The court system in Belarus

An overview of the Belarus court system, including the Constitutional Court and universal jurisdiction courts

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

The court system is represented by:

• the Constitutional Court
• universal jurisdiction courts

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

Universal courts in Belarus

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

Belarus’ universal courts include:

• the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus
• oblast courts
• Minsk city court
• town courts
• economic courts for Minsk and for oblasts 

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 other six are elected by the Council of the Republic. 

The Presiding Judge of the Court is directly appointed by the President of Belarus with approval of the Council of the Republic.

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

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