THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
DIRECTIONS:
Before reading the text, tell the class what you remember about the constitution and state system of our country.
ACTIVITY B
READING
DIRECTIONS:
Now read.
TEXT 1 The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus
The Constitution is the Fundamental Law of the Republic of Belarus. When Belarus was one of the republics of the former Soviet Union, it also had its own Constitution, but in reality it was submitted to the Constitution of the USSR.
A new stage in the history of Belarusian statehood began on July 27, 1990 when the BSSR Supreme Soviet adopted the Declaration "On the State Sovereignty of the BSSR". On August 25, 1991 the BSSR Supreme Soviet declared the political and economical independence of Belarus. In December 1991 the agreement on creation of CIS was signed in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
The final legal act that declared Belarus a new democratic state in Eastern Europe was the 1994 Constitution. The present-day Constitution of Belarus is the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 with amendments and addenda adopted at the republican referenda on November 24, 1996 and October 17, 2004.
According to the Constitution, Belarus is a presidential republic. The head of the state and the executive power is the President who is elected for a five-year term. The Constitution consists of a preamble and nine sections:
I. The bases of the Constitutional system
II. The Individual, Society and the State
III. Electoral system. Referendum
IV. The President, Parliament, the Government, the Court
V. Local government and self-government
VI. The Procurator's office. The State Supervisory Committee.
VII. Financial and credit system of the Republic of Belarus
VIII. The application of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the procedure for amending the Constitution
IX. Final and transitional clauses
The Constitution defines the Republic of Belarus as a unitary democratic social state with the rule of law which possesses supremacy and absolute authority in its territory. The Republic of Belarus independently carries out domestic and foreign policy.
The territory of Belarus is unified and inalienable; it is a natural condition of existence and a spatial limit of natural self- determination, the basis for the nation's well-being and sovereignty.
The multitude of political institutes, ideologies and views is one of the foundations of exercising democracy in the Republic. According to the Constitution the creation and activity of political parties, as well as other public associations which have as a goal a violent change in the constitutional system or are conducting propaganda of war, national, religious and racial hostility is prohibited in the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
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The Constitution establishes the principle of the supremacy of law. The State and all its bodies and officials act within the limits of the Constitution and the laws adopted in accordance with it.
The Republic of Belarus recognizes the priority of universally acknowledged principles of International law and ensures that its legislation conforms to its norms.
In its foreign policy the Republic of Belarus proceeds from the principles of equality of states, non-use of force or threat of force, inviolability of borders, peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in internal affairs and from other norms of International law. The Republic of Belarus has a goal to make its territory a nuclear-free zone, with a neutral government.
The symbols of the Republic of Belarus as a sovereign State are its National flag, National emblem, and National anthem. Minsk is the capital of the Republic of Belarus.
The Belarusian and Russian languages are the state languages of the Republic.
The Constitution states that securing the rights and freedoms of citizens is the supreme goal of the State.
The Constitution of Belarus proclaims that all are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection of their rights and legitimate interests.
The State guarantees the freedom of opinion and conviction and the right to freely voice them as well as the freedom of public rallies and meetings, street demonstrations and picketing, which do not violate the legal order and the rights of other citizens of the Republic of Belarus.
Monopolization of the mass media by the state, public associations or individuals is prohibited.
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus guarantees the citizens of Belarus the right to health care and social security in old age as well as free general education and professional technical training. Secondary special and higher education is accessible to all, depending on the abilities of each person. Each person has the right to receive education at state educational institutions on the basis of contest and free of charge.
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The Constitution guarantees equal protection and equal conditions for the development of all forms of ownership for existence of state and private property.
The Constitution establishes the principle of separation of powers. State power in Belarus is founded on the basis of its separation into legislative, executive and judiciary. State bodies in the Republic act independently and cooperate with one another, and restrain and counterbalance one another.
The defence of the Republic of Belarus is one of the most important functions of the State and is the duty of all the citizens of the country.
The Constitution establishes that no one may be pronounced guilty of a crime unless his quilt has been proven by law in a lawful court sentence. The Constitution reproduces the provision of the Declaration of Human Rights with regard to presumption of innocence.
The Republic of Belarus is a part of the world community. It recognizes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Charter, the International Convents on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The principles established by the major international legal instruments have found their reflection in the provisions of the Belarusian Constitution.
The Fundamental Law of the Republic of Belarus establishes the principle of the state building on the basis of rules of law by means of such institutions as free election and referendum, and the people as the only source of power.
ACTIVITY C
VOCABULARY STUDY
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Read the words and guess their meaning. Mind the stress.
| constitution | 'history | 'Europe |
| republic | Bela'rusian | 'national |
| fundamental | declaration | referendum |
| 'soviet | democratic | 'system |
| 'president | preamble | 'territory |
| finance | 'history | 'organize |
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PART II
DIRECTIONS:
Complete the list of derivatives. Use a dictionary if necessary.
| verb | noun (agent) | noun (concept) |
| to legislate | legislator | legislation |
| to guarantee | ||
| to implement | ||
| to organise | ||
| to interact |
PART III
DIRECTIONS:
Write down the derivatives of the following words.
| history | proclaim | courage |
| invade | disintegrate | tribe |
| conquer | emerge | inhabit |
| foreign | defence | occupy |
| nation | Belarus | economy |
PART IV
DIRECTIONS:
Pair the words in column A with the ones in column B.
| 1. fundamental | a) settlement |
| 2. Belarusian | b) independence |
| 3. political | c) law |
| 4. peaceful | d) statehood |
| 5. internal | e) zone |
| 6. nuclear-free | f) obtains |
| 7. sovereign | g) language |
| 8. state | h) state |
| 9. health | i) education |
| 10. higher | j) protection |
| 11. establish | k) principles |
| 12. human | l) rights |
| 13. guarantee | m) freedom |
PART V
DIRECTIONS:
Add nouns to the following adjectives to form noun phrases.
| fundamental | political | equal |
| new | foreign | legitimate |
| economical | peaceful | social |
| legal | neutral | supreme |
| democratic | sovereign | legislative |
| present-day | local | electoral |
PART VI
DIRECTIONS:
Match the English and Russian equivalents.
| 1. fundamental law | a) права и обязанности граждан |
| 2. state sovereignty | b) внутренняя и внешняя политика |
| 3. to adopt the declaration | c) принцип разделения властей |
| 4. to declare the independence | d) защита страны |
| 5. legislative branch of power | e) равные условия |
| 6. executive power | f) свобода мнений |
| 7. judicial branch of power | g) угроза силы |
| 8. local government | h) международное право |
| 9. the basis of the constitution | i) превосходство закона |
| 10. domestic and foreign policy | j) насильственное изменение |
| 11. well-being of the people | k) благосостояние народа |
| 12. violent change | l) основа конституции |
| 13. the supremacy of law | m) местное правительство |
| 14. international law | n) судебная ветвь власти |
| 15. threat of force | o) исполнительная власть |
| 16. the freedom of opinion | p) законодательная ветвь власти |
| 17. the principle of separation of powers | q) провозглашать независимость |
| 18. the defence of the country | r) принимать декларацию |
| 19. equal conditions | s) государственный суверенитет |
| 20. the rights and duties of the citizens | t) основной закон |
PART VII
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DIRECTIONS:
Choose the proper word to complete the sentence from the ones given:
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