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EAST EUROPEAN LEGISLATIVE MONITOR
Introduction -- October 1996, vol. I, no. 6
We must, unfortunately, inform our readers that this October issue
will be the last issue of the East European Legislative Monitor in
its present form. The Constitutional and Legislative Policy Institute
has decided to suspend publication of the journal for the present
time so that we can reconsider how the EELM could be better provide a
substantial reform policy function. There is a good possibility that
the EELM may be revived in a different form at a later date. At that
time all current subscribers of the EELM will be informed of the
possibility resubscribe to any new publications.
BELARUS -- OCTOBER 1996, vol. I, no. 6
BILLS
Amendments to the Law "On General Voting (Referendum)"
Interpretation of Articles 125 and 127 of the Constitution
Administrative Surveillance of People Released from Prison
Amendments to the Law "On the National Bank"
LAWS
Amendments to the Law "On the Election of Members of the Supreme
Soviet"
Amendments to the Law "On Pensions for Military Personnel,
Low-ranking and High-ranking Officers of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs"
Amendments to the Law "On Internal State Debt"
Amendments to the Law "On the Budget"
Decree "On the Holding of the National Referendum on November 24,
1996"
Decree "On the Election of the Head of the Central Commission for
Elections and National Referendums"
FACTS
Republic of Belarus
Constitution: Ratified March 15, 1994
Head of State: Alyaksandr Lukashenka
Government: Cabinet of Ministers; formed 1994. President nominates
prime minister, MP prime ministers, and ministers. Nomination of
prime minister, MP prime ministers, minister of foreign affairs,
minister of finance, minister of defense, minister of internal
affairs, and chief of secret service must be confirmed by the Supreme
Soviet.
Parliament: Supreme Soviet; 260 seats (199 MPs have actually been
elected, another 61 are expected to be elected in November).
Major parties in Parliament: Accord (not a political party per se,
rather a grouping of pro-presidential MPs), 62 seats; Agrarian Party
(AP), 46 seats; Belarusian Communist Party (BCP), 45 seats; Labor
Union (LU), 18 seats; Civic Action (CA), 18 seats; 10 MPs are
independents.
Last Parliamentary Elections/Next: December 1995/November 1996 (for
the election of unfilled seats)/2000 (the next general election).
Parliamentary Electoral Formula: majority system with 260
single-member seats; election in two rounds, winner must win
majority of registered voters in district.
Legislative Procedure: Initiative: MPs, standing committees of the
Supreme Soviet, president, Supreme Court, Supreme Commercial Court,
general prosecutor, Chamber of Control, National Bank, 50,000
registered voters. Adoption requirements for bills: constitutional
provisions: 2/3 majority, normal bills: simple majority; president
has veto, which may be overridden with 2/3 majority.
BILLS
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON GENERAL VOTING (REFERENDUM) IN THE
REPUBLIC OF BELARUS," which were submitted by the Committee on
Statehood and Local Self-Government, were passed by the Supreme
Soviet.
As expected, the president vetoed the bill, and now the Supreme
Soviet intends to override the veto in October. The existing law
passed in 1992, contains several provisions in violation of the
Constitution, according to the Constitutional Court. Thus, Art. 8 of
the law regulating activities of the territorial commissions on
referenda has been amended by the following provisions: "The
Commission shall not restrict any activities of observers if they
do not violate laws and civil order. Mass media totally or partly
financed by, and acting on behalf of, the government is obliged to
provide equal opportunities for agitation for or against any issue
put to a referendum." However, the amended draft does not provide a
mechanism to ensure such equal opportunities.
Article 31.6 provides that: "Where any citizen enjoying the right to
vote in a referendum is unable to come to the polling station, the
corresponding territorial Commission on Referenda shall arrange to
transport such a citizen to the polling station and back on the day
of the referendum at the written request of the citizen. Arrangement
of voting beyond the polling station is prohibited". The present law
allows arrangement of voting beyond the building where voting takes
place by taking the ballot boxes to voters' homes. Presumably, this
provision has given rise to numerous abuses during referendum
campaigns.
The amendments attracted strong criticism from the president, hence
the subsequent veto.
The bill ON INTERPRETATION OF ARTICLES 125 AND 127 OF THE
CONSTITUTION
OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS has been submitted by the Committee on
Statehood and Local Self-Government. The need for such a bill was due
to numerous motions by the Constitutional Court to the Supreme Soviet
requesting clarification on whether all presidential decrees are
within the competence of the Constitutional Court or only those of a
normative character. Parliament passed the bill once, and is now
attempting to override the presidential veto.
Article 1.1 of the interpretation states that: "Only acts,
stipulated by Articles 125 and 127 of the Constitution of normative
character (normative acts) are subject to constitutional
control by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus."
The bill considers normative acts to be those that are: "passed by
the empowered state authorities, governmental officials, and
other executive bodies which consist fully or partly of mandatory
norms and rules of behavior applicable to indefinite groups of people
for an unlimited period of time."
The president has used his veto powers with increasing frequency, and
the majority of recent bills passed by Parliament have fallen victim
to the veto.
The bill ON ADMINISTRATIVE SURVEILLANCE OF PEOPLE RELEASED FROM
PRISON, submitted by the Committee on National Security and Defense,
failed to pass. The Supreme Soviet returned the bill to the Committee
with a request to bring it into compliance with the Constitution. The
submitted bill would have violated several constitutional provisions.
Thus, Art. 7, stipulating the system of administrative
surveillance, grants excessively wide powers to police officers. For
example, police officers are entitled to summon people released from
prisons for interrogations, to carry out such interrogations in the
presence of their relatives and employers, to request written
explanation of any question concerning the system of administrative
surveillance, and to enter the homes of such people at any time of
the day. Article 10.a forbids people released from prison to leave
their dwellings for a specified time, and Art. 10.b forbids the
presence of such people in specified areas of cities.
According to a majority of the deputies, the above-mentioned
provisions violate constitutional rights and freedoms such the as
freedom of movement and the inviolability of dwellings.
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON THE NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF
BELARUS," submitted by the Committee on Budget, Taxes, and Finances,
were intended to define the competence of the Supreme Soviet with
respect to control over the National Bank. Despite the fact that the
National Bank is de jure under control of the Supreme Soviet, it is
de facto subordinate to the president, especially regarding issuance
of money into circulation.
Article 9 provides that: "The Supreme Soviet of the Republic
of Belarus has the right to dismiss the Head of the Board of the
National Bank in the following cases:
a. Expiration of the term of office;
b. Inability to carry out his or her duties (on the basis of a
medical certificate);
c. Personal application for dismissal;
d. Committing a crime;
e. Violation of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus or
laws regulating activities of the National Bank (on the basis
of a decision of the Constitutional Court)."
LAWS
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME
SOVIET OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS," submitted by the Committee on
Statehood and Local Self-Government, was intended to change the
number of accredited representatives allocated to candidates (an
accredited representative is an assistant to an MP with various
duties, including communication with voters and media). The law was
proposed in order to increase the number of the accredited
representatives to the number of electoral districts. The president
vetoed the bill, though, and the law was passed in a watered down
version.
The amendments that did pass impose an obligation on local
electoral commissions to provide equal information about all
candidates.
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON PENSIONS FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL,
LOW-RANKING AND HIGH-RANKING OFFICERS OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL
AFFAIRS," submitted by the president, fill a gap in Belarusian
pension legislation. Until now, police officers who formerly served
in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia were not covered by pension
legislation.
The amended law makes them eligible for Belarusian pensions.
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON INTERNAL STATE DEBT," submitted by the
president, provide the mechanisms for borrowing from legal and
natural persons on behalf of the cabinet. The cabinet may authorize
other state bodies to hold such debts.
The AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW "ON THE 1996 BUDGET OF THE REPUBLIC OF
BELARUS," submitted by the Committee for Economic Reform, provide for
writing off of debts owed to the state budget by any business or
enterprise. The wage debts of state-owned companies to their workers
and the dissatisfaction of the latter forced Parliament to pass the
present law.
The Supreme Soviet adopted the decree "ON THE HOLDING OF THE NATIONAL
REFERENDUM ON NOVEMBER 24, 1996," which would add questions to the
presidential referendum, The referendum already includes four
presidential questions: concerning the new date of the Independence
Day of the Republic of Belarus: the presidential draft of the new
Constitution: sale of land plots, and abolition of the death penalty.
The Supreme Soviet would add the following questions to the
referendum:
"1. Do you support the 1994 draft of the Constitution with amendments
proposed by the communist and agrarian groups in the Parliament
of the Republic of Belarus?;
2. Do you agree that the heads of the local executives shall be
elected directly by the citizens of the correspondent
administrative areas?;
3. Do you agree that financing of all branches of power should be
undertaken publicly and exclusively from the state budget?"
The president proposed the referendum along with a draft of the
new Constitution (EELM: Belarus -- September 1996, vol. I, no. 5),
that, not surprisingly, provoked an angry response from the Supreme
Soviet. In subsequent heated debates, the Supreme Soviet decided to
add its own questions to the presidential referendum draft and to
change the date of the referendum.
(For more on the preceding paragraph, see EELM: Belarus -- September 1996, vol. I, no.
5.)
The draft of the Constitution proposed by the Supreme Soviet
abolishes the position of president and provides for a parliamentary
republic, along the lines of the 1978 Constitution. In connection
with this, Parliament adopted the decree ON THE ELECTION OF THE HEAD
OF THE CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR ELECTIONS AND NATIONAL REFERENDA and
appointed Viktor Hanchar, an MP and former deputy prime minister, to
the post.
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The East European Legislative Monitor is a free, monthly publication
of the Constitutional and Legislative Policy Institute.
Note:The October, 1996, issue is the last issue, at least for the
time being.
East European Legislative Monitor Staff
Editor Jeff Taylor e-mail: taylorj@osi.hu
Associate Editor Dwight Semler
Assistant Editors Mathew Utterback
Paul Benjamin
Sybilla Suda
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