Supreme Court Upholds Non-registration of 'Viasna'

Case #03-17p/2007

VERDICT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

On 26 October 2006 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus consisting of the presiding Yakhnavets S.K, with the secretary Budkina I.A., with participation of the prosecutor of a department of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus Zanouski L.F., the plaintiffs Stefanovich V.K, Bialiatski A.V., Labkovich U.M., a representative of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus Piachkurou A.V., having considered in the hall of court sittings of the Supreme Court a civil case on the suit of Stefanovich Valiantsin Kanstantsinavich, Labkovich Uladzimir Mikalayevich, Bialiatski Aliaksandr Viktaravich against the ruling of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus to refuse registration to the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’, 

found that: 

Stefanovich V.K., Labkovich U.M, Bialiatski A.V. applied to the court with a suit in which they pointed that on 23 July 2007 the documents for the state registration of the established republican Public human rights association ‘Viasna’ were submitted to the Ministry of Justice f the Republic of Belarus.

On 24 August 2007 the Ministry of Justice ruled to refuse registration for this public association.

They consider this decision groundless and non-compliant with the norms of the Law of the Republic of Belarus ‘On pubic associations’, violating the legal rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. They ask to set aside this decision and oblige the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus to register the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’.

The plaintiffs Stefanovich V.K., Labkovich U.M, Bialiatski A.V. supported their complaint at the court sitting.

The representative of the Ministry of Justice Piachkurou A.V. didn’t agree with the complaint.

Having listened to the explanations of the plaintiffs and the representative of the Ministry of Justice, investigated the written evidence, listened to the opinion of the prosecutor Zanouski L.F., who thinks that the complaint must not be satisfied, the court comes to the following.

According to Article 15 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus ‘On public associations’ the decision to refuse state registration to a public association is taken in the case in the case of;

-- violation of the legal order of the establishment of a public association if this violation cannot be corrected;

-- non-compliance of the statute documents of the public association (aims, tasks, methods of activity and the territorial spread of the activity of a public association) with the legal norms;

-- non-presentation by a public association of all documents that are necessary for the state registration;

-- mismatch of the name of a public association, including the shortened version, its symbols and the conditions of membership in the public association to the legal norms and/or its statute documents;

-- non-implementation of the demands, specified in the ruling about postponement of the state registration of a public association within a month;

-- refusal to implement a legal proposal of the appropriate registering organ on change of the name of the public association.

It was found that on 23 July 2007 the documents for the state registration of the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’ were passed to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus.

However, the name of the public association – Public human rights association ‘Viasna’ – contradicts to part 6 of article 12 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus ‘On public associations’ (further referred to as the Law) about the inadmissibility of naming a new public association with the title of a public association that was earlier liquidated by court.

Besides, the bank document about the payment of the state fee was not submitted to the registering organ, which is a violation of article 13 of the Law in the edition of 17.05.2007.

By the ruling of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus of 23 August 2007 the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’ was refused of state registration.

These circumstances are confirmed by the materials of the civil case (the application for the state registration of the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’, the statute, the list of the founders, the refusal of the Ministry of Justice to give the state registration to the association), and also the materials of the civil case on the liquidation of the public association ‘Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’ that was considered by the Supreme Court in 2003.

Thus, taking into account that the name of the public association does not conform to the legal demands and not all the documents demanded by the law for the state registration were passed to the Ministry of Justice, the decision of the registering organ to refuse registration to the public association is legal and well-grounded, that’s why there are no reasons to annul it. 

Being guided by article 302 of CPC of the Republic of Belarus the court 

RULED: 

Not to satisfy the complaint of Stefanovich Valiantsin Kanstantsinavich, Labkovich Uladzimir Mikalayevich, Bialiatski Aliaksandr Viktaravich against the ruling of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus to refuse registration to the Public human rights association ‘Viasna’.

The verdict comes into legal force immediately after its announcement and is not liable to cassation appeals or protest.
 

The presiding
            Judge of the Supreme Court
            Of the Republic of Belarus               S.K. Yakhnavets
 

Valid:

The judge of the Supreme Court      S.K. Yakhnavets