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27.08.2019

Lukashenko wants better legislative process in Belarus

MINSK (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko urged to improve the legislative process in order to avoid subsequent amendments to laws. The head of state drew attention to this matter as he heard out reports by Vice Premier Vladimir Dvornik and First Vice Premier Aleksandr Turchin who suggested amendments to some legislation, BelTA has learned.

“It is necessary to avoid resorting to presidential decrees so often in order to change or amend this or another law shorted after they are passed. I understand that life does not stand still, nothing is set in stone. However, if we pass a normative legal act, a law, a bylaw, presidential ordinances, decrees and then a year or two later we start amending them, this suggests that the legislative process was poorly handled at the expert level and the level of legislators,” the head of state said.

“We need to pass the legislation that will not need any improvements for at least five years, because any changes to the law, in particular, in the economic sector, raise concern among business people and other stakeholders,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko urged to keep this in mind and to resort to changes to the laws only when it is absolutely justified and badly needed in order to keep public, political and economic processes going.

One of the bills brought to the president's attention dealt with investment into agribusiness, specifically, sponsor aid. “I want to understand what this sponsor aid is about and whether we really need to pass an appropriate normative legal act at the level of the president. I thought that matters related to sponsor aid have been settled and an appropriate mechanism has been developed. Why cannot we get by with the existing legislative framework?” the head of state asked.

Another proposed bill dealt with licensing of certain activities. “As far as I understand, the draft decree was prepared by the government upon the instruction given at the meeting with entrepreneurs some time ago. I want to reiterate that we have recently taken unprecedented steps to scrap some permits that we did not really need. I don't know what areas of work are regulated this way and what type of activities you need to be involved in to need a permit. No other country has liberalized this system to the extent that we did. Again, life is going on, things change. Maybe, we need to make amendments. Where, why and what for?” the president asked.