with other documents and material.
Any person may be called as a witness at the discretion of the Constitutional
Court, whereas those called as experts or specialists shall have special
qualifications or expertise.
Witnesses, experts and specialists shall be obliged to appear before the
Constitutional Court when summoned by it.
Article 32
Recording of Constitutional Court Sittings
Constitutional Court sittings shall be recorded; the minutes shall include:
the place and date of the sitting;
the names of the judges present and absent;
the surname, first name, patronymic and position of the presiding official;
the agenda;
data on parties and participants in the sitting;
the measures taken by the Constitutional Court in chronological order and their
results;
the explanations and statements of the parties their representatives and other
participants, the questions put to them and their replies;
the testimonies of witnesses and experts, the questions put to them and their
replies;
the facts which the parties and participants requested to be included in the
minutes;
references to any breaches of procedure, other manifestations of disrespect for
the Constitutional Court, warnings given and penalties imposed;
questions put to a vote and the results of voting;
the wording of any decisions given by the Constitutional Court.
The minutes must be drawn up within ten days of the end of the sitting. In the
exceptional cases if the minutes is very broad in scope the time for its
drawing up the may be extended up to fifteen days by the official who preside
over the Constitutional Court sitting. They shall be signed by the official who
presided over the Constitutional Court sitting and by the secretary of the
sitting.
The minutes of the Constitutional Court sitting shall be made available to the
parties and participants in the sitting. The procedure for consulting the
minutes, obtaining copies of them and taking any other action related to their
dissemination shall be established by the Constitutional Court.
Article 321
Preliminary Consideration of Applications
The applications being communicated to the constitutional Court shall be
subject to compulsory registration and a preliminary study in the Secretariat
of the Constitutional Court.
After the preliminary study the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court shall
take the decision to refer an application to a judge (judges) of the
Constitutional Court for further preparation of the issue on taking proceedings
or for the withdrawal of an application to its initiator in order to make good
any shortcomings or for the withdrawal of an application due to the fact that
it does not fall within the Constitutional Court jurisdiction.
Article 33
Preparation of Constitutional Court Sittings
Issues submitted for consideration by the Constitutional Court shall form the
subject of a preliminary study. The Chairperson shall assign one or more judges
to the study of the case and set a time limit for the completion of this work,
which, as a rule, shall be no more than two months after the date of receipt of
the file by the Constitutional Court. The Chairperson of the Constitutional
Court may extend this time limit by a maximum of one month if the issue is particularly
complex or very broad in scope.
The judge assigned to prepare the case (reporting judge) shall be entitled to
demand the necessary documents, order checks, investigations and expert
appraisals, consult specialists, make inquiries, demand that the initiators of
the case make good any shortcomings in the documents presented, and set time
limits for compliance with his or her orders.
The judges shall be notified of the time, place and agenda of the sitting and
provided with all the documents necessary for the consideration of the case no
later than ten days before the start of the sitting.
Article 34
Procedure for the Consideration of Cases by the Constitutional Court
At the appointed time, the presiding official shall open the sitting and
announce the agenda. He or she shall then ensure that all the parties and
participants are present, check where necessary that they have authority to act
and inform them of their rights and obligations.
If the parties or participants fail to appear at the sitting or do not have
duly certified authority to act, the presiding official shall invite the
members of the Court to vote on whether the case should be examined or on
whether the person in question should participate in its examination.
The consideration of each case shall begin with the report of the reporting
judge, who shall state the substance of the issue and the reasons and grounds
for its examination. After his or her report, the parties or their
representatives shall be heard. Questions may be put to them. Where necessary,
the evidence of witnesses, experts and specialists shall be heard and documents
relevant to the consideration of the case read out.
Having investigated the materials of the case, the presiding official shall
declare the completion of the hearing and report the date and time of the
pronouncing of the final decision. The final decision shall be pronounced in no
event later than fifteen days after the completion of a hearing.
Article 35
Passing of Constitutional Court Decisions
The final decision on the case shall be passed by the Constitutional Court by
the conference in camera.
Only judges considering the case in the sitting of the Court shall participate
in the conference. Members of the Secretariat of the Constitutional Court who
are ensure technical security of the conference may be present in the
conference room.
During the conference the judges may freely express their position on the issue
under discussion and may ask other judges to clarify their positions.
Constitutional Court decisions shall be passed by roll-call vote of the judges.
The presiding official shall be the last to cast his or her vote.
The presiding official shall put questions to the vote in the order in which
they are raised. Judges shall vote "for" or "against" and
not be entitled to abstain or not take part in voting.
A Constitutional Court judgment shall be deemed as passed if it receives a
simple majority of the votes of the full membership of the bench unless
otherwise stipulated by the present Law.
If votes are evenly divided during the passing of the decision on the
verification of the constitutionality of an enforceable enactment, the decision
shall be deemed to have been passed in favour of the constitutionality of the
contested enactment.
The issues put to the vote and the results of voting shall be compulsory
recorded in the minutes of the conference.
The minutes of the conference of the judges shall be signed by all the judges
who participated in the passing of a decision and shall be subject to no
announcement.
Article 36
Constitutional Court Decisions
Any act taken by the Constitutional Court during a sitting shall be regarded as
a decision of the Court.
In the cases provided for in Article 5 of the present Law, Constitutional Court
decision shall take the form of conclusions.
Requests to state organs may form part of other decisions or may be conveyed
separately in the form of an inquiry or other request.
The analysis of the situation regarding compliance with the constitutional
legality of the Republic of Belarus shall take the form of a memorandum from
the Constitutional Court to the President of the Republic of Belarus and the
Houses of the Parliament of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 37
Form of Constitutional Court Decisions
Constitutional Court decisions shall take the form of a separate document or
appear as part of the minutes.
The conclusion of the Constitutional Court shall be drawn up in accordance with
the requirements of the present Law.
The memorandum of the Constitutional Court, its inquiries, requests and also
other decisions of a procedural nature shall be drafted in accordance with a
procedure established by the Constitutional Court.
Article 371
Procedure for Rectifying Inaccuracies and Patent Errors in Constitutional
Court Decisions
The Constitutional Court shall be entitled, after announcing its judgment, to
rectify inaccuracies committed in it in respect of names and titles, minor
slips, counting and other drafting errors.
The rectification of inaccuracies, minor slips, counting and other drafting
errors committed in the judgment shall be permitted only at a sitting of the
Constitutional Court by means of a decision to this effect.
Article 38
Delivery of Constitutional
Court Decisions and Their Entry into Force
The decisions of the Constitutional Court shall be delivered at the Court
sitting in terms specified by the Constitutional Court in accordance with the
present Law; its decisions are final and subject to no appeal or protest.
The judgments and other decisions of the Constitutional Court except for the
requests, claims and decisions of the procedural nature shall enter into force
immediately after they are delivered if the other term is not stipulated in
this acts.
Article 39
Dissenting Opinion of a Constitutional Court Judge
A Constitutional Court judge disagreeing with the decision passed shall be
entitled to state his dissenting opinion in writing and attach it to the
minutes of the sitting. Such an opinion, at a judge's will, shall be published
as appendices to Constitutional Court decision in the "Vestnik
Konstitutsionnogo Suda Respubliki Belarus" ("The Bulletin of the
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus").
Article 40
Publication of Constitutional Court Decisions
The conclusions of the Constitutional Court shall be subject to obligatory
official publication in accordance with the procedure established by the
legislation of the Republic of Belarus. The decisions shall be also published
in the "Vestnik Konstitutsionnogo Suda Respubliki Belarus" ("The
Bulletin of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus").
Conclusions of the Constitutional Court shall be sent, no later than three days
after their adoption, to the President of the Republic of Belarus, the House of
Representatives and the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the
Republic of Belarus, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, the
Chairperson of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, the Chairperson of
the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus, the Procurator General
of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
and the parties to the proceedings. Decisions of the Constitutional Court may
be sent also to other state bodies and officials.
Decisions of the Constitutional Court in the form of inquiries or requests and
also those relating to procedural matters shall be published in accordance with
the procedure established by the Constitutional Court.
Article 401
Time Limits for the Enforcement of Decisions
Constitutional Court decisions shall be enforced immediately after their
publication, if they do not specify some other time limit.
Article 402
Consequences of Failure to Enforce a Judgment
Failing to enforce Constitutional Court judgments, inappropriately enforcing
them or impeding their enforcement shall be called to account at law.
Article 41
Interpretation of Constitutional Court Decisions
Constitutional Court decisions may be officially interpreted only by the
Constitutional Court itself. The Court shall give a decision on their
interpretation, which shall be set out in a separate document.
Article 42
Review of a Constitutional Court Decision
A decision of the Constitutional Court may be reviewed at its own initiative in
the case of:
a change in the constitutional rule on which the decision was founded;
the discovery of new circumstances which could substantially affect the essence
of that decision.
Article 43
Judgment of the Constitutional Court
A judgment shall be passed by the Constitutional Court after consideration of the
issues listed in Article 5 of the present Law.
A judgment of the Constitutional Court shall include:
the title of the judgment and the date and place of its delivery;
the membership of the Constitutional Court which delivered the judgment;
the list of parties and participants in the sitting;
the issue considered and the grounds for its consideration;
the provisions of the Constitution and the present Law establishing the right
or obligation of the Constitutional Court to consider the issue in question;
the full title of the enactment whose constitutionality was reviewed and the
source of its publication (receipt);
the circumstances established during consideration of the issue;
the provisions of the Constitution, instruments of international law and the present
Law which guided the Court in its decision;
the title and date of entry into force of any Constitutional Court decision
referred to in the preparation of the present decision;
the wording of the decision and its grounds;
the procedure and time limit for enforcement of the decision and details of its
publication.
If the enactment whose constitutionality is reviewed is declared constitutional
in some parts and unconstitutional in others or if in respect of the same case
some enactments are declared constitutional and the others unconstitutional,
this shall be stated in the judgment of the Constitutional Court.
Article 44
Memorandum from the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall send an annual memorandum to the President of
the Republic of Belarus and the Houses of the Parliament of the Republic of
Belarus concerning the state of observance of the constitutional law of the
Republic, based on the material examined.
Article 45
Inquiries and Requests of the Constitutional Court
To ensure the procedure and rule on other issues falling within its competence,
the Constitutional Court, or, during the preparatory work for consideration of
a specific issue, one of its judges, shall be entitled to make inquiries and
requests to state bodies.
Article 46
Entitlement of the
Constitutional Court to Impose Fines
The Constitutional Court shall be entitled to impose fines on officials and
citizens showing disrespect for the Constitutional Court.
Fines may be imposed on the following grounds:
refusal or failure to consider within the set time limit, without valid excuse,
the inquiries or requests of the Constitutional Court;
failure to implement within the set time limit, without valid excuse, orders or
requests of a Constitutional Court judge to provide documents and other
materials, carry out checks and render aid and assistance in connection with
the consideration of a specific issue;
deliberate submission of false information and documents to the Constitutional
Court;
failure to appear without valid excuse, refusal to appear or failure to give
notification of the impossibility of appearing at a sitting of the
Constitutional Court of a witness, expert or specialist;
non authorised violation by a participant in the sitting of the order of
speaking, the use of strong or abusive language or other disturbances of the
procedure for Constitutional Court sittings, refusal to comply with the
presiding official's instructions on procedural matters.
For each disturbance the Constitutional Court shall be entitled to impose fines
of up to 10 base values on citizens and of up to 50 base values on officials.
The procedure for implementing Constitutional Court decisions on the collection
of fines shall be established by the Constitutional Court.
Article 47
Content of an Application for Review of the Constitutionality of an
Enactment
An application for review of the constitutionality of an enactment shall
include:
information on the applicant(s) of the motion confirming their authority to
submit an application to the Constitutional Court;
the title of the international treaty or the enactment to be reviewed and
information on the sources of its publication;
the grounds for consideration of the issue by the Constitutional Court;
the position of a party and its legal basis with reference to the appropriate
legislative provisions;
the list of enclosed documents.
The application shall be signed by an official, a representative of a state
body or a group of deputies as provided for in Article 6 of the present Law.
The following documents shall be enclosed with an application for review of the
constitutionality of an enactment:
a duly certified copy of the full text of the international treaty or the
enactment whose constitutionality is to be reviewed as a whole or in part, with
the necessary translation and an indication of the source of publication
(receipt) of the enactment;
a power of attorney or other document confirming the authority of a
representative, except in cases where he or she is empowered as a
representative by virtue of his or her office.
Lists of witnesses and experts whom it is proposed to call before the
Constitutional Court, the conclusions of specialists and other documents and
material for submission to the Constitutional Court may be enclosed with the
application.
Applications and the mandatory enclosures shall be sent to the Constitutional
Court in at least 15 copies.
Article 48
Withdrawal of an Application for Review of the Constitutionality of an
Enactment
An application for review of the constitutionality of an enactment may be
withdrawn by the applicant before the Constitutional Court begins its
consideration of the case.
If an application has been withdrawn the proceedings on the case shall be
cancelled.
Article 49
Refusal to Consider an Application for Review of the Constitutionality of
an Enactment
The Constitutional Court refuses to consider an application for review of an
enactment if:
the application is submitted by a body or person having no authority to do so;
the application does not meet the requirements set out in Article 47 of the
present Law;
the application does not fall within the competence of the Constitutional
Court;
the constitutionality in whole or in part of the international treaty or other
enactments mentioned in the application has already been reviewed by the
Constitutional Court and, since that review, there has been no change in the
Constitution or other legal rules which served as the basis for the Court's
decision;
a matter dealt with in the international treaty or other enactment whose
constitutionality is disputed is not provided for in the Constitution and the
means of properly resolving it cannot be derived from the general principles
and meaning of the Constitution;
a party has not remedied formal shortcomings in an application for review of
the constitutionality of an enactment.
In the event of grounds for refusing to consider an application being
established during a sitting of the Constitutional Court, the Court shall
decide to discontinue its consideration of the issue.
Article 50
Regulations of the Constitutional Court
On the basis of the provisions of the present Law, the Constitutional Court
shall adopt regulations establishing rules governing constitutional
proceedings, rules of procedure and juridical etiquette, and laying down
requirements relating to Secretariat staff, the keeping of records and other
aspects of its internal activities.
Article 51
Academic Consultative Council at the Constitutional Court
An Academic Consultative Council made up of theorists and other legal experts
shall be established at the Constitutional Court. Its staff and regulations
shall be approved by the Constitutional Court.
Article 52
Constitutional Court Secretariat
The Constitutional Court Secretariat shall perform information-related,
organisational, technical and other work required for the functioning of the
Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court Secretariat shall be a legal entity under the direct
control of the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court appointed by the
Chairperson of the Constitutional Court.
The staff of the Constitutional Court Secretariat shall have the rights and
obligations laid down in the legislation on civil servants.
Article 53
Court Expenditure
Expenditure relating to the reimbursement of remuneration to third parties for
consultancy work and expert appraisals performed under contract, compensation
for expenses incurred by witnesses and experts appearing before the
Constitutional Court and reimbursement of other Court costs, shall be financed
from the budget of the Republic.
Expenditure relating to the enforcement of the binding decisions of the
Constitutional Court shall be borne by state organs, enterprises, institutions
and organisations responsible for enforcing them.
Article 531
Official Publication of the Constitutional Court
The "Vesnik Kanstytutsijnaga Suda Respubliki Belarus" ("Vestnik
Konstitutsionnogo Suda Respubliki Belarus") / "Bulletin of the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Belarus" / shall be the official publication of
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.
Expenditure for its publishing shall be envisaged annually in the general
calculation of costs for the Constitutional Court support.
Article 54
Protection of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall be protected by the internal affairs authorities
of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 55
Symbols of the Juridical Power of the Constitutional Court
The State Flag of the Republic of Belarus shall be hoisted on the premises of
the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.
The State Flag of the Republic of Belarus, the depiction of the State Emblem of
the Republic of Belarus and the text of the Constitution of the Republic of
Belarus shall be displayed in the courtroom of the Constitutional Court.
The State Flag of the Republic of Belarus shall be placed in the office of the
judge of the Constitutional Court.
The judges of the Constitutional Court shall sit in gowns, the description and
design of which are to be approved by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 56
Identity Documents Issued to the Constitutional Court Judge
Constitutional Court judges shall be issued with an identity document, the
description and design of which shall be established by the Constitutional
Court.
No one shall be entitled to demand from a Constitutional Court judge any
documents attesting to his or her status other than this identity document.
Article 57
Seat of the Constitutional Court
The permanent seat of the Constitutional Court shall be in the capital of the
Republic of Belarus, the City of Minsk.
Constitutional Court sittings shall be held at the Court's permanent seat. The
Constitutional Court may however hold sittings elsewhere if it deems it
necessary.
Article 58
Seal of the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court shall have a seal with the impression of the State
Emblem of the Republic of Belarus an its designation.
Article 59
Procedure for Transmitting Proposal to the Constitutional Court
The proposal on giving the conclusion on the presence of instances of
systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
by the House of Representatives or the Council of the Republic of the National
Assembly of the Republic of Belarus may be transmitted to the Constitutional
Court by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Other materials which bear relation to the case, unless those listed in Article
47 of the present Law, may be enclosed with the proposal.
Article 60
Limits of Verification
When verifying communicated to it by the initiator information on the presence
of systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Republic of
Belarus by the chamber (chambers) of Parliament, the Constitutional Court shall
investigate evidence which determines the presence and absence of such
instances with certainty and shall estimate them.
The Constitutional Court shall not be entitled to examine other instances,
unless those specified by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
Article 61
Passing of the Conclusion of the Constitutional Court on the Presence of
Systematic or Flagrant Violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
by the Chambers of Parliament and Its Consequences
Having examined the case the Constitutional Court shall give one of the
following conclusions;
1) on the absence of instances of systematic or flagrant violation of the
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus by the chambers of Parliament;
2) on the presence of instances of systematic or flagrant violation of the
Constitution of the Republic of Belarus by the chambers of Parliament.
If the votes are evenly divided during the passing of the conclusion in
question, the decision shall be deemed to have been passed in favour of the
absence of instances of systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution of
the Republic of Belarus by the chambers of Parliament.
The conclusion of the Constitutional Court on the presence of instances of
systematic or flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
by the chambers of Parliament may be the ground for the adoption of the
decision on early termination of the powers of the chamber (chambers) of
Parliament of the Republic of Belarus by the President of the Republic of
Belarus.
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