CONTENTS

• Constitution of Your country. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus

Introductory article of chief editor of the Bulletin - Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Mr G.A. Vasilevich, Doctor, Professor, Honoured Lawyer of the Republic of Belarus

Official Materials and Decisions
of the Constitutional Court
of the Republic of Belarus

• Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus of 15 April 2004 No. D-172/2004 "On constitutionality of Provision on procedure of reception of citizens in Minsk city executive committee approved by Decision of Minsk city executive committee of 1 October 2002 No. 1430"

Summary:
Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus of 15 April 2004 No. D-172/2004 "On constitutionality of Provision on procedure of reception of citizens in Minsk city executive committee approved by Decision of Minsk city executive committee of 1 October 2002 No. 1430" has been considered on the grounds of part one of Article 116 and part four of Article 122 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus as a result of the motion of citizen A.M. Shirko challenged certain norms of the Provision on procedure of reception of citizens in Minsk city executive committee approved by Decision of Minsk city executive committee of 1 October 2002 No. 1430.
Point 7 of the given Provision shall specify, in particular, that citizens shall be put on the list for the reception by the Chairperson of city executive committee on the grounds of written application with the issues referred to his competence, if their requirements are lawful and had not been solved by the relevant officials.
As it follows from the reply of Minsk city executive committee to the request of the Constitutional Court "for the solution of the issue of making a list of appointments to the Chairperson of city executive committee a citizen is proposing to put his/her question in writing with specification of new arguments and facts, i.e. to motivate the lawfulness of his/her appeal".
The Constitutional Court, taking into account the provisions of the Constitution, Laws "On appeals of citizens", "On local government and self-government", other enforceable enactments, has emphasized that stipulation as the condition of personal reception of citizens by the Chairperson of Minsk city executive committee of the lawfulness of the requirements containing in the appeals of the citizens shall not be in conformity with the provisions of parts one and three of Article 5 of the Law. Motivation of lawfulness shall not be the obligation of a citizen. This should be determined by the bodies and officials which and who are entrusted by the Law to examine the appeal and to give the motivated answer. For the determination of the lawfulness (legality) of appeals of the citizens the Law shall fix the relevant terms (15 days, 1 month, 2 months). That shall signify that the legality of an appeal should be determined not on the stage of preliminary making a list of appointments for the personal reception, but in the process of its examination.
The obligation of the civil servants within their officials powers to examine timely and objectively the appeals of citizens and to solve them in accordance with the procedure specified by the legislation, by Article 21 of the Law "On civil service in the Republic of Belarus" is referred to their basic duties.
The Constitutional Court has held that the Provision on the procedure of reception of citizens in Minsk city executive committee approved by Decision of Minsk city executive committee of 1 October 2002 No. 1430 in part that practically shall exclude the possibility of oral appeal of the citizens at personal reception, as well as shall stipulate the necessity of motivation by the citizens of the lawfulness of one's requirements to be at variance with parts one, three and four of Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On appeals of citizens".

Commentary:

In the fulfillment of the above specified Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Minsk city executive committee by its Decision of 7 may 2004 No. 933 has made the relevant alterations and addenda into the Provision on procedure of reception of citizens in Minsk city executive committee: point 7 has been excluded; point 8 has been stated in another wording: "In case of repeated appeal with the same question, in the presence of exhaustive replies and materials of checks as regards the previous appeals and in the presence of new arguments or newly appeared circumstances, a citizen may be refused in consideration of an appeal".

Problems, opinions, comments

• G.A. Vasilevich. Constitutional Court stands up for the protection of interests of economic entities and citiziens

On the basis of analysis of decisions adopted recently by the Constitutional Court under consideration is its role in having control over the fulfillment of the stipulated in the Basic Law provision on variety of the forms of ownership, when the state is vested with the obligation to grant everyone equal rights for carrying out economic and other activities except for those prohibited by the law, to guarantee equal protection and equal conditions for the activities of economic entities.
Author considers the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus as the act of direct effect for those who apply the law (state bodies, officials and citizens).
Special attention is given the system nature of the Basic Law, which shall determine the organization and interaction of the powerful structures, the state in general and the system of law.
The concrete examples confirm that the activities of the Constitutional Court are directed to realization of the principle that the state should exercise regulation of economic activities in the interests of an individual and society, to secure the direction and coordination of the state and private economic activities for the social purposes.

• R.I. Filipchik. Historical and legal aspects of beginning and development of the right to judicial protection in the process of evolution of the judiciary in Belarus

Article studies historical and legal aspects of beginning and development of the right to judicial protection in the process of evolution of the judicial power in Belarus.
Author gives analysis for the origin of the notions “judicial power”, “court of law”, “justice”, elucidates their role in the development of the right to judicial protection. Author emphasizes that the idea on separation of the judicial power as an unique branch of power had been emerged for the first time in 16 century.
According to the statement of the author, the judiciary shall be taken both in the context with the ideas of the state ruled by law and, first of all, in the context of administering justice which makes it possible for the citizens to have peaceful settlement, i.e. to find truth through the court of law.

• A.V. Ivanovsky. Protection of the rights of citizens by means of procurator’s supervision

Article deals with the issues of protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens by the bodies of the Procurator’s office equally with other state bodies, in particular — by the courts of law.
With the help of statistical data for the previous five years the author reveals the most important types of activities of the Procurator’s office on supervision over strict and unified exercise of the legislation such as inspections and examination of the complaints, as well as the relevant forms of reaction — making of rulings and protests.

• V.N. Dubovitsky. On the notion of “state power”

Author makes an attempt to try to understand the state power as a legal category. Article contains the analysis of various approaches to determination the power on the whole and the state power in particular, as well as reveals multi aspect nature and heterogeneity of legal nature of the notion of state power itself.

• O.V. Savitskaya. Courts as the bodies of state power of the Republic of Belarus

On the basis of comparative analysis of general characteristics of the state body and the court of law, norms of legislation the author comes to the conclusion on belonging of the courts of law to the bodies of the state power, on their special place and significance in the state system of the Republic of Belarus.

• I.V. Malkina. Administrative and legal regimes as a variety of legal regimes

Article discloses the legal nature of administrative and legal regimes as a variety of legal regimes. Author makes an analysis of different approaches to the definition of the notion “legal regime” and “administrative and legal regimes”, as well as their classification, reveals the content of legal, including administrative and legal regimes as a social and legal phenomenon.
Administrative and legal regimes are presented as a many-sided legal phenomenon consisting of specific complex methods and means for regulation and expressing in the specified combination of legal means, which shall create desirable social condition and concrete degree of favourable or unfavourable conditions for the satisfaction of the interests of the subject of law.

• O.B. Kuznetzov. Issues of economic insolvency in practice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus

Article gives profound analysis of decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus that involve the issues of economic insolvency (bankruptcy).
Author emphasizes that the specified decisions, as decisions referring to other spheres of legal regulation, as a whole find their positive interpretation, but the state bodies and officials fail to execute them properly and regularly, and that makes it actual the problem of efficient and strict realization of decisions of the Constitutional Court.

• L.N. Balitsevich. Constitutional and legal regulation of freedom of manifestations

The present paper is devoted to the problems of constitutional and legislative provision of the right to freedom of demonstrations in the Republic of Belarus and foreign countries. An attempt is made to reveal the essence and to show the social significance of this important political freedom. In the article a great attention is drawn to the research and analysis of the mechanism of the realization of the right to freedom of demonstrations in our republic. The legal practice of different countries in this sphere is described in short.

• N.G. Vrublevskaya. As to the issue on revision of sentences due to mitigation of punishability of a deed

Article concerns the actual problem of applied and theoretical meaning — the problem of retroactivity of the criminal law, which shall mitigate the penalty. It is dedicated to the analysis of the issue about the circle of sentences liable to revision due to legal enforcement of the criminal law, which was subject to special examination by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.
Guiding by theoretical provisions of the science of the criminal law, by the provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, as well as analysis of solution of the given issue in a number of foreign states (Bulgaria, France, China, Holland, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, Ukraine, Russia), the author proposes interpretation of part two of Article 9 of the Criminal Code which shall spread the rule of retroactivity of the criminal law through all the instances of mitigation by a new law of liability of a person who committed a crime.

• E.A. Lopatjevskaya. Institute of compensation of moral damage in legislation and in judicial practice on labour matters

On the grounds of analysis of the legislation and judicial practice on labour disputes under consideration are the issues of a new for Belarusian jurisprudence institute — compensation of a moral damage.
Author formulates the proposal on expediency of stipulation in the labour law of the principle of presumption of moral damage.

Fundamental human rights and freedoms in international law and their protection

Case-law of the European Court

O.B. Kouznetzov. Constitutional complaint as the condition of acceptability of appeal to the European Court on Human Rights

International relations of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus

E.A. Sarkisova. European standards of electoral law in the contemporary constitutionalism

A.V. Karavai, V.I. Moroz. International Seminars organized by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe