News
On February 26, 2015 Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Petr P. Miklashevich held a meeting with the Rapporteur on Belarus of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Andrea Rigoni
Petr P. Miklashevich noted that the twenty-year period of functioning of the Constitution had confirmed the commitment of the Belarusian people to universal values, its intention to really implement human rights and freedoms, to ensure civic accord, inviolable principles of democracy and the rule of law, to form purposefully and consistently a democratic social state for the people based on equality, justice and humanism. Evolutional constitutional development of the Republic of Belarus is based on the fundamental principles enshrined directly in the Constitution or following from its provisions.
At the same time the Constitutional Court protecting the constitutional order and ensuring supremacy of the Constitution formulates legal positions on the basis of interpretation of constitutional principles and rules with regard to specific legal relations which are aimed at guaranteeing the constitutional human rights and freedoms.
An exchange of views on the development of constitutional review took place. Petr P. Miklashevich informed the guest about the features of the competence of the Constitutional Court, changes in its powers taking into account the Law “On the Constitutional Proceedings” adopted in 2014 with the reference to some specific examples of case-law in recent years.
Clarification on legal grounds of the possibility to abolish death penalty in Belarus and to declare a moratorium on the execution of this kind of punishment was made. At the same time attention was drawn to the fact that on March 11, 2004 the Constitutional Court rendered a Judgement by which some provisions of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus without the reference to the temporary nature of the death penalty were declared unconstitutional and it was also noted that the issue of abolition of this form of punishment or as a first step - declaration of a moratorium on its use can be settled by the Head of State and the Parliament.
Mr Rigoni expressed his gratitude for the meeting and emphasised that evolution of such an important issue as the use of the death penalty requires time and appropriate understanding by the society. At the same time he noted that since his visit to Belarus in 2009 now there has been some progress in settling this problem.