On the right of citizens to make appeals
In 2023, amendments were made to the Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 18, 2011 No. 300-Z "On Citizens' and Legal Entities' Appeals".
The amendments affected the procedure for submitting electronic appeals to state bodies and other state organizations, the procedure for handling mass appeals, the use of the book of remarks and suggestions, the method of familiarizing applicants with materials directly related to the consideration of their appeals, and other issues.
According to the aforementioned Law, citizens of the Republic of Belarus exercise their right to appeal by submitting (making):
- written and oral appeals to organizations;
- electronic appeals to state bodies and other state organizations;
- oral appeals received during personal reception.
In case of an oral appeal, citizens and their representatives must present an identity document. Representatives of applicants must also present documents confirming their authority.
Officials conducting personal reception, as well as employees authorized to make preliminary appointments for personal reception, are not entitled to refuse personal reception or preliminary appointment for personal reception, except in cases of: appeals on issues not within the competence of state bodies or organizations; appeals on non-established days and hours; when the applicant has already been given an exhaustive answer to the questions of interest; when correspondence with the applicant on the issues set out in the appeal has been terminated; when the applicant uses technical means (audio and video recording, film and photo shooting) without the consent of the official conducting the personal reception and refuses to stop their use; failure to present an identity document of the applicant or their representative.
Written appeals of citizens must contain the name and (or) address of the organization or the position and (or) surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the person to whom the appeal is addressed, the surname, first name, patronymic (if any) or initials of the citizen, the address of their place of residence (place of stay), a statement of the essence of the appeal, the personal signature of the citizen (citizens).
Appeals are made in Belarusian or Russian.
The text of the appeal must be legible. Handwritten appeals must be written in a clear, legible handwriting. The use of obscene or offensive words or expressions in appeals is not allowed.
Appeals must contain information about the results of their previous consideration, with attached (if available) documents confirming this information.
The applicant has the right to withdraw their appeal before its substantive consideration by submitting a corresponding written or electronic application.
The period for considering appeals received by state bodies for consideration in accordance with their competence is calculated from the day following the day of registration of the appeals.
Written appeals must be considered no later than fifteen days, and appeals requiring additional study and verification – no later than one month, unless otherwise established by legislative acts.
In the event that, in order to resolve the issues set out in the appeal, it is necessary to perform certain actions (carry out work, provide services), to obtain information from a foreign state within periods exceeding one month, applicants shall be sent a written notification of the reasons for exceeding the one-month period and the deadlines for performing such actions no later than one month from the day following the day of receipt of the appeals.
Upon receipt of written appeals containing questions outside its competence, it shall, within five working days, forward the appeals for consideration to organizations in accordance with their competence and notify the applicants within the same period, or within the same period, leave the appeal without substantive consideration and notify the applicants thereof, explaining to which organization and in what order they should apply for the resolution of the issues set forth in the appeals.
The response to the appeal or the decision to leave the appeal without substantive consideration may be appealed in the manner prescribed by law.
The law provides for the right of a citizen to submit electronic appeals to state bodies and other state organizations and to receive responses (notifications) thereto through the state unified (integrated) republican information system for recording and processing citizens' and legal entities' appeals.
Unlike written and oral forms, the electronic form of appeal is possible only when it is sent to state bodies and state organizations.
Electronic appeals are submitted only through the Internet appeal system at: https://обращения.бел. Access to the system is free of charge. Applicants, as well as state bodies and other state organizations to which appeals in electronic form are received, can use it. In order to submit an electronic appeal, it is necessary to undergo identification. After logging into the system, the applicant will be able to submit an electronic appeal. The requirements for an electronic appeal are the same as for a written one: its text must be readable, in Belarusian or Russian, and must not contain obscene or offensive words or expressions. The essence of the appeal cannot be set out in the form of links to Internet resources.
If the electronic appeal is submitted by a representative of the applicant, a document confirming the powers must be attached in electronic form.
Responses (notifications) to electronic appeals are also sent through the appeal system, except when the applicant requests a written response in the electronic appeal.
The procedure and deadlines for considering electronic appeals are the same as for written ones.
It should be noted that appeals sent to e-mail or posted in a special section are not considered electronic, and the Law of the Republic of Belarus of July 18, 2011 No. 300-Z "On Appeals of Citizens and Legal Entities" does not apply to them.