Amendments to the codes on administrative offenses have entered into force

On June 19, the main provisions of the Law of April 15, 2026 No. 138-Z "On Amendments to the Codes on Administrative Offenses" came into force, providing for a comprehensive revision of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses and the Procedural and Enforcement Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses.

The changes will affect:

Strengthening the preventive component of the legislation on administrative responsibility (obligations excluding administrative responsibility are expanded, provided that violations are promptly eliminated and harmful consequences are prevented; the regulation of the procedure for applying educational measures against juvenile offenders is clarified; administrative responsibility for certain offenses is eliminated if there is an opportunity to counteract unlawful behavior by other means, including preventive and regulatory ones).

Administrative responsibility is introduced for a number of new offenses (responsibility for concluding prohibited transactions and operations with digital signs (tokens); responsibility for violating cybersecurity requirements; responsibility for failure to comply with requirements for regulating the spread and number of invasive plants, such as Sosnowsky's hogweed, Canadian goldenrod, prickly sida, etc.); responsibility for promoting homosexual relations, gender reassignment, pedophilia, childlessness.

The efficiency of the administrative process is increased (the procedure for conducting the administrative process has been accelerated, the number of procedural documents and summonses to law enforcement and control bodies has been reduced).

A number of amendments have been made to the Code of Administrative Offenses in order to harmonize it with sectoral legislation due to the establishment or amendment of its current provisions.

Provisions on responsibility that have become irrelevant due to the exclusion of relevant prohibitions from the norms of sectoral legislation have been excluded.

The competence of state bodies in drawing up protocols and considering cases of administrative offenses has been clarified.

The National Center for Cybersecurity and Cyber Incidents Response of the Operational Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus is empowered to conduct administrative proceedings on new articles establishing liability for violation of cybersecurity requirements.