Constitution of Belarus

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (Belarusian: Канстытуцыя Рэспублікі Беларусь, romanized: Kanstytucyja Respubliki Bielaruś; Russian: Конституция Республики Беларусь) is the supreme basic law of Belarus. The Constitution is composed of a preamble and nine sections divided into 148 articles.

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.

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.

The Belarusian Democratic Republic adopted its first temporary constitution several months after declaring independence from the Russian Empire, on October 11, 1918. In 1919, after the occupation of the country by the Russian Bolsheviks, Belarus became a Soviet Republic (USSR), and a new constitution was adopted. Belarus continued to use this constitution until it – along with Russia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasus – signed a treaty to form the Soviet Union. Now the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Byelorussian SSR), the country adopted its first Soviet-era constitution in 1927, complementing the recently adopted Soviet Constitution. After a re-adoption in 1937, the Byelorussian SSR adopted its last Soviet-era constitution in 1978, mainly to reflect changes made in the 1977 Soviet Constitution.

When Belarus became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Supreme Council of Belarus passed the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, proclaiming Byelorussian SSR acts legal priority over USSR ones (per article 7 of the Declaration, but this provision was inserted into 1978 Constitution only in August 1991) and formally starting a constitutional process in Republic.

Soon afterwards, the government established a Constitution Commission to facilitate the adoption of a post-Soviet constitution. In November 1991, the commission sent the first of three drafts to the Supreme Council. Upon approval from the Supreme Council, the first draft was published in December 1991 in order for the Belarusian populace to make comments and suggestions. Professors Gary M. Shaw of Touro College, New York and Russell L. Weaver of the University of Louisville spent time in Belarus in 1993 advising on drafting the constitution on behalf of Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI), a project of the American Bar Association. The commission submitted the third and final draft to the Supreme Council, where it was signed on March 15, 1994 by the Speaker of the Supreme Council and Head of State, Myechyslaw Hryb.

The gazette Zvezda officially published the Constitution fifteen days later. The Supreme Council passed a second law along with the Constitution, titled the Enactment Law, rendering the 1978 Byelorussian SSR Constitution and the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic void, with a few exceptions. The law, passed during the thirteenth session of the Supreme Council, also provided transitional phases for office holders and government organs to form within two years. Every year since 1994, March 15 has been commemorated in Belarus as Constitution Day, a national holiday.

The Constitution introduces separation of powers. According to Belarusian law, each office is separate but must work together to serve the people. The Constitution also makes Belarus a presidential democracy, significantly reducing the role of the prime minister. Of the fifteen former Soviet republics, Belarus was the one of latest to create and pass a new constitution subsequent to the dissolution of the USSR. A delay occurred due to debates among Supreme Council deputies, who were also trying to stave off the opposition and democratic forces who wanted to close the Supreme Council down for good. A power struggle to determine the relationship between the new executive branch and the legislature caused much of the debate in 1992 and 1993. The former chairman of the Supreme Council, Stanislau Shushkevich, criticized the early drafts due to the amount of power granted to the president. The opposition Belarusian Popular Front criticized the final drafts due to the lack of balance between the two parties and for allowing Vyachaslau Kebich to run for presidential elections in June of that year despite serving in the same role with the SSR.