New Administrative Code — mystery for majority of human rights defenders
The new Administrative Code of Belarus will come into effect on March 1, 2007 - that is, in two days. But lawyers haven’t got acquainted with it yet. It took us some time to find a lawyer who had already familiarized himself with the new Code.
Aleh Vouchak: “There is no judicial practice concerning the amendments. How is it done here? Changes don’t come into full effect during six or 12 months. No one knows how long it will take to implement them. A law is adopted and then judges start working hastily. No time is given to get acquainted with it”.
The most important changes of the new Administrative Code are the increase of the time of detention and fines. Now a person can be called to account for several administrative infractions separately.
Thus, the time of detention has increased from 15 to 25 days. Human rights defenders think that the punishment should not be so severe. It is rather hard to spend 25 days in detention. Aleh Vouchak says:
“I don’t think these changes are accidental. Spring is coming and some political actions are going to take place here. So I think the amendments have a political basis. People arrested during such meetings will be detained not for 15 but for 25 days so that they would fear to participate in protest actions next time”.
Moreover, private entrepreneurs having no employees will be considered officials. Aleh Vouchak comments on the reason for such a change:
“Firstly, it will lead to huge fines for them when they are considered to be officials. Secondly, private entrepreneurs are going to strike soon. The authorities want to control them, to frighten them with these fines and make their work harder”.
Still, all is not so bad. There are also positive changes in the new Code. For example, infringers do not have to prove their innocence anymore. That is, the so-called administrative presumption of innocence has appeared.
One more positive change is that an infringer has the right to ask for a lawyer’s help from the moment of detention. A rights defender can participate in the consideration of primary instruments which could not be possible before.
But if every infringer (even those who cross the street in the wrong place or stowaways) asks for the help of lawyers it will lead to a difficult situation. Policemen will have problems too.
There is also some lack of coincidence of what is written in the new Code and the things we heard from the head of the House of Representatives’ legislative commission Alyaksandar Arhіpau:
“No, the term of detention has not been increased. The detention for an administrative infringement is 15 days”.
The only way to see how the new Administrative code is going to work is to have first-hand knowledge.
Photo by www.renewnetwork.org
A human rights defender Aleh Vouchak is worried by the fact that it will become necessary to work according to the new amendment while these amendments are so hard to find.
Aleh Vouchak: “There is no judicial practice concerning the amendments. How is it done here? Changes don’t come into full effect during six or 12 months. No one knows how long it will take to implement them. A law is adopted and then judges start working hastily. No time is given to get acquainted with it”.
The most important changes of the new Administrative Code are the increase of the time of detention and fines. Now a person can be called to account for several administrative infractions separately.
Thus, the time of detention has increased from 15 to 25 days. Human rights defenders think that the punishment should not be so severe. It is rather hard to spend 25 days in detention. Aleh Vouchak says:
“I don’t think these changes are accidental. Spring is coming and some political actions are going to take place here. So I think the amendments have a political basis. People arrested during such meetings will be detained not for 15 but for 25 days so that they would fear to participate in protest actions next time”.
Moreover, private entrepreneurs having no employees will be considered officials. Aleh Vouchak comments on the reason for such a change:
“Firstly, it will lead to huge fines for them when they are considered to be officials. Secondly, private entrepreneurs are going to strike soon. The authorities want to control them, to frighten them with these fines and make their work harder”.
Still, all is not so bad. There are also positive changes in the new Code. For example, infringers do not have to prove their innocence anymore. That is, the so-called administrative presumption of innocence has appeared.
One more positive change is that an infringer has the right to ask for a lawyer’s help from the moment of detention. A rights defender can participate in the consideration of primary instruments which could not be possible before.
But if every infringer (even those who cross the street in the wrong place or stowaways) asks for the help of lawyers it will lead to a difficult situation. Policemen will have problems too.
There is also some lack of coincidence of what is written in the new Code and the things we heard from the head of the House of Representatives’ legislative commission Alyaksandar Arhіpau:
“No, the term of detention has not been increased. The detention for an administrative infringement is 15 days”.
The only way to see how the new Administrative code is going to work is to have first-hand knowledge.
Photo by www.renewnetwork.org
