According to the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - LC) labour disputes on worker’s applications in consequence of employer’s refusal to draw up an accident certificate or disagreement with its content are considered directly by the court without it’s considering by the labour disputes commission (point 6 of part two of Article 241).

Necessity for compliance with out-of-court settlement was specified by part three of Article 229 of the LC (as amended on July 26, 1999) with stipulates that in case of employer’s refusal to draw up an accident certificate or victim’s disagreement with the circumstances of an accident described in this certificate the victim is entitled to apply to the specially authorized state supervision and control body and then - to the court.

In accordance with the alterations to Article 229 of the LC made in 2007 the worker’s obligation to have recourse to out-of-court settlement in case of employer’s refusal to draw up an accident certificate or disagreement with its content before bringing the dispute before the court is excluded.

However, the Rules of investigation and registration of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, approved by the Resolution No. 30 of the Council of Ministers on January 15, 2004 (hereinafter - the Rules), which are a subordinate act, stipulate that differences in investigation, registration and reporting of occupational accidents are considered on their demand by the state labour inspector within three years from the date of the occupational accident. The opinion of the state labour inspector on the occupational accident can be appealed in order of subordination before the head of the inter-district department, the chief state labour inspector of the region or of Minsk, of the Republic of Belarus (or acting persons), and then - before the court (points 78 and 80).

In view of the above-mentioned provisions of the Rules courts form their practice of considering disputes related to investigation of occupational accidents.

Analysis of the provisions of the Constitution and legislative acts shows that establishment of the necessity for compliance with out-of-court settlement of a case as an indispensable condition for realisation of the constitutional right to judicial protection is possible only at the level of legislative acts.

In this connection the Constitutional Court made a conclusion that the Government of the Republic of Belarus while exercising its powers to establish the procedure of investigation and registration of occupational accidents and occupational diseases delegated to it by legislative acts was not entitled to ensure legal regulation of judicial proceedings including establishment of conditions for realisation of the constitutional right to judicial protection.

In its decision the Constitutional Court noted that regulation in a subordinate act of some issues that should be regulated at the level of legislative acts had led to ambiguous interpretation and different application of legal norms in practice conditioning the procedure of settlement of disputes related to investigation of occupational accidents.

In order to ensure the constitutional principle of the rule of law, the constitutional right of everyone to judicial protection and in order to eliminate legal uncertainty the Council of Ministers is proposed to harmonise the Rules of investigation and registration of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, approved by the Resolution No. 30 of the Council of Ministers on January 15, 2004 with provisions of the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus and other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus concerning legal regulation of settlement of disputes related to investigation of occupational accidents.