The legal system of Belarus
A civil-law system derived from the Soviet tradition, with a 1998 Civil Code and a 1999 Criminal Code. Presidential decrees and edicts are a primary and pervasive source of law. Belarus is the only state in Europe that still carries out the death penalty, and it is not a member of the Council of Europe or a party to the ECHR.
Legal tradition
Belarus belongs to the civil law tradition. A civil-law system derived from the Soviet tradition, with a 1998 Civil Code and a 1999 Criminal Code. Presidential decrees and edicts are a primary and pervasive source of law. Belarus is the only state in Europe that still carries out the death penalty, and it is not a member of the Council of Europe or a party to the ECHR.
How power is divided
Strongly presidential: the President legislates by decree, appoints half of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court leadership, and the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly holds constitutional functions above the ordinary branches.
Where law comes from
- Constitution
- Formally supreme law.
- Presidential decrees and edicts
- A primary source; decrees may in practice displace statutes.
- Codes and laws
- Civil Code 1998, Criminal Code 1999, Labour Code 1999, Housing Code.
- International treaties
- Ratified treaties are part of domestic law; Belarus is party to the ICCPR but not the ECHR.
- Council of Ministers resolutions
- Secondary legislation.
- Eurasian Economic Union acts
- Binding within the customs and single-market fields.
The legal profession
Advocacy is organised through territorial bar collegiums under close Ministry of Justice supervision; 2021 amendments abolished independent practice and required membership of a legal consultancy office.
Law by topic in Belarus
- Immigration & NationalityVisa-free entry alongside strict registration dutiesBelarus offers visa-free entry of up to 30 days for many nationalities through Minsk airport and extended land arrangements for EU neighbours. Foreigners must nonetheless register their stay, and work requires a special permit obtained by the employer.
- Constitutional LawA 1994 constitution reshaped by the 2022 referendumThe Constitution of 1994 was amended by referendum in 1996, 2004 and again in February 2022, which created the All-Belarusian People's Assembly as a standing constitutional organ and removed the previous neutrality and nuclear-free commitments.
- Family LawThe 1999 Marriage and Family Code with registry divorceThe Code on Marriage and Family of 1999 governs marriage, parentage and guardianship. Divorce is granted by the court, though a simplified route exists where the spouses agree, and a three-month reconciliation period is normally imposed.
- Business & CorporateA 2021 recodified companies regime and the High-Tech ParkBusiness is governed by the Civil Code and the Law on Business Companies, substantially amended in 2021. The unitary enterprise and the OOO are the common vehicles, and the High-Tech Park offers a special tax and currency regime for technology residents.
- Tax LawA 13% income tax with a punitive 25% rate on undeclared incomePersonal income tax is 13%, corporate tax rose to 20% in 2024, and standard VAT is 20%. A 25% rate applies to income that the tax authority establishes as undeclared, and High-Tech Park residents enjoy substantial exemptions.
- Human RightsOutside the ECHR, with no national human rights institutionBelarus is not a member of the Council of Europe and is not party to the ECHR, so no regional court is available. It denounced the ICCPR Optional Protocol with effect from 2023, ending individual communications to the UN Human Rights Committee.
- Employment & LabourA 1999 Labour Code built on fixed-term contract renewalThe Labour Code of 1999, amended in 2020, governs employment. A distinctive feature is the contract system introduced by presidential decree, under which most employees work on renewable fixed terms of one to five years, which weakens dismissal protection in practice.
- Property & LandState ownership of land with private ownership of buildingsMost land remains in state ownership and is held by citizens and companies under lifetime inheritable possession, lease or use rather than freehold. Buildings and apartments can be privately owned and are registered in the unified real property register.
- Criminal LawA 1999 criminal code with the death penalty retainedThe Criminal Code of 1999 applies with a procedure code of the same year. Belarus is the only European state still executing, by shooting and without notice to the family, and the 2022 amendments extended capital liability to attempted acts of terrorism.
- Civil ProcedureA unified court system with economic courts inside itThe Civil Procedure Code of 1999 governs ordinary civil claims while the Code of Economic Procedure covers commercial disputes before the regional economic courts. The Supreme Court absorbed the former Supreme Economic Court in 2014.
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