On May 27, 2010 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus took the decision “On the exercise of the right to judicial appeal against applied sanctions by the convicted to arrest, confinement, life imprisonment, by the detained and persons under administrative arrest” (a reporting judge – Tadeush V. Voronovich).

According to the Constitution the State shall guarantee the rights and liberties of the citizens of Belarus that are enshrined in the Constitution and the laws, and specified in the state's international obligations (part three of Article 21). The Article 60 of the Constitution guarantees everyone’s protection of the rights and liberties by a competent, independent and impartial court of law within time periods specified in law.

Pursuant to the stated constitutional provisions the right of the confined de facto, that has been enshrined in special laws, to appeal against applied sanctions turns to be an important guarantee to protect the violated rights of these persons’ category and to secure legality when executing punishment under criminal law, administrative arrest and detention. However the legislator has not established the procedure for consideration of such appeals before the court.

In this respect the Constitutional Court pointed at a gap left in the legal regulation of the procedure for consideration of appeals before the court against applied sanctions lodged by the convicted to confinement, arrest, life imprisonment, by the detained and persons under administrative arrest, that does not fully ensure the exercise of the constitutional right to individual access to justice.

With a view to ensure the exercise of the mentioned constitutional right the Constitutional Court recognised it as necessary to establish at a law level the procedure and specialities for consideration of appeals before the court against applied disciplinary sanctions lodged by the convicted to arrest, confinement, life imprisonment, by the detained and persons under administrative arrest. It therefore proposed to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus to prepare a draft law on making relevant alterations and addenda to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus.