How To Serve Legal Papers In Belarus

This article will provide guidance on How To Serve legal papers in Belarus. The Republic of Belarus is a landlocked republic in Eastern Europe. The government operates in seven distinct areas throughout the nation, with the biggest city in Belarus being Minsk. Belarus’s independence was announced on August 25^th, 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and a proclamation of autonomy by the republic’s parliament on July 27^th, 1990. Click here for How the Hague Convention Simplifies International Process Service.

International Process Service

BACKGROUND

Belarus is split into six areas called oblasts, which are named after the cities that serve as their administrative centres: Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev, Minsk, and Vitebsk. Each region has a provincial legislative authority, called a region council, which is elected by its residents, and a provincial executive authority called a region administration, whose chairman is appointed by the president. Minsk, the country’s capital, is divided into nine districts and is given special administrative status on par with the oblasts. It is governed by an executive committee and has been awarded a charter of self-rule. Click Here for information on the Code of Civil Procedure in Belarus!

The National Assembly (Natsionalnoye Sobranie) of the Republic of Belarus is one house of the country’s bicameral parliament and is responsible for making laws. The two houses are the Council of the Republic (Soviet Respubliсi) and the House of Representatives (Palata Predstaviteley). The Council of the Republic is the body of territorial representation, while the House of Representatives consists of a hundred and ten representatives chosen using a system of direct representation. This implies that the eight representatives for each of Belarus’s regions (oblasts) and the capital city of Minsk make up the Council of the Republic. These representatives are chosen during meetings of their respective regional and municipal deputies’ councils. The President appoints the eight people that make up the Council of the Republic. The Parliament serves for a total of four years. Click here for information on How The Central Authority Works in Belarus.

In Belarus, the executive power is guided by the Government (Council of Ministers). The Ministerial Council acts as the executive branch of government. The President of the Republic of Belarus is answerable to the Parliament, and the government is accountable to both. The Council of Ministers reports to the Prime Minister. The President of the Republic of Belarus appoints them, with the approval of the Parliament. Any law issued by the government is legally binding across the whole Republic. The Constitution and the Law of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus must serve as the basis for determining the Government’s authority and the scope of its actions (art. 107 of the Constitution). Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions About Process Servers!

THE COURT SYSTEM IN BELARUS

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Judicial System and the Status of Judges Code, and the Constitutional Justice Act, Belarus’s judicial system is established. The courts in Belarus operate according to the idea of territoriality and the concept of specialisation. Courts of broad jurisdiction and the Constitutional Court are included.

The Supreme Court is the highest court and is responsible for deciding civil and criminal matters as well as administrative offences, supervising the work of other courts, and exercising other duties granted to it by statute. In order to safeguard the legal rights and interests of businesses and people, economic courts administer justice in the realm of economic interactions.

The Constitutional Court is responsible for upholding constitutional law and order. According to the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of laws, decrees, edicts, international agreements, decisions, and other acts of the Council of Ministers, etc., in light of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and international law instruments ratified by the Republic of Belarus.

The ratification of international treaties is another significant source of taw. The laws of the Republic of Belarus are in accordance with the norms established by international law. However, there is nothing in the Constitution that explicitly states that approved foreign acts take precedence over domestic legislation.

Each of Belarus’s six regions and districts is governed by its own unique set of laws that shape the country’s economy, politics, and culture. They hand down rulings and announce them in official publications (in Minsk, this would be “Minskaya Pravda“).

SERVICE OF FOREIGN PAPERS

International legal proceedings sometimes take longer and cost more than domestic ones because of the need of serving legal documents to the appropriate parties. The Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Hague Convention) is an effort to expedite Belarus Process Service procedure by creating a standard framework to be used in all instances when judicial or extrajudicial papers must be sent across international borders.

The Convention establishes a primary means of communication between Contracting Parties while yet allowing for the use of other means of Belarus Process Service. The Convention focuses on the delivery of papers but does not discuss or include substantial regulations about the actual Belarus Process Service.

However, the Convention provides for two routes of transmission in which Belarus Process Service upon the final addressee is part of the transmission process: [A.] direct diplomatic or consular channels and [B.] the postal channel. A further step, not specified by the Convention, is necessary to complete Belarus Process Service on the final addressee for all other channels of transmission under the Convention.

Any situation in which a judicial or extrajudicial document is to be transmitted for Belarus Process Service from one Contracting Party to another, the address of the person to be served is known, and the document to be served relates to a civil or commercial matter, qualifies as a “situation” for which the Convention applies in terms of Belarus Process Service. Since the Convention’s transmission channels are exclusive, they must be used if and only if the aforementioned Belarus Process Service conditions are satisfied.

Convention service requests are typically sent by an authority or judicial officer in one Contracting Party to the Central Authority of the other Contracting Party. A Model Form is attached to the Convention and must be used for the request to comply with Belarus Process Service. Under its own legislation, the Central Authority of the requested Contracting Party should serve the Belarus Process Service document or arrange for it to be served by a competent authority (Art. 5). To the extent that the technique or Belarus Process Service is not incompatible with the legislation of the requested Contracting Party, the applicant (i.e. the forwarding authority of the requesting Contracting Party) may request that it be employed.

The executing authority must fill out the certificate appended to the Convention, explaining whether or not service was completed and the reasons why it was not (Art. 6).

ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS OF SERVICE.

Specifically, the Convention does not restrict Contracting Parties from using channels such as: [A.] diplomatic or consular channels, [B.] postal channels; [C.] direct communication between judicial officers, officials, or other competent persons; and [D.] direct communication between an interested party and judicial officers, officials, or other competent persons .The Convention shields defendants against a default judgement regardless of the method of communication.

Central Authorities are established in each Contracting Party thanks to the Convention’s provisions. The primary function of a Central Authority is to accept requests for Belarus Process Service of papers and then either effect Belarus Process Service of the documents or make arrangements for the documents to be served. Additionally, the Convention allows for the nomination of other authorities, with the scope of their authority being determined at the discretion of the Contracting Parties.

The Convention is written in a way that does not restrict the use of current technology in the transmission or fulfilment of requests between Contracting Parties. In most cases, the law of the Contracting Party being asked to resolve the dispute applies.

OUR PROCESS

Documents can be faxed at (800) 296-0115, emailed ps@undisputedlegal.com, or uploaded to our website. We do require prepayment and accept all major credit and debit cards. Once payment is processed, your sales receipt is immediately emailed for your records.

Drop-offs must call and make an appointment first to be added to building security to permit access to our office. Documents for service must be in a sealed envelope with payment in the form of a money order or attorney check (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH) payable to UNDISPUTED LEGAL INC.; All documents will be received by our receptionist.

DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:

OFFICE LOCATIONS

New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 – 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 – 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 4 Fl East, Washington DC 20037

FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN belarus

Simply pick up the phone and call Toll Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your process service needs; no job is too small or too large!

Contact us for more information about our process serving agency. We are ready to provide New York City service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington D.C.

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Sources

1. The Regions are further split into 118 raions, generally translated as districts. Each raion has its own legislative authority, or raion council, chosen by its population, and an administrative authority or raion administration appointed by oblast executive authorities.

2. The legislative system in Belarus is influenced by “rationalised parliamentarism,” a political theory that originated in the French Constitution of 1958. The President, the members of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic, the Government, and at least 50,000 eligible voters, all have the power to initiate legislation, which is carried out in the House of Representatives (art. 99 of the Constitution).

3. The Republic of Belarus’s contemporary legal system is rooted in Romano-German (Roman-Germanic) Law. The rule of law, the separation of public and private law, and the concept of a separate body of law for each are the defining features of the Romano-Germanic legal tradition. The primary source of law is a statute or other codified piece of legislation.

Civil law, civil procedure law, criminal law, criminal procedure law, the law of criminal punishment execution, administrative law, administrative procedure law, international public law, international private law, labour law, family law, financial law, banking law, social security law, commercial law, environmental law, etc. are all part of Belarus’s legal framework.

4. Minsk City Court, regional courts, economic courts of the regions, and district courts make up the judicial system in Belarus.

5. Legislative actions and secondary legislation are the two main categories into which all of the legal acts of the Republic of Belarus fall. The Supreme Law of the Land is the Constitution of the Republic, which is the primary document from which all other laws are derived. Parliament (through the enactment of Laws) or the President (through the enactment of Codes) may pass any additional forms of legislation (such as decrees , which have the force of law). Edicts, Orders, Directives, and Decrees of the President, decisions of the Government, decisions of the Ministries, State Committees, and other state organisations, acts of local Councils of Deputies, and Executive Committees are the primary sources of secondary law.

Similar to other nations in the Romano-German Legal Family, judicial precedent (court judgments) is not the basis for the law in the Czech Republic. Supreme Court Plenum explanations, however, are binding on all other courts and authorities that apply the law. Additionally, the Constitutional Court’s rulings must be carried out without question.

6. According to the Constitution of 1996, laws addressing broad issues of administration, the economy, culture, science, etc. are known as “Decisions of the Government” (site in English). Legal documents from the Republic of Belarus are available online at the “National Legal Internet Portal.” Collection of the Decisions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus and Collection of the Decrees and Edicts of the President and Decisions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus were the official publications prior to 2001.

7. Legislation governing the internal and external relations of the government is reflected in the orders and instructions (directions) of the various ministries, government bodies, and departments. Some government departments or committees may make policy that applies to the whole government (such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, etc.). They may be found on the “National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus.” Official publications were housed in “Collection of the Decisions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus” and “Collection of the Decrees and Edicts of the President and Decisions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus” prior to 200

8. Print and digital versions of official legal paperwork in the Republic of Belarus are published by the National Centre of the Legal Information (NCLI). The dissemination of legal information in the Republic of Belarus is strictly controlled and overseen in accordance with a Presidential Decree titled “About the order of distribution of the legal information in the Republic of Belarus.” It is required that any company publishing or distributing commercial legal databases get a licence and only publish information gathered from official sources.

9. The Constitutional Court makes rulings on the legality of various pieces of legislation, including both international treaties and domestic laws. The rulings are posted on the “National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus.” The “National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus,” “Sovietskaya Belorussia,” and the “Sudovy vestnik” all publish the decisions and explanations of Plenums of the Supreme Court.

10. The law of the forum, and not the law of any Contracting Party, determines whether transmission abroad is required in the event of a dispute involving a demand for transmission to another Contracting Party.

11. Article 10

Provided the State of destination does not object, the present Convention shall not interfere with

a) the freedom to send judicial documents, by postal channels, directly to persons abroad,

b) the freedom of judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of origin to effect service of judicial documents directly through the judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of destination,

c) the freedom of any person interested in a judicial proceeding to effect service of judicial documents directly through the judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of destination.

12. To enter a default judgement, it must first be shown that service was made in accordance with the Convention (Art. 15). Even after judgement has been handed down, the defendant may file for remedy (Art. 16).

13. U.S. Embassy Minsk

46 Starovilenskaya St.

Minsk 220002, Belarus

Telephone: +(375) (17) 210-1283

Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(375) (29) 676-0134

Fax: +(375) (17) 334-7853

ConsularMinsk@state.gov

Belarus – Central Authority

Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus

International Cooperation Department

ul. Kollektornaya 10

220004 MINSK

Belarus

tel./fax: +375 17 211 01 85, +375 17 211 02 01

e-mail: kanc@minjust.by

website: www.minjust.gov.by

Contact person:

Ms Anastasiya Kudyrko

(languages of communication: Belarusian, Russian, English, German)

e-mail: omd@minjust.by; icd@minjust.by

N.B. Belarus having acceded to the Convention in accordance with Article 38, the accession has effect only as regards the relations between Belarus and such Contracting States as have declared their acceptance of the accession. “Such a declaration will also have to be made by any Member State ratifying, accepting or approving the Convention after an accession.”