The President and the Minister of Justice met in the Palace of Independence on April 21. According to Alexander Lukashenko, six months have passed since Sergei Khomenko was appointed head of the Ministry, which means it's time to report on the work done. The Belarusian leader outlined five main areas, to which the Ministry of Justice should pay close attention.
The President explained why he has to actively intervene and control the work of lawyers and notaries:
"The lawyer must perform his functions without fear of anything, but at the same time we must understand that he is a public person. And his actions must be based on the norms of the law, not some invented norms - freedom of speech and other freedoms. We have had enough of this freedom. Thank God, we have seen what kind of freedom they bring us," said the head of state.
Alexander Lukashenko demands putting things in order in public associations. Parties, trade unions and various funds should function in strict compliance with the law and in a completely transparent manner. Another area is law enforcement. We have to raise it to a qualitatively new level. And here the personnel are important: they must be responsible, disciplined and conscientious.
The head of the state reminded that the amendments to the Constitution of Belarus had been passed recently and thus a "new framework of the state in the sphere of laws and lawmaking" was created.
"Of course, we had to calculate a long time ago how many amendments and additions we needed and how many laws to adopt in order to develop the Constitution passed at the referendum and which is in force today. This work should be started immediately," the President instructed. "You will have to do it first and foremost. We will all be involved in the process because law-making cannot depend on two people or two agencies only. This is out of the question. The whole country should be involved in the process."
Alexander Lukashenko wanted to know how the Justice Ministry saw its future work and when the work would start. The President noted that the legislation should be brought in line with the new Constitution within two years, and that time will pass very quickly. "That's why we have to adopt the basic laws now," he stressed.
Sergey Khomenko, Minister of Justice of Belarus:
After hearing my report, the President indicated the main strategic line - to help people in all spheres, which involve the Ministry of Justice. The matters of personnel policy were discussed, as well as the results of the work in rulemaking and expertise in legislative acts, the assessment of the bodies of compulsory execution was given. Of course, the efficiency and problematic issues in the work of lawyers and notaries were considered, and everywhere, in all spheres, the most serious attention was paid to the care for the people.
The issue of court-ordered enforcement was raised at a recent meeting of the President on law and border. In his report, the Prosecutor General said that not all court decisions are implemented, and the rate of compensation is even less than 5%. Alexander Lukashenko suggested improving the quality of interaction between the Ministry of Justice, the Investigation Committee, and the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus in order to raise their efficiency.












