National Assembly opposing establishment of public commission for revision of criminal, civil cases

According to BelaPAN news agency, the National Assembly of Belarus has turned down the appeal by some 1,000 citizens urging the Parliament to form a public commission for revision of criminal and civil cases.
The appeal was initiated by a number of women who disagreed with the verdicts of their civil cases as well as the criminal cases of their relatives. It stressed that the judiciary system of Belarus occupies a high position in the state system. ‘A judicial mistake may change the lives of many people. However, the Supreme Court and the General Prosecutor’s Office do not always correct such mistakes. There are dozens citizens fighting for a reasonable reply to their appeals concerning groundless and illegal verdicts. The steadiness of judicial mistakes undermines the people’s credibility in the state,’ says the statement.
The applicants say the formation of a new committee might have ‘help avoid judicial mistakes and give a chance to those who think that the law has been violated during the consideration of their cases.’
In his reply to the appeal of 22 April, Yauhen Smirnou, Chair of Legislation and State System Parliamentary Committee, said the Belarusian legislation does not provide any legal grounds for the creation of the commission.