On July 20, the Supreme Court of Belarus will start hearing the first case of liquidation of a political party on the grounds of failure to provide re-registration application documents. The lawsuit was initiated by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to liquidate the Conservative Christian Party BPF.
The Supreme Court has also already started a liquidation case against the Green Party. This party had submitted documents for re-registration, but had not provided the required personal data on party members due to personal data protection concerns.
The re-registration of political parties is expected to result in the liquidation of all opposition parties. Political parties are required to re-register based on the new version of the law on political parties, adopted in 2023, which established extremely strict requirements. It is likely that by the end of 2023, only 4 out of the 16 parties that now exist will remain in the country.
What has led to the start of forced liquidations?
According to the Law On Amending Laws on the Activities of Political Parties and Other Public Associations of February 14, 2023, the deadline for political parties to submit documents to the MoJ for their re-registration has expired on June 5.
The new version of the law imposes an obligation on the MoJ to carry out re-registration of political parties within 6 months after the law comes into force (until September 5, 2023). Political parties that have not submitted documents for re-registration by June 5, will be subject to liquidation based on decisions of the Supreme Court upon lawsuits filed by the MoJ. In addition to the requirement for re-registration, the law has established several new criteria for political parties.
After the law came into force, the Minister of Justice, Sergey Kholmenko, stated that as a result of re-registration, the number of political parties in Belarus would decrease to 3-4. According to statistics from the MoJ of Belarus, as of January 1, 2023, there were 15 registered political parties in Belarus. One pro-governmental political party, “Belaya Rus” (White Russia), was registered by the MoJ on May 2, 2023 (therefore, this party did not need to undergo the re-registration procedure).
According to the information from the MoJ, decisions were made to re-register two political parties: the Liberal Democratic Party and the Communist Party of Belarus. It is possible that the pro-governmental Republican Party of Labor and Justice may also be allowed to proceed through the re-registration examinations of the MoJ.
None of the opposition parties had the legally required number of registered local branches.
Opposition parties chose between two strategies. Some did not submit documents for re-registration at all, which means eventually being liquidated by the Supreme Court. Some submitted an incomplete package of required documents, which is interpreted by the MoJ as non-submission of documents and also leads to forced liquidation through the Supreme Court.
Concerns about data protection
The opposition parties that submitted documents for re-registration to the MoJ did not provide individual lists of members as part of the general document package. In response to the inquiry of the Belarusian Party “Green” regarding the legality of the requirement for lists of party members with personal data, the National Center for Personal Data Protection clarified that personal data regarding membership in political parties fall under special personal data. However, the consent of the data subject for processing special personal data is not required when the processing of personal data is necessary to fulfil obligations (powers) provided for by legislative acts. At the same time, the Law On Personal Data Protection stipulates that
“the processing of personal data must be proportionate to the stated purposes of their processing and ensure a fair balance of interests of all parties concerned at all stages of such processing. The processing of special personal data is only allowed if a set of measures is taken to prevent risks that may arise from processing such personal data for the rights and freedoms of data subjects.”
Given the unprecedented situation of repression, including criminal prosecution, against members of non-commercial organisations and political parties, providing information about a person’s affiliation with an opposition party along with their personal data contradicts common sense, security criteria, and the provisions of the law.
Liquidation campaign against CSOs continues
The new version of the law on public associations, unlike the new version of the law on parties adopted at the same time, did not oblige re-registration of public associations. However, many of them (especially the absolute majority of national associations) will have to make changes to their charters within a year and re-register these changes with the MoJ, which is de facto close to re-registration of the associations.
At the same time, the country authorities continue the campaign to liquidate existing CSOs of all forms (public associations, foundations, institutions). As of July 2023, the Lawtrend list contains the data on 1351 CSOs, which are either under forced liquidation or have decided to liquidate themselves due to the inability to continue operations under harsh legal and political environmental conditions.
Religious organisations and communities are also required to re-register
The draft law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organisations prepared by authorities provides for re-registration of all religious organisations existing in Belarus, including major national religious associations as well as specific religious cells and churches (religious communities). The draft law stipulates that all religious organisations existing in Belarus will need to make changes to their statutes and submit documents for re-registration to local or central authorities within one year after the new law comes into force.
The activity of unregistered public associations, religious organisations and political parties are prohibited on the territory of Belarus and provides for criminal liability for it with a punishment of up to two years of imprisonment under article 193-1 of the Criminal Code.