Judges don't know powers of their courts

Baranavichy entrepreneur Mikalai Charnavus applied to the Brest Regional Court with the request to abolish the verdict of the verdict of the Baranavichy City Court, according to which the latter allegedly had no powers to consider the case concerning the illegality of the election of the Council of the local market, and returned the case for the second trial.

The regional court explained that Charnavus's lawsuit was to have been considered by the Brest City Economic Court, though that court had answered two times that the case belonged to the competency of a court of general jurisdiction.

According to lawyer and human rights defender Uladzimir Malei, by doing this the judges of the economic court Liudmila Levanchuk and Tatsiana Liudvih demonstrated their incompetence, as far as the verdict of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Economic Court clearly explains that disputes between juridical bodies (such as entrepreneur Charnavus, Baranavichy City Executive Committee and Baranavichy cooperative market) must be considered by economic court.

Bear in mind that in December 2011 the administration of the Baranavichy City Executive Committee appointed a new Council, violating Presidential decree #148 and Ruling of the Soviet of Ministers #375, according to which a market council could be elected only at a general assembly. According to Mr. Charnavus, there was no general assembly of entrepreneurs. He applied to the Baranavichy District Procuracy once, and to the Brest Regional Procuracy – twice. However, these institutions found no violations.

At present the entrepreneur intends to apply to the economic court once again.