Volha Smalianka: Decree No2 gives additional reasons to liquidate NGO

The decree of the President of Belarus No.2 that came into force on May 1 and was adopted on January 24, 2013 is not clear and detailed, so its future usage still evokes lots of questions.

This opinion shared to the EuroBelarus Information Service Volha Smalianka, the director of the Legal Transformation Centre “Lawtrend”.

Let us recall that the Decree of the President "On introduction of amendments and additions to the decree of the President of Belarus No.1 of January 16, 2009" came into force on May 1^st.This document considerably increases the possibilities for the liquidation of certain types of non-profit organizations.

Anybody can be included into the preventive register

According to Volha Smalianka, there are two main problems in the decree adopted earlier this year.

“First problem is that in the declaration the founder or the leader of the organization or association has to indicate that he is included in the preventive register, - highlighted the expert. – And rather wide public circles can be included into the preventive register, like people who can represent threat to the national security or to the rights and freedoms of other people”.

And if the person is put on the preventive register he has to notify the authorities about it; otherwise his organization is to be liquidated within two months. But this is where a number of questions appear.

First, a person can be unaware that he is on such a register. “Of course, he should be notified. But if we talk about liquidating an NGO in case its director or its founder is on a preventive register, then it should be liquidated within two months. Accordingly, during this time the owner of the organization should be notified that he is on a register, then he should notify about it himself, and to be changed afterwards”, - noted Volha Smalianka.

Besides, the procedure of putting on a preventive register is rather subjective and depends on the decision of the official in charge.

Questions without answers

The other problem of the Decree No.2 is that when it is drawn up one of the main principles any normative legal document should possess can be broken, especially the principle that deals with the citizens’ rights. This principle requires the normative legal document to be written in a clear and understandable language.

“And in the given case I have more questions than answers, even being a lawyer myself, - Volha Smalianka claimed. – For instance, what is the basis to dismiss the leader of the organization who is on a preventive register? There is no such article in the Labor Code. Or what is the procedure of changing the founder in the organization if it is the only one? And these questions can be enumerated without end”.

Calm before the Decree’s application?

What we are to expect from the Decree that has just entered in force? Will it become an instrument for total liquidation of those organizations and associations that are out of favor?

Volha Smalianka noted that not every normative legal document in Belarus have real power now. “The Decree has entered in force on May 1 only. It should have some purpose; but it is too early to speak about the way it will work. In any case, there will probably be a point in the declaration where the founder has to say about his preventive registration”, - the expert supposed.

Can the Decree meet active counteraction from the part of the civil society?

“This Decree has caused certain critics from the political players of the civil society and lawyers working in this sphere. But for now I believe no serious actions against the Decree No.2 are planned. The Decree has entered into force, which means that it is hard to take some actions against it. Of course, we should discuss some common actions if it used widely”, - the director of the “Lawtrend” emphasized.

“If people are put on the preventive register in order to liquidate their organizations, then we would have to work some measures out, - announced Volha Smalianka. – It is already rather easy to close down any NGO; this Decree only gives additional basis for that”.