MINSK, 14 May (BelTA) – There is a proposal to limit the legislative powers of the president in terms of issuing decrees, Chairman of the Constitutional Court Piotr Miklashevich said at the meeting of the Constitutional Commission on 14 May, BelTA has learned.
“In order to enable the parliament to implement its legislative function more fully, it is proposed to remove from the Constitution provisions about the transfer of some legislative powers from the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic to the president. These are the provisions enabling the head of state to issue decrees having the force of law as well as to issue upon the initiative of the president or the government temporary decrees having the force of law whenever necessary. The parliament should be actively involved in this work. It is its main function. In line with this proposal, parliament members as representatives of people should know what people want and pass appropriate laws regulating all aspects of public relations. We also see that the main controlling function of the parliament is to check how a specific law works and what impact it has on public relations as well as to amend laws in order to make them more efficient,” Piotr Miklashevich said.
According to the chairman of the Constitutional Court, today the parliament has sufficient powers regarding appointment of various high-level officials. “Therefore, today there is no need to address this matter. These powers just should be properly utilized and the parliament should make sure that worthy candidates are nominated for high government positions,” Piotr Miklashevich noted.
The fourth meting of the Constitutional Commission is taking place on 14 May. The commission members are discussing proposals to amend the constitutional provisions regarding the functions and powers of the parliament of Belarus.
The first meeting of the Constitutional Commission took place on 31 March. The schedule of meetings was approved back then – the commission will convene twice a month.
