2. Правовая система Республики Беларусь

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The Judicial System in the Republic of Belarus

The system of courts in Belarus is based on the territorial principle and specialization.

The judicial power in the Republic of Belarus belongs to the courts. The Court structure in the Republic of Belarus is determined by the law. The judicial power is exercised by general, economic and other courts envisaged by the legislation of the Republic.

General courts in the Republic include the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk city (town) and military courts. Economic courts include the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus, regional economic courts and other courts with an equal status, economic courts in towns and districts.

In cases stipulated by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, special courts may be formed within the system of general and economic courts, such as juvenile, family, administrative, land, tax or other courts.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus is the highest-tier court in Belarus and acts as the final “court of review”. Its general tasks include the oversight of lower-tier courts and can render justice in areas of general civil and criminal law. Unlike the United States’ Supreme Court, constitutional issues are not sent to the Belarusian Supreme Court, but are sent to a separate court called the Constitutional Court. The judges to the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.

The Constitutional Court of Belarus is one of the top-tier courts in the Eastern European countries. Created in 1994, the Court is run under guidelines that were issued in 1997. The purpose of the Court is to render justice in areas where the constitution has come into question, such as a local law contradicting the constitution. There are 12 judges that sit on the bench, with all having degrees in legal studies, as required by Belarusian law. Six of the judges are appointed by the President while the other six are appointed by the Council of the Republic. Regardless of the manner of appointment, the judges sit on the bench for a term of 11 years.

Constitutional control is carried out by the Constitutional Court. Legal acts or their separate provisions which are considered unconstitutional lose force in the pyramid of order determined by the law.

The Economic Court of Belarus is one of three top-tier court system in the Republic of Belarus. The main jurisdiction of the court is dealing with economic, enterprise and monetary disputes between the national government and local government or citizens. Cases dealing with state secrets are also heard in the court, which is based in the national capital of Minsk.

The main law-enforcement institute in Belarus is the State Prosecutor’s Office. It executes the control of legality and the control of conformity to the law of the judicial decisions on civil, criminal and other cases.

The State Control Committee carries out the control of execution of the state’s budget, the use of the state’s property, the execution of the acts of the President, parliament and the government which regulates financial and tax relations.