| Belarus Report_English 30 pages / 1.51 MB |
Publication of a mission report
Minsk-Paris-Geneva,
June 29, 2018 – The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,
a partnership between FIDH and OMCT, in collaboration with the Paris
Bar and Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, today released a report documenting
restrictions on the independence of lawyers in Belarus. Based on an
investigation conducted in January 2018, the report criticises the executive
power’s stranglehold on the capacity of lawyers defending cases which the
authorities consider to be ‘sensitive’ to practise their profession.
In Belarus, lawyers defending
cases considered by the authorities to be ‘troublesome’ are generally exposed
to retaliatory measures, which can culminate in their expulsion, against a
background of changes to the legal framework that have gradually placed
Belarusian bars, and lawyers themselves, under the direct authority of the
Ministry of Justice. Such retaliatory measures are often initiated following
repression by the authorities of large-scale protests, as in 2010 and 2017.
In the course of the past few
years, the bars have been stripped of their primary function, which is to
guarantee independence and ensure the regulation of the profession. Access to
the profession and its organisation now fall under the almost exclusive competence of civil servants in the Ministry
of Justice.
“Today in Belarus, lawyers can have
their right to practise withdrawn for any reason, as soon as they take on cases
considered by the authorities to be ‘troublesome’”, said the
Observatory and the Paris Bar.
Over recent years, the Ministry of Justice
has granted itself the power to summon lawyers to appear before a commission to
verify their competence, which has become a key censorship tool. This
commission, which formerly examined lawyers’ qualifications every five years,
can now summon any lawyer at any time, on an extraordinary basis. The
commission undertakes an oral examination, which is difficult to challenge. The
lawyers interviewed by the mission delegation in January underlined that,
during the examination, the commission does not take account of lawyers’ areas
of specialisation and can therefore ask questions outside their field of
expertise. In addition, the legal framework does not specify the number of
questions that can be asked, nor the duration of interviews, thereby opening
the door to arbitrary treatment of the lawyers under examination.
“This targeted harassment through the
qualification commission not only has the effect of penalising the free
exercise of the profession but also undermines the rights of the defence and the right
to a fair trial in Belarus”, added the
Observatory and the Paris Bar. “It appears vital and urgent to review the
control of the executive over the bars in Belarus and to create the conditions
for lawyers to be able to practise freely and independently, in accordance with
international law”.
The Observatory and the Paris Bar call on
the Belarusian authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the protection of
lawyers in the country, in particular those specialised in defending
fundamental freedoms, and to ensure more generally the protection of all human
rights defenders in Belarus.
The investigation report is available in English, French and Russian.
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