News on the topic: legislation
04.05.2019 Ensure exercise of freedom of peaceful assembly!
Joint statement by human rights organizations Minsk, May 3, 2019
17.05.2018 Goodbye, Article 193-1!
The National Legal Internet Portal has published a draft bill on amendments to the Criminal Code, which was prepared by the Council of Ministers. According to the draft, it is planned to repeal Article 193-1 of the Criminal Code, which provides for criminal responsibility for activity on behalf of unregistered organizations.
16.11.2017 Fact sheet on the press conference by the campaign “Human Rights Defenders For Free Elections”
The fact sheet provides a timeline of measures taken by the campaign's experts towards cooperation with the interdepartmental expert working group under the CEC set up to examine the OSCE ODIHRrecommendations and to develop proposals to amend the electoral law.
02.11.2017 Niakliayeu is the first victim of ‘ruthless liberalization’
The court of Lieninski district of Minsk sentenced yesterday opposition leader Uladzimir Niakliayeu to 10 days of administrative detention, finding him guilty of violating Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code (breaching demonstration rules).
24.04.2017 Analytical review of detentions in Minsk in March 2017 (infographics)
From March 27 to April 13, the Human Rights Center "Viasna" collected and processed 130 questionnaires from individuals whose rights were violated for exericsing freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
10.04.2017 Belarus shelves amendments to Electoral Code
Absence of any public information regarding previously announced steps to improve the election legislation suggests that the work of state bodies in this direction has been frozen. Despite this, human rights activists involved in independent monitoring of election campaigns and analytical work in the area continue their efforts aimed at bringing the provisions of the Electoral Code and law enforcement practices in line with international standards.
01.02.2017 Aleh Hulak: There will be some changes in the Electoral Code, but grounds for criticism will obviously remain
The interdepartmental working group considered yesterday the recommendations on improving the electoral process in Belarus that were made by the OSCE ODIHR following last year’s parliamentary elections. Priority recommendations submitted by the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections were also presented at the meeting.
17.01.2017 Priority recommendations on reforming electoral legislation
The civil campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections presents a policy paper on its recommendations aimed at reforming the electoral legislation of Belarus. According to the campaign’s experts, these recommendations are crucial for the conduct of free, fair and democratic elections.
07.09.2016 Reliability and control: ‘Labor collectives’ as election trend
Year after year, state-owned enterprises and institutions have helped provided human resources to form the election commissions, ‘cooperative’ observers and loyal candidates. The tradition rests upon the country’s legislation, which defines a company’s staff (‘labor collective’) as a key actor of the electoral process, a fact opposed by many independent experts as an anachronism of the Soviet past.
05.08.2016 Effective complaint? Unavailable for prisoners
In Belarus, prisoners do not believe in the effectiveness of complaints against the prison authorities. This lack of confidence is reinforced by legislative prerequisites that are analyzed by Pavel Sapelka, expert on penitentiary law. He also describes possible measures that could change the situation.
28.07.2016 Transparent Funds at all Stages is a Step to Fair Elections
Within the campaign Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections, lawyer Pavel Sapielka analyzed possibilities for participants of parliamentary elections in terms of legislative norms that regulate financing of electoral campaign, and compared the results of the research with respective international standards. The conclusions show uneven financial standing for different candidates.
12.12.2014 Prosecutor's office identified “some violations” in the examination of Uladzimir Lemesh's apartment
Most of the violations set forth in the activist's complaint against the illegal actions of police officers during an inspection of his apartment in the so-called "case of the red band" either “weren't noticed” by Salihorsk District Prosecutor's Office, or were considered legitimate. Still the institution had to react to some of the violations.
14.10.2014 Mikhail Miakhedka fined for attempting to get an audience with Chairman of Supreme Court
October 13 Mikhail Miakhedka, a resident of Minsk who unsuccessfully tried to get an appointment with the President of the Supreme Court,was detained by security guards at the courthouse and taken to the Leninsky District Court of Minsk. He was accused of participating in an unauthorized mass event (Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code) and punished by a fine of 2,250,00 rubles by Judge Aliaksei Kamushkin.
13.10.2014 State bodies reply to BAJ statement
Some state bodies, to which BAJ sent the statement against administrative prosecution of freelance journalists, give unsatisfactory replies.
10.10.2014 Brest: just one member of Brest City Council reported to electors
Participants of the civil initiative "Social Office" consider it as a positive development. After their appeals to members of councils, one of them, representative of the electoral constituency No. 34 Aliaksandr Shokau, reported to his electors through the newspaper “Brestski Vesnik”.
