Belarus
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- nominally a republic, in fact a dictatorship
- CONSTITUTION
- March 15, 1994; amended 1996, 2004
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on civil law; not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICJ
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, National Assembly (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) composed of the Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliki) and the House of Representatives (Palata Predstaviteley)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court (composed of the president and vice president and organized into various specialized chambers, including economic and military; number of judges determined by the president of the republic and the president of the court); Constitutional Court (composed of 12 judges, including a president and a vice president); oblast courts; City Court of Minsk; city courts; Economic Courts of the city and oblast of Minsk
RELIGIONS
Orthodox 48.3%, Catholics 7.1%, others 3.5%, non-believers 41.1% (estimate 2011)
From the country
- JANUARY 1, 2003BelarusDEATH PENALTY
People who were below the age of 18 at the time when...
People who were below the age of 18 at the time when the crime was committed and women cannot be sentenced to death, neither can men who are over the age of 65 at the time when the sentence is pronounced
- JANUARY 1, 2003BelarusDEATH PENALTY
According to official statistics, three people were...
According to official statistics, three people were executed up to June 2002
- JANUARY 1, 2003BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is envisaged for 14 crimes
The death penalty is envisaged for 14 crimes
- JULY 16, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
About 1,900 inmates will be released from prisons in...
About 1,900 inmates will be released from prisons in keeping with a law on amnesty signed by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko
- JUNE 29, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Belarus's opposition parties intends to act together...
Belarus's opposition parties intends to act together in the event the government calls a national referendum to extend Belarusian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka's presidential term
- JUNE 25, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
While receiving Belarusian opposition politicians in...
While receiving Belarusian opposition politicians in Strasbourg, Council of Europe Secretary-General Walter Schwimmer reaffirmed the need for the Belarusian authorities to meet the conditions set by international organizations
- JUNE 11, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The present situation impedes Belarus's integration...
The present situation impedes Belarus's integration into Europe, said Wolfgang Behrendt, rapporteur on Belarus in the political committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said in Minsk
- MAY 30, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The Belarussian House of Representatives began hearings...
The Belarussian House of Representatives began hearings on the repeal of death penalty
- MAY 30, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Belarusian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvastow said that...
Belarusian Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvastow said that he favours the idea of abandoning the death penalty, but stressed that the immediate abolition of capital punishment in Belarus would be premature
- MAY 30, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The abolition of the death penalty in Belarus is "is...
The abolition of the death penalty in Belarus is "is predetermined by our desire to join the Council of Europe" the head of the Belarusian Constitutional Court, Ryhor Vasilevich, said during debates in the National Assembly's House of Representatives [low
- MAY 30, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The Belarusian Prosecutor's Office is campaigning for...
The Belarusian Prosecutor's Office is campaigning for the preservation of capital punishment as a measure of last resort, Belarusian Deputy Prosecutor-General Mikhail Snyahir said at a hearing in the National Assembly's House of Representatives [lower hou
- MAY 30, 2002BelarusDEATH PENALTY
The process of abolishing capital punishment in the...
The process of abolishing capital punishment in the country is by no means straightforward, said Vladimir Konoplyov, deputy chairman of the Belarussian House of Representatives