Important decisions

Identification: BLR-96-1-001
a) Belarus / b) Constitutional Court / с) / d) 18.01.1996 / e) J-31/96 / f) / g) Vesnik Kanstitucijnaga Suda Respubliki Belarus (Bulletin of the Constitutional Court), no. 1 / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Institutions - Executive bodies - Organisation.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Cabinet of Ministers.

Headnotes:
The "Law On the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus" is constitutional although several provisions have to be amended.

Summary:
The case was taken up by the Constitutional Court at its discretion. The Court examined the constitutionality of the "Law on the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus".
According to Article 106 of the Constitution, the Cabinet of Ministers shall be attached to the Office of the President for the execution of policy in the field of the economy, foreign policy, defense, national security, protection of public order and other spheres of State administration.
Article 108 of the Constitution states that the jurisdiction of the Cabinet of Ministers and its activities shall be determined by the Law on the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
Although the law was declared not to be unconstitutional, the whole Court requested the Supreme Council to amend the law in the following points:
- The Cabinet of Ministers may create, reorganise and liquidate only those organisations, establishments and associations which are in State ownership.
- The Cabinet of Ministers has the right to establish, in case of necessity, maximum wage rates only within the limits of law and only in respect of employment contracts in the public sector.
Orders concerning the use of natural resources issued by the Cabinet of Ministers must take into account that such regulation remains within the limits of legislative acts.
The elaboration of draft legislative acts by the Cabinet of Ministers on the instructions of the Supreme Council may be carried out only in cases envisaged by the law.

Languages: Belarusian, Russian.

Identification: BLR-96-1-002
a) Belarus / b) Constitutional Court / c) / d) 10.04.1996 / e) J-32/96 / f) / g) Vesnik Kanstitucijnaga Suda Respubliki Belarus (Bulletin of the Constitutional Court), no. 2 / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Fundamental rights - General questions - Limits and restrictions.
Fundamental rights - Economic, social and cultural rights - Right to social security.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Pensions / Servicemen.

Headnotes:
The Cabinet of Ministers is not granted the right to change statutory scales of pensions.

Summary:
The case was a result of a constitutional motion filed by the Commission for Legislation of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus challenging the constitutionality and legality of a Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers. The motion alleged that this Resolution violated the rights to social insurance of servicemen, commanding staff and rank and file of the organs of internal affairs, and noted that this Resolution had not been promulgated and therefore was at variance with the Constitution.
The Court found that the constitutional right of citizens to social security had been violated. Under the Constitu-tion restriction of personal rights and freedoms shall be only admissible in cases stipulated by the law. The Court concluded that the Cabinet of Ministers practically changed the norms of pension insurance, guaranteed by the law, thereby exceeded its powers and violated the Constitution and the laws.

Languages: Belarusian, Russian.

Identification: BLR-96-1-003
a) Belarus / b) Constitutional Court / с) / d) 19.04.1996 / e) J-33/96 / f) / g) Vesnik Kanstitucijnaga Suda Respubliki Belarus (Bulletin of the Constitutional Court), no. 2 / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Sources of constitutional law - Categories - Written rules - Other international sources.
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights - Equality - Scope of application - Employment.
Fundamental rights - Civil and political rights -Procedural safeguards - Access to courts.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Dismissal, right to appeal.

Headnotes:
The exclusion of employees in managerial functions from recourse to appeal procedures against their dismissal infringes upon the right to equal treatment.

Summary:
The case was a result of a constitutional motion filed by the Procurator General of the Republic of Belarus challenging the constitutionality of certain points of the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus and of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus of 17 June 1994, "On Some Issues of the Application of the Legislation by the Courts during the Settlement of Labour Disputes". The motion alleged that certain provisions allowed for the exclusion of chief specialists of the managing entities from recourse to appeal procedures against their dismissal from work.
The Court found that the constitutional rights of citizens to protect their economic and social interests and to the judicial defence of their rights and freedoms before a court within time periods established by the law had thus been violated. Under Article 22 of the Constitution, all persons are equal before the law and have the right, without any discrimination, to equal protection of their rights and legitimate interests.
In accordance with ILO Convention and Recommenda-tions no. 111 "On Discrimination in the Field of Labour and Business" all persons shall enjoy, without discrimina-tion, equality of opportunities in the field of labour and business.
The Court concluded that certain points of the rules under examination had a discriminatory character and contradicted the Constitution.

Languages: Belarusian, Russian.

Identification: BLR-96-1-004
a) Belarus / b) Constitutional Court / c) / d) 29.04.1996 / e) J-35/96 / f) / g) Vesnik Kanstitucijnaga Suda Respubliki Belarus (Bulletin of the Constitutional Court), no. 2 / h).

Keywords of the systematic thesaurus:
Constitutional justice - The subject of review - Presidential decrees.
Constitutional Justice - Effects - Influence on State organs.
Sources of constitutional law - Hierarchy – Hierarchy as between national and non-national sources – Treaties and other domestic legal instruments.
Sources of constitutional law - Hierarchy – Hierarchy as between national sources - Hierarchy emerging from the Constitution.
Institutions - Head of State - Powers.

Keywords of the alphabetical index: Differentiation / Edict, order, President.

Headnotes:
The President of the Republic of Belarus has the right to issue, within the limits of his power and in the fulfilment of the Constitution, laws and resolutions of the Supreme Council, as well as edicts and orders, and to supervise their execution.
Edicts and orders of the President must not contradict the Constitution, the laws and international legal acts ratified by the Republic of Belarus, or resolutions of the Supreme Council, and may not amend or add to them.
Edicts and orders of the President declared by the Constitutional Court in the prescribed manner to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the laws or international legal acts ratified by the Republic of Belarus are invalid.
Control over the constitutionality of regulatory enactments in the State shall be exercised by the Constitutional Court (Article 125 of the Constitution).

Summary:
The case was brought by the Constitutional Court at its discretion.
The matter for consideration was the Order of the President of the Republic of Belarus no. 259 of 29 December 1995 "On the Observance of the Edicts of the President of the Republic of Belarus". Point 1 of this order provided for the securing of absolute observance of the norms of a number of Presidential edicts by the Cabinet of Ministers and other State bodies without making appropriate amendments to the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus. Point 2 of the order instructed the Presidential Administration to publish the collection of the effective edicts of the President of the Republic of Belarus. Certain presidential edicts enumerated in this order had been declared by the Constitutional Court to be inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Belarus; either wholly or in special part.
The Court emphasised that according to the Constitution and the Law "On the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus", decisions of the Constitutional Court, adopted within the limits of its power, are legally binding for the execution on the territory of the Republic by all State bodies, enterprises, establishments, organisations, officials and citizens, and its conclusions are final and subject to no appeal or protest. Point 1 of the Presidential order under examination was found to be unconstitutional and invalid.
In its judgment the Constitutional Court proposed that the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus review the differentiation at the legislative level of the sphere of competence for issuing edicts and orders of the President of the Republic of Belarus.

Languages: Belarusian, Russian.