The court system in Belarus

An overview of the Belarus court system, including the Constitutional Court, and general and economic courts

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus judicial power in the country belongs to the court system.

The court system is split into 3 main groups:

• the Constitutional Court
• general courts
• economic courts

All court proceedings have to follow the established system. Emergency courts cannot be set up under any circumstances.

General courts in Belarus

General courts in Belarus deal with civil, criminal and administrative cases, as well as cases involving military personnel.

Belarus’ general courts include:

• the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus
• regional courts
• Minsk city court
• town courts
• military courts

Economic courts in Belarus

Belarus’ economic court system exists to protect the economic and business interests of individuals and legal entities – including foreign parties.

Belarus’ economic courts include:

• the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus
• regional economic courts
• Minsk city economic court

Constitutional Court of Belarus

The main purpose of the Belarus Constitutional
Court is to ensure that new legislation and statutes are drawn up in accordance with the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court is made up of 12 high-level legal experts. They must be:

• under 70 years old
• qualified to degree level

Six of the judges are appointed by the President of Belarus, and the remaining 6 are elected by the Council of the Republic.

The Chair of the Court is directly appointed by the President of Belarus and approved by the Council.

The term of office for a Constitutional Court judge is 11 years.