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On the procedure for consideration of petitions of citizens and legal entities

Petitions of citizens and legal entities addressed to the Belarusian People's Congress, its bodies and officials are handled in accordance with Law No. 300-З of the Republic of Belarus “On Petitions of Citizens and Legal Entities” of 18 July 2011 and other legislative acts.

The Secretariat handles the consideration of incoming petitions from citizens and legal entities. In accordance with Paragraph 1 of the Temporary Regulations on the Secretariat of the Belarusian People's Congress approved by Presidential Decree No. 56 of 16 February 2024, the Secretariat of the Belarusian People's Congress is a working body of the Belarusian People's Congress that ensures that the Belarusian People's Congress exercises its powers. This is envisaged by Subparagraph 6.17 of Paragraph 6 of the Temporary Regulations.

1. Admissibility criteria

Petitions shall be submitted in the Belarusian or Russian languages.

Written petitions of citizens must contain:
name and (or) address of an organization or position and (or) surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the petition recipients;

surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the citizen, address of his/her place of residence (place of stay) of the petitioner;

petition summary;

signature of a citizen(s).

Written petition of legal entities must contain:

name and (or) address of an organization or position and (or) surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the petition recipients;

full name of the legal entity and its address of the petitioner;

petition summary;

surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the head or the person authorized, in accordance with the established procedure, to sign petitions;

signature of the head or the person authorized, in accordance with the established procedure, to sign petitions.

The text of the petition must be readable. Handwritten petitions must be written in clear, legible handwriting. A petition shall not use obscene or offensive language.

If written petitions are submitted by representatives of petitioners, proxy forms shall be attached.

Petitions shall contain information on the results of their previous consideration with attachment of documents (if any) confirming this information.

Electronic petitions shall b) submitted through the state unified (integrated) national information system of registration and processing of petitions of citizens and legal entities and are subject to consideration in accordance with the procedure established for consideration of written petitions in accordance with Article 25 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Petitions of Citizens and Legal Entities”.

2. Consideration of petitions

Petitions shall be considered within the time limits established in Article 17 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Petitions of Citizens and Legal Entities”.

Petitions shall be considered not later than fifteen days upon their receipt, while petitions requiring additional examination and verification - not later than one month, unless another term is established by legislative acts. If it is necessary to perform certain actions, obtain information from a foreign state  which requires additional time, petitioners shall be notified in writing about the reasons for exceeding the one-month period and the terms of performing such actions or the terms of consideration of the petitions. This shall be done no later than one month from the day following the day when the petition is submitted.

3. Consideration of anonymous petitions

Anonymous petitions, i.e. petitions which do not include an applicant’s surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials, or the address of residence (place of stay) or the name of a legal entity (full or abbreviated) or its location or if the specified data included in the petition are incorrect, shall not be considered unless they contain information about a crime or crime preparations.

4. Consideration of petitions in accordance with the legislation on constitutional proceedings

Petitions of citizens and organizations calling on the Presidium of the Belarusian People's Congress to address the Constitutional Court for a statement of compliance of a law of Belarus, a decree of the President of Belarus, a resolution of the Council of Ministers, or a normative legal act of another state body to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - initiative petitions) shall be filed in accordance with the procedure established by Article 103 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 124-З “On the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus” of 8 January 2014.

An initiative petition may be submitted within one year after the decision of a state body or court ruling that applies the relevant normative legal act, entered into force.

An initiative petition shall be submitted in written or electronic form in accordance with the procedure and the requirements established by the legislation on petitions of citizens and legal entities, and shall contain the following information:

the type and name of the normative legal act applied in the specific decision of the state body or court ruling, which, according to the petition, requires the Belarusian Constitutional Court’s statement of compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the date of adoption (issuance) and the registration number of the normative legal act;

the stance of the citizen, including the individual entrepreneur and legal entities on the issue raised in the petition, its legal justification referring to the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus;

a list of attached documents and other materials relevant to the petition’s consideration (if any).

A copy of a government agency’s decision or court ruling that applied the relevant regulatory legal act shall be attached to the initiative petition. The petition shall include a proposal for a legal assessment of the act’s compliance with the Constitution of Belarus, intended for submission to the Constitutional Court of Belarus.

Initiative petitions shall be considered in accordance with the legislation governing citizen and legal entity petitions, taking into account the specific provisions established by the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Constitutional Proceedings” and other legislative acts regulating the activities of the Presidium of the Belarusian People's Congress. Decisions made following the consideration of petitions are final and not subject to appeal.

5. Petitions left without consideration on the merits

Petitions may be left without consideration on the merits if:

petitions fail to comply with the requirements set forth in Paragraphs 1-6 of Article 12 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Petitions of Citizens and Legal Entities" (electronic petitions shall comply with the requirements of Parts 1-3 of Paragraph 2, Article 25 of the same Law), or do not adhere to the legal provisions governing constitutional proceedings;

petitions are subject to consideration in accordance with constitutional legislation, Civil Code, Civil Procedures Code, Economic Procedures Code, Criminal Procedures Code, the legislation governing administrative proceedings or constitute an employee's petition to an employer, where a different submission and review procedure is established by legislative acts;

petitions contain issues that are outside of the purview of the Belarusian People's Congress, its bodies or officials;

deadline for filing a complaint has been missed without a valid excuse;

petitioner submits a repeated petition that does not present new circumstances relevant to its consideration on the merits.

correspondence with the petitioner has been terminated concerning the issues outlined in the petition;

petitions contain threats to life, health, or property, incitement of unlawful acts, or other forms of abuse of the right to petition.