Mahiliou human rights activist asks the Constitutional Court to eliminate legal collisions

The corresponding statement was filed by Barys Buhkel sent to the Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus Piatro Miklashevich.

We are talking about the cases when the people who have been acquitted in administrative cases can not regain the funds that have been spent on lawyers.

Mr. Bukhel notes that in his practice there are three examples when citizens won the trials but could not obtain reimbursement for the services of lawyers, as well as other expenses related to the trials. These are the cases of Valery Vusik, Sof'ya Shatoba and Ina Khamrytsiliova. In all three cases the administrative cases were dropped due to the absence of corpus delicti.

“I met with Chairman of the Mahiliou Regional Court Ihar Proshka and talked to him about it. He actually admitted the existence of these legal collisions in the laws, but still did not dare to take a decision in favor of the aforementioned citizens concerning compensation for the counsels' fees and other costs that were associated with the lawsuits,” said Barys Bukhel.

According to the human rights activist judges, including the Chairman of the Mahiliou Regional Court, are simply afraid to take the initiative, although they must themselves appeal to the Constitutional Court with a demand to bring the legislation in order.

Mr. Bukhel asks the Constitutional Court to initiate proceedings on the elimination of flaws in the Process-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses, Article 938 of the Civil Code, Art. 12 Part 43 of the Law “On Constitutional Justice"; paragraph 8 of Article 22 of Part 2 of the Code of the Judicial System and Status of Judges and the Law "On normative legal acts", and perhaps in the Criminal Procedure Code, and to resolve conflicts and uncertainties in these articles.

The human rights activists also asks the court to recognize as illegal the use of Art. 939 of the Civil Code while considering the claims of individuals and entities to the treasury of the Republic of Belarus and/or to the relevant treasury of the administrative-territorial unit for the recovery of costs incurred by them for counsels' fees and other costs incurred in the dropped administrative cases against them on the grounds set forth in Art. 131.2 of the Process-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses.

Mr. Bukhel also asks the Constitutional Court to recognize the right of the plaintiffs to recover the costs incurred by them for counsels' fees and other costs related to the dropped administrative cases
against them stopped in administrative proceedings on the grounds provided for by Article 131.2 of the Process-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses on the administrative proceedings, initiated or completed, and on the civil proceedings initiated before the entry into force of Article 131 of of the Process-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses.

The human rights activists also asks to recognize the right of the plaintiffs for indexation of the expenditures for the counsels' fees and other costs related to the dropped administrative cases against them, on the grounds provided for by Article 131.2 of the Process-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses.