OPINION ON THE WARNING ADDRESSED TO THE BELARUSIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS ON 13 JANUARY 2010 BY THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OF BELARUS Adopted by the Venice Commission at its 85th Plenary Session, (Venice, 17-18 December 2010)

"The  Ministry  of  Justice’s  Order  has  restricted  the  rights  of  a  group  of  journalists  to
freedom  of  expression  and  the  right  to  seek  and  impart  information.  To  be  able  to  enjoy
freedom of expression of the press requires that journalists must have effective protection by
their trade union or association. By denying the BAJ the right to issue press cards for their
journalists the  Belarusian  authorities  are  denying  these  journalists  the rights  to  have their
interests  protected  by  their  association  At  the  same  time  the  domestic  legal  situation  is
stripping  the  journalists’  association,  the  BAJ,  of  effective  power  to  protect  members’
interests", reads the Document.

The Ministry of Justice’s Order constitutes, in the opinion of the Venice Commission, a
violation of Articles 19 and 2 of the ICCPR and Articles 11 and 10 of the ECHR.

The full text of the Commission's Opinion may be found below.