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
APRIL 18, 2014BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: CONVICTED MURDERER EXECUTED
Belarus has executed a man convicted of a gruesome double murder, a rights group said, the latest case of capital punishment in the ex-Soviet country.
APRIL 8, 2014BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: PUBLIC OPINION ON THE DEATH PENALTY
In 2013, non-governmental organisation Penal Reform International commissioned a detailed survey of
- JANUARY 1, 2014BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Article 24 of the constitution reads that
Article 24 of the constitution reads that "the death penalty...
- DECEMBER 17, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS: ACTIVISTS SAY AUTHORITIES HIDING INFORMATION ON DEATH PENALTIES
The Minsk regional court has said that a man it sentenced to death last month is a Moscow-
OCTOBER 22, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS DEATH VERDICT
In Belarus, the Criminal Division of the Supreme Court considered today an appeal filed
OCTOBER 14, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: LUKASHENKO FULLY JUSTIFIES DEATH PENALTY
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko fully justifies the use of the death penalty in his country
- OCTOBER 9, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS UNDER FIRE FOR DEATH PENALTY
People in Belarus are forced to live in a climate of fear because "politically-guided" courts
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS CONFIRMS DEATH FOR DOUBLE MURDERER
The Supreme Court of Belarus confirmed the death sentence for a man convicted of killing two people last year after police caught him transporting a decapitated head from one of the bodies.
- JUNE 14, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
A court in the southeastern Belarusian city of Homel handed down the country's
A court in the southeastern Belarusian city of Homel handed down the country's
- JUNE 12, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
A court in the western Belarusian city of Hrodna sentenced a 23-year
A court in the western Belarusian city of Hrodna sentenced a 23-year
- APRIL 30, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS HANDS DOWN FIRST DEATH PENALTY THIS YEAR
A Belarusian court has handed down the first death penalty this year, the Mogilyov Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
- JANUARY 23, 2013BelarusDEATH PENALTY
BELARUS: DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION DELAYED
The question of abolishing the death penalty in Belarus remains open, Chairman of the Constitutional