Adopted in 1994, three years after the country declared its independence from the Soviet Union, this formal document establishes the framework of the Belarusian state and government and enumerates the rights and freedoms of its citizens. However, the United Nations and various observers challenge that the rule of law is respected or that the judiciary is independent in Belarus, highlighting the consolidation of power by the current president.[3][4][5]
The constitution was drafted by the Supreme Council of Belarus, the former legislative body of the country and is heavily influenced by Western constitutions. The constitution has been amended thrice under controversial circumstances since the original adoption, in 1996, in 2004 and in 2022. Two referendums that were disputed by independent observers and government opposition leaders increased the power of the presidency over the government and eliminated the term limits for the presidency.
Judicial review[edit]
In a 1998 journal, the New York University School of Law noted that Belarusian legal scholars came up with a new theory to deal with jurisprudence. Laws are constitutional if they follow the will of President Lukashenko and the people; unconstitutional if the president and the people do not like it. The laws that fall in the latter category are considered "ignored" by the legal scholars.[3] In June 1999, a Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers from the United Nations visited Belarus and noted inconsistency between national laws, decrees and the Constitution. The UN rapporteur, Dato Param Cumaraswamy, especially noted that temporary decrees issued by the national authorities are still in force, even if they had expired or contradict the Constitution.[38]
Draft Constitution from the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya[edit]
In 2021 a Civil Constitution Commission, appointed by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Representative for Constitutional Reform, produced a draft "Constitution for New Belarus". According to the official site of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, "the Constitution for New Belarus is a modern European constitution, which will ensure the transition from an authoritarian to a democratic, parliamentary form of government".[39]
Twenty-eight international consultants provided expertise in drafting the constitution.[40]
The draft constitution was published on July 14, 2022 on the site kanstytucyja.online.[41]