Sources of law of the Republic of Belarus

Considering the sources of law of the Republic of Belarus, it should be emphasized that the Belarusian
legal system has historically developed as a system of written law, and therefore it belongs to the model
of the Romano-Germanic type. The main source, the official form of expression and consolidation of
legal norms, are normative legal acts. Currently, these include: the Constitution of the Republic of
Belarus, constitutional and program laws, decrees and decrees of the President, Government
resolutions, instructions, decisions of local representative and Executive authorities. In addition,
customs and normative agreements are sources of law in Belarus. Legal custom is widely used in
international law and in foreign trade. Belarus, as a subject of international law, is guided by customs
that regulate international legal relations, as well as relations in the field of foreign trade. The normative
contract is being developed more widely in the modern period. This source is also widely used in
international law. The Republic of Belarus currently has various contractual relations with many
countries and international organizations. A normative agreement is also used in domestic law, for
example, a collective agreement that is concluded between employers and groups of employees
represented by trade unions or other elected bodies to regulate mutual obligations of employers and
employees in the field of labor and socio-economic relations.

Thus, the legal system of Belarus uses three types of sources of law: a normative legal act, a normative
contract, and a legal custom.

Since the most characteristic and main source of law for the Republic of Belarus is a normative legal act,
it is necessary to consider its varieties. The legal force of normative legal acts depends, first of all, on the
place in the state mechanism occupied by the body that issued it. All legal acts are divided into two
groups: laws and bylaws. Laws occupy a leading place in the hierarchy of all legal acts.

A law is a normative legal act that is adopted in a special order by the highest representative body or
referendum, regulates the most important public relations, and has the highest legal force. Depending
on the legal force, laws are divided into constitutional and ordinary ones. It is customary to refer to
constitutional laws as the Constitution, laws that make changes and additions to it, as well as those laws
whose adoption is provided for by the Constitution. The Constitution has the highest legal force in the
Republic of Belarus. Ordinary laws must conform to the Constitution. The President of the Republic of
Belarus has the right to issue decrees that have the force of laws.

Another group of normative legal acts consists of acts of a subordinate nature. They are adopted in strict
accordance with the Constitution and other legislative acts, based on them, and must not contradict
them.

Among by-laws, decrees of the President of the Republic of Belarus have greater legal force. The
following types of by-laws are: regulations
The Parliament, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, normative legal acts of the
constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Economic Court, the Prosecutor General, the
National Bank, as well as orders, instructions, rules, regulations and by-laws of local representative and
Executive authorities