Deputy Chairwoman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Olga G. Sergeeva took part in the Fifth Beijing Forum on Human Rights with the theme of “Science and Technology, Environment and Human Rights”, which was held on December 12–14, 2013 in Beijing, China.

The international Forum was organised by China Foundation for Human Rights Development and China Society for Human Rights Studies that are the largest national non-governmental organisation in the sphere of human rights in China, member of the Conference of non-governmental organisations of the United Nations.

Representatives of state bodies and non-governmental organisations from 23 countries, international organisations (UN, European Court of Human Rights, European Ombudsman etc.) and legal scientists took part in the Forum.

At the opening of the Forum the Minister of the State Council Information Office of China Wang Chen and the President of China Society for Human Rights Studies Luo Haocai pointed out that economy, science and technology are actively developing in the modern world, but their impact is not always favourable to the environment; the main goal of States is to support scientific and technical discovery in any sphere, ensure observation of human rights when using such discoveries, including the sphere of environmental protection.

Issues of the scope of human rights to favourable environment, their implementation and ensuring, were addressed and discussed during plenary sessions and group discussions on the Forum.

In her speech Olga G. Sergeeva informed participants of the Forum on the legislative regulation of relations that deal with environmental protection in Belarus. It was noted that such regulation is based on provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which provide for everyone’s right to favourable environment and to a compensation for loss or damage caused by the violation of this right. The right to receive information on environmental conditions, the right to healthy and safe working conditions, as well as guarantees of the right to healthcare, which is also ensured by means of environmental sanitation, are in direct relation with the right to favourable environment. It is important that the obligation of the State to control rational use of natural resources in order to protect and improve living conditions, to preserve and restore the environment is in correspondence with the right to favourable environment.

It was also pointed out that the Constitution envisages minerals, water, forests and agricultural land as exclusive property of the State. That provides for the better securing of protection, rational use and purposeful restoration of given natural resources.

Participation of the Republic of Belarus in the international legal cooperation was noted to be essential for the effective legal resolve of national and global ecological issues.

The address emphasised the role of the Constitutional Court in ensuring the supremacy and direct effect of the Constitution, rights of individual and citizen. One of these rights is the right to favourable environment and it represents an important constitutional value. Judgments and decisions of the Constitutional Court that are taken in exercise of preliminary or subsequent review positively affect the development of legal system of the Republic, allow prevention of entry into force of laws, regulating relations in the sphere of environment, which contradict the Constitution, and assist the more effective work of legislator and law enforcement.

Issues of exercising constitutional justice, peculiarities of implementation of the right to favourable environment with regard to conditions of particular State, were discussed during working meetings with representatives of international and other organisations.