Updated at 17:53,27-03-2024

Dictator decided to “interbreed“ legality and efficiency

charter97.org

The system of distribution of authority among governmental bodies to investigate criminal cases needed serious reforms. T the same time, it should meet present-day requirements, Alyaksandr Lukashenka told at a meeting on improvement of crime control laws on August 14.

"In other words, we must define the efficiency of the current system of distribution of authority over investigation of criminal cases between government agencies," the Belarusian ruler said. "There is one criterion – the system must meet present-day requirements instead of being a stale dogma that everyone is afraid of touching."

The meeting was a continuation of the reports that law enforcement agencies are supposed to deliver. Audits of the KGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and procuracy have been carried out this year. "The audits have revealed several problems and simultaneously predetermined ways of improving the operation of these state agencies," Lukashenka remarked.

"The audits have revealed that, unfortunately, in some cases the prosecutor’s authorisation does not prevent disregard of the law, thus it fails to perform its functions," he said.

According to Lukashenka, prosecutor are often not enough responsible when issuing authorization. Officers of the agencies of interior affairs, state security, and other law enforcement agencies hide behind authorizations and lay responsibility for necessity of operative and procedural activities on prosecutors.

He stated that sometimes slow operation of prosecutors, intended delays in issuing authorization or denial to issue it become a hindrance to timely crime suppression and holding the guilty liable.

"It conveys the suggestion that the legislation should be reformed. We need the measures that would be able to make the work efficient, and provide legality, defending the rights and interests of people, the state, and the whole society," Lukashenka stressed. "As usual, we must base on real life."

According to him, "the life" suggested to change competence over corruption crimes. For more effective anti-corruption activity, Decree №3 of April 18, 2009, orders that the preliminary investigation over a corruption crime must be carried out not only by procuracy, but by the agency that has instigated the criminal case.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka reminded that he had ordered the administration and other agencies interested to consider the issues of competence and prosecutor authorization. A draft law has been worked out and introduced for discussion.

The approaches suggested by the draft law didn’t meet everybody’s support. In particular, a norm giving the right to carry out search and operative activities, apply measures of restraint and carry out procedural actions following a motivated regulation by the interior minister, KGB head, and director of the Financial Investigation Department.

Lukashenka doesn’t see a problem in this: "I don’t understand why it is considered to be so special: are such high rankling officials less competent than a prosecutor issuing authorization? Moreover, it is they who bear personal responsibility for legality and validity of the decisions made."

He emphasized that those questions weren’t raised for the first time, they were fated by life. "Don’t refer to the fact that this system is customary, it is described in textbooks, and everything will be ruined without it. Life goes on. Criminal actions become more complicated and sophisticated, therefore we will make the rules the way we need to deal with them," Lukashenka said.

He noted that a question of forming a separate investigative committee should be considered in the nearest time. “We are making significant reforms in this system, so there must be no mistakes” he added.

As chairman of the Constitutional Court of Belarus Pyotr Miklashevich underlined, the measures suggested by the draft law "didn’t contradict the norms of the Belarusian Constitution and the international standards."

Alyaksandr Lukashenka turned the attention of the people present that the draft law focused on responsibility of officials. According to him, "there must be no mistakes, the law must be comprehensive and cover the whole power vertical." "I stand for the people to answer for their actions and to shift responsibility to others," he stressed.

Lukashenka noted that the draft law suggests personal responsibility of the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Committee (KGB), and the Financial Investigation Department for carrying out search activities affecting the human rights. "The human’s fate is the main thing. Human rights are not only my functional duties, but duties of everyone," the dictator emphasized.

The participants of the meeting came to a conclusion that personal responsibility of the interior minister, the KGB head and the director of the Financial Investigation Department guarantees that their actions will obey the law in a not les decree that actions of a prosecutor issuing authorization for imprisonment. So, a clear responsibility of a certain official for his or her actions will be determined thus excluding the situation when governmental agencies can shift responsibility to one another if their actions are illegal.

Lukashenka ordered to complete work over the draft law, suggesting changes in the mechanism of search and operative activities, by January 1, 2010. "The case is in the mechanism," he underlined. "We don’t violate any international norms and standards, we speak only about the mechanism but not about adopting any non-judicial decisions."