Belarusian Constitutional Court ready to review its position on death penalty

The Constitutional Court of Belarus may clarify its position on the death penalty if an appropriate appeal from authorized bodies is received.

This statement was made by court chairman Pyotr Miklashevich at a press conference in Minsk, Interfax news agency reports.

“The position of the Constitutional Court can be revised if authorized bodies appeal to court in a prescribed legal procedure for clarification of the decision [taken in 2004 – Interfax] or for making a new decision on the issue,” the chair of the Constitutional Court noted.

Miklashevich reminded two implications can be made from the ruling by the Constitutional Court taken in March 2004. “The first one that the Criminal Code should be amended, because the norms of the code regarding the death penalty did not mention the temporary character of the capital punishment as provided for by the Constitution. The Criminal Code has been amended in this way,” the court chair explained.

The second position of the court was that “Lukashenka or the parliament can take a decision on imposing a moratorium on the death penalty in accordance with the established procedure”. Miklashevich marked that “Under the Constitution, a number of articles of the Constitution, including article 24 regulating the use of the death penalty, can be amended only by a referendum.”