On 13–14 May 2010 the International Conference “Theoretical and Practical Aspects when Dealing with Individual Constitutional Complaints in the European Model of Constitutional Justice” organised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus in co-operation with the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe) was held in the National Library and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus.

The Conference focused on studying and discussing the constitutional complaint experienced in the European model of constitutional review, as well as other types of individual access to constitutional justice. It was also aimed to examine the advantages and disadvantages thereof.

The participants included the heads of state bodies of the Republic of Belarus, academics in constitutional law, representatives of civil society. Among foreign guests were Peter Paczolay, Vice-President of the Venice Commission, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Hungary, Evgeni Tanchev, Member of the Venice Commission, President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria, Sergei D. Kniazev, Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail I. Kolos, Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Ukraine.

In his presentation Petr P. Miklashevich, Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus, pointed out that despite the absence of Belarusian citizens’ right to lodge a direct constitutional complaint, there are a number of means of indirect access to constitutional justice either through preliminary requests of courts or referring to authorised subjects. In this regard the main actual task is to fully draw up and guarantee the efficient exercise of those forms of individual access to the Constitutional Court.

It was underlined in the presentation by Peter Paczolay that the individual access to constitutional review bodies turns to be one of the evidence of democratic development in the state. However by no means all European countries either provide for the direct constitutional complaint in their legislation or use other legal remedies available to protect individual rights through constitutional justice. The presenter also insisted that while deciding upon the introduction or improvement of the constitutional complaint institution one should take into account practical experience of other countries where a considerable number of individual applications resulted in overburdening of constitutional courts.

Evgeni Tanchev pointed out that Bulgarian citizens are not entitled to lodge the direct constitutional complaint. But it does not speak for the constitutional underprotection of rights considering the efficiency of other remedies which allow to protect individual rights in the Constitutional Court. In particular, the Ombudsman actively exercises his right to approach the Constitutional Court on the basis of citizens’ applications.

Sergei D. Kniazev introducing the Russian experience to the participants of the Conference, emphasised that the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation gets annually closed upon 20000 individual applications, of which 8000 are filed as direct constitutional complaints. Every year the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation renders more than 3500 rulings and resolutions adjudicating both on admissibility of complaints and constitutionality of normative legal acts or certain provisions thereof.

Mikhail I. Kolos pointed out that citizens in the Ukraine have the right to refer to the Constitutional Court with constitutional interpretation issues. Every year more than a thousand of such applications are lodged, but over 90 percents of them are found inadmissible on different grounds. At present the introduction of the direct constitutional complaint within the framework of coming constitutional reform is under discussion.

The presentation made by Alexander V. Maryskin, Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus, on theoretical aspects of the citizens’ right of access to constitutional justice, and that of Alexander Y. Vashkevich, ex-judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus, presenting Polish experience of the constitutional complaint, excited the participants’ interest.

Belarusian participants of the Conference were presented foreign experience of the constitutional complaint institution. They also informed their colleagues on forms of access to constitutional justice in the Republic of Belarus and their prospects for the improvement.