On November 14, 2012 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus considered the appeal of Mr R.V. Kryzhbersky and adopted the Decision “On Compensation of the Funds spent by the State to train Graduates of Institutions of Higher and Other Education in Case of their Voluntary Entry into Military Service” (reporting judge – Olga G. Sergeeva).

The Constitutional Court noted that the constitutional provisions enshrine the unity of the obligation and the sacred duty of a citizen of the Republic of Belarus for the protection of his country. By that the special importance of military service in comparison with other kinds of public service and labor activities is recognized at the constitutional level. This determines the necessity of establishing of safeguards of its performance by conscription as well as by entry into military service in voluntary order.

Based on the provisions of the Constitution that enshrine the unity of the obligation and the sacred duty for the protection of the Republic of Belarus (Article 57) and the equality of everybody before the law and the right to equal protection of rights and legitimate interests without any discrimination (Article 22), the Constitutional Court has come to conclusion on the need for equal treatment of all citizens entering military service.

Currently, only graduates who are conscripted for military service in the Armed Forces, other troops and military formations and dismissed from it are exempted from the obligation to compensate the money spent by the State for their training (in relation to graduates who’s working place was provided in order of obligatory distribution and who has not worked out a specified period). The Constitutional Court noted that such a legal regulation, provided in the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Education, indicates the constitutional and legal gap in legislation.

The Constitutional Court finds that the difference of reasons of entering military service (on conscription or voluntarily under the terms of the contract signed) should not affect the consequences of failure to fulfill the obligation of graduates to work out the prescribed period. In any of these cases, graduates proceed to military service – the fulfillment of a single constitutional obligation and sacred duty to defend the Republic of Belarus.

For purposes to ensure the constitutional principles of the rule of law, equality and social justice in the implementation by the citizens of the Republic of Belarus of the constitutional obligation and sacred duty to defend the Republic of Belarus, the Constitutional Court recognized the need to fix on the legislative level the right of graduates, who were distributed in obligatory order and who has not worked out a specified period due to the entry into military service by contract in voluntary order, to be exempted from reimbursement of funds spent by the State for their training.

The Council of Ministers was proposed to prepare a draft law on the appropriate alterations to the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Education and to introduce it in the established order to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly.