Entrepreneurs Rejected Right to Appeal to Constitutional Court

22.06.2007.

The Council of the Republic ruled, Perspektyva NGO had no right to appeal to the Constitutional Court on the issue of lawfulness of presidential decree # 760. The standing committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly on economy, budget, and finances and the Main expert board of the Secretariat of the Council of the Republic rejected the request of Anatol Shumchanka. The head of Perspektyva NGO asked to address the Constitutional Court with an inquiry about the conformity of presidential decree # 760 of December 29^th, 2006, with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.

The leader of the entrepreneurs received a letter that describes the measures undertaken by the authorities to simplify the procedure of founding small enterprises, including the ones based on the property of individual entrepreneurs. It explains that the Labor Code does not consider a private entrepreneur an employer. According to the Civic Code, legislative acts, including presidential decrees, may limit the number of individuals that may be employed by individual entrepreneurs.

“The above mentioned facts exclude the possibility of addressing the Constitutional Court on the issue of conformity of presidential decree “about some measures to regulate entrepreneurs’ activity” with the Constitution”, -- the letter says. According to the presidential decree, from January 1^st, 2008 individual entrepreneurs can employ only their family members and close relatives.

Earlier Perspektyva NGO send the same request to the standing commission of the Chamber of Representatives on industry, fuel-energy complex, transport, communications and entrepreneurship. The commission rejected their request and claimed that they considered the decree to be in conformity with the Constitution.

Anatol Shumchanka comments the refusal of the “upper chamber”: “every response like that, which we receive from the authorities, demonstrates the difference between the government and the entrepreneurs in the vision of the role of businessmen in the society”. According to Anatol Shumchanka, they only asked to address the Constitutional Court, and not to analyze the lawfulness of the decree. The leader of the NGO believes that such answers “really demonstrate the attitude of the authorities to small-size business”.

He told the press that Perspektyva was going to address the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court, and Alexander Lukashenka.

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