Constitution of Belarus - History

History

Belarus adopted its first constitution in 1919 when the country was a Soviet Republic (USSR). 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 Soviet of Belarus passed the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, giving powers to itself to alter the 1978 constitution of the Byelorussian SSR. 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 Soviet. Upon approval from the Supreme Soviet, the first draft was published in December 1991 in order for the Belarusian populace to make comments and suggestions. The commission submitted the third and final draft to the Supreme Soviet, where it was signed on March 15, 1994 by the Speaker of the Supreme Soviet and Head of State, Myechyslaw Hryb. The gazette Zvezda officially published the Constitution fifteen days later. The Supreme Soviet 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 Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic void, with a few exceptions. The law, passed during the thirteenth session of the Supreme Soviet, 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 last to create and pass a new constitution subsequent to the dissolution of the USSR. A delay occurred due to debates among Supreme Soviet deputies, who were also trying to stave off the opposition and democratic forces who wanted to close the Supreme Soviet 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 Soviet, 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.

When drafting the Belarus Constitution, the Supreme Soviet deputies were influenced by the constitutions of various countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Internally, the Constitution was influenced by the period of Soviet domination and a desire to bring back traditions brushed aside by the Soviet Government. The structure of the Constitution is similar to the Russian Federation: for example, the office of the President has powers analogous to those granted to the President of Russia. Overall, the Constitution sought to preserve the statehood of Belarus from pro-Russian unity movements, provide a strong head of state that could cure the ailments Belarus would endure in the post-Soviet era, and lay out a compromise between the political factions in Belarus.