In expectation of the new Constitution

The President of Belarus met with the working group on finalising the draft Basic Law of the country

Senior officials and lawyers are currently working on details of the project. The first results have been reported to the Head of State. The document is already at a degree of its readiness but there are also some controversial points. Moreover, experts have not supported some initiatives of the Constitutional Commission. Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to this at the meeting, 
“It is good to have different points of view. When there is competition, when several legitimate points of view clash, this helps develop reasonable constitutional provisions. I believe that this is the only way to arrive at a decent Constitution draft that people are looking forward to.”
The President has already familiarised himself with the latest version of the Constitution which takes into account the agreements reached during the recent meeting with the working group. He recalled that its members were tasked with working out fundamental issues related to the preparation of constitutional amendments, “Among the most important of them are formalisation of the role of the Belarusian People’s Congress, redistribution of powers between government agencies, preservation of the balance of power and others. At the same time, in no case should we destroy the harmonious system of power that exists in Belarus now.”
The President drew the attention of the meeting participants to the fact that citizens are waiting for a new draft of the Basic Law, “We have already given expectations, and people are waiting for a new Constitution. Although there are, of course, those people who proposed and demanded changes, but today — as I understand it — they no longer want these changes and the Constitution. Actually, we are working on this not for them — but for the vast majority of our population. All citizens of Belarus, and those who will come to Belarus, shall have to live according to this Basic Law. Law is law.”

Project almost ready

The members of the working group discussed the new draft Constitution with the President for 2.5 hours. Following the results, the Head of the Belarus President Administration, Igor Sergeyenko, shared some details, “The Head of State set tasks for finalising certain areas and refining them — including legal terms, and, in fact, specific articles of the Constitution.”
Mr. Sergeyenko noted that the working group had approached the draft Basic Law of the country which will be submitted for public discussion. According to him, at the meeting with the President, the main emphasis was placed on the Belarusian People’s Congress which was proposed to be given constitutional status.
Natalya Kochanova, the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic, called this decision correct since these are people who should determine Belarus’ development strategy, “It will become the country’s supreme representative body which should be integrated into the existing well-structured state power.”
One of the innovations of the draft Constitution is redistribution of powers between the authorities. Svetlana Lyubetskaya, the Chairperson of the Standing Commission on Law of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, and a member of the working group on finalising the draft Constitution, stressed the importance of this topic, “This is necessary to maintain the balance of these institutions of state power. There are already positions with which the members of the working group have agreed. This also applies to formation of judicial power bodies since this is directly related to the guarantee of its independence. The judicial system, the Constitutional Court for example — endowed with such broad powers — should fully implement its functions. Therefore, the Constitutional Court’s work has also been discussed.”
The working group on finalising the draft Constitution will continue its work. After its completion, the document will be presented to the members of the Constitutional Commission, and then published for public discussion.

By Svetlana Isaenok, Dmitry Umpirovich