Legal System of Belarus

Belarus is located in Europe. It is geographically situated in eastern europe, east of poland. The country achieved independence on 25 august 1991 (from the soviet union). The capital is Minsk.

Government Overview

Government Type: presidential republic in name, although in fact a dictatorship Chief of State: President Alyaksandr LUKASHENKA (since 20 July 1994) Head of Government: Prime Minister Alyaksandr TURCHYN (since 10 March 2025) Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president Administrative Divisions: 6 regions (voblastsi, singular - voblasts’) and 1 municipality* (horad); Brest, Homyel’ (Gomel’), Horad Minsk* (Minsk City), Hrodna (Grodno), Mahilyow (Mogilev), Minsk, Vitsyebsk (Vitebsk) National Holiday: Independence Day, 3 July (1944) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal System

The legal system of Belarus is described as civil law system International Law: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Constitutional Framework

The constitution has the following history: several previous; latest drafted between late 1991 and early 1994, signed 15 March 1994 Amendment Process: proposed by the president of the republic through petition to the National Assembly or by petition of least 150,000 eligible voters; approval required by at least two-thirds majority vote in both chambers or by simple majority of votes cast in a referendum

Judicial Branch

Highest Court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chairman and deputy chairman and organized into several specialized panels, including economic and military; number of judges set by the president of the republic and the court chairman); Constitutional Court (consists of 12 judges, including a chairman and deputy chairman) Judge Selection: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Council of the Republic; judges initially appointed for 5 years and evaluated for life appointment; Constitutional Court judges - 6 appointed by the president and 6 elected by the Council of the Republic; the presiding judge directly elected by the president and approved by the Council of the Republic; judges can serve for 11 years with an age limit of 70 Subordinate Courts: oblast courts; Minsk City Court; town courts; Minsk city and oblast economic courts

Legislative Branch

The legislative structure consists of bicameral Lower Chamber: House of Representatives (Palata Predstaviteley) (110 (all directly elected) seats) Electoral System (Lower Chamber): plurality/majority Upper Chamber: Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki)

Citizenship and Suffrage

Citizenship by Birth: no Citizenship by Descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of Belarus Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Historical Background

After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. In 1999, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union, envisioning greater political and economic integration.

This article provides a summary of the legal system and governmental structure of Belarus based on the CIA World Factbook. The Factbook is a public domain publication of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.