Belarusian People’s Congress
Speaker: Belarusian Parliament will adjust legislative plan following people's congress
MINSK, 4 February (BelTA) - The House of Representatives of the National Assembly will need to adjust its work in terms of legislative initiatives to take into account the outcome documents of the Belarusian People's Congress, Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said at the meeting of the council of the lower house of parliament, BelTA has learned.
“Undoubtedly, the results of the Belarusian People's Congress will shape the agenda of the legislative activities of the House of Representatives for the next year, and for the future. We will need to quickly adjust it taking into account the president's instructions and the final documents that will be worked out at the Belarusian People's Congress," Vladimir Andreichenko said opening the meeting. For example, members of the House of Representatives are the initiators of amending the law on national and local assemblies. Following the Belarusian People's Congress the National Assembly will need to work on this draft taking into account the proposals of citizens received during the congress and before it.
The Council of the House of Representatives discussed the legislative plan for the upcoming spring session and the plan of international cooperation for 2021. In particular, a draft code on education will be submitted for the spring session. "We need to prepare a comprehensive, well-crafted document to ensure a balance of interests of teachers, students and parents," said Vladimir Andreichenko. He stressed that it is necessary to hold a wide discussion of the code with the public, specialists, practitioners and hold parliamentary hearings on this topic in June.
During the spring session, the Standing Commission on State Construction, Local Government and Regulation is set to complete the work on the bill on civil service. The bill lays down new approaches to staff training and norms of professional ethics, provides for tougher discipline and greater responsibility of officials. MPs are set to discuss these provisions in their constituencies.
“We should adopt several forward-looking laws as soon as possible. The current situation in Belarus has showed that it is important to ensure information security and personal data protection. In view of this, the Standing Commission on National Security should finish drawing up the bill on personal data protection in February,” Vladimir Andreichenko added. Plans are also in place to prepare amendments to the criminal code, penal code, and other legislation.
The Council of the House of Representatives set up a working group led by Chairwoman of the Standing Commission on Law Svetlana Lyubetskaya. The working group is tasked with drafting another bill by the spring session.
Belarus has seen a surge in cases of scammers stealing money from bankcards or trying to use people’s personal data, Svetlana Lyubetskaya stressed. “The upcoming bill will set forth measures in law enforcement, information security and personal data protection, providing for criminal responsibility for such offenses,” she explained. The focus will be on protecting people’s rights and personal information, and preventing intrusion upon their private life, Svetlana Lyubetskaya added. “Most likely, the range of responsibility for such actions will be expanded,” she noted.
She specified that personal data processing can imply copying, transfer, obtaining of personal information about an individual from various types of sources. “And the violation of the order of personal data processing will entail responsibility depending on consequences and damage. We suggest regulating all these issues,” Svetlana Lyubetskaya concluded.
MPs also initiated the development of a draft law to prevent the glorification of Nazism. According to Vladimir Andreichenko, the document should be prepared by March 2021.
“We expect that a whole set of questions in the economic field which are important for the business community will be submitted in the coming months. These are draft laws to amend the bank code, the law on the stock market, draft laws on state registration and liquidation of economic operators, licensing, investments, economic insolvency (bankruptcy),” Vladimir Andreichenko said. He asked MPs to take these issues under serious control, including those involving the harmonization of amendments with a five-year action plan.
Proposals to amend the legislation, promotion of patriotic education, legal and political awareness of the population should be in the center of attention for the House of Representatives in H1, including within the framework of the Year of People’s Unity. Vladimir Andreichenko expressed confidence that MPs can play a bigger role in the integration processes of the Union State advocating for the promotion of the harmonized policy in the manufacturing sector, enhancement of cooperation, creation of equal conditions for economic operators. He also deemed it necessary to hold joint seminars to prevent the glorification of Nazism, observe human rights in European countries and on other important topics.
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