Belarus · Overview
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.
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