A State of Emergency Won’t Catch Unawares.

Belarus wasn’t very lucky this year. The hurricane brought much trouble with over 800 billion rubles material harm. Six people died and forty-four were injured. Besides, there were almost ninety states of emergency of different kind. That proved once again that we do need a Law that would protect the population and the territories in case of any state of emergency either of natural or technical character.

On December, 3 the House of Representatives passed it in the first reading. On discussing the project it was pointed out that the recurrence of the accidents and catastrophes in the technical field, natural disasters is increasing year after year according to the world and domestic experience.

About 370 of potentially dangerous chemical enterprises with 40,000 tones of `poisonous substances, 50 Ministry of Defense installations that are on the edge of explosion, hundreds of kilometers of oil and gas pipelines, 53 oil bases, 17 gas filling stations, mines and oil fields, open quarries, etc function in the republic.

The document will regulate relations that form as the organs of power, local executive and efficient bodies, enterprises, establishments and organizations notwithstanding their organizational and legal form and officials operate. The Law determines the jurisdiction of the Ministry Council, ministries, departments in the field of protecting the population and the territories in case of states of emergency; the duties of the enterprises, organizations, establishments; the order of funding and material supplying.

The deputies spent much time on the science. The Parliament discussed the question «About the National Academy Of Sciences Of Belarus». Today it is the largest science center and it needs support including legal support. Perhaps passing such a law will contribute to the further improvement of the legislation in the scientific and technical field, the development of the profound and applied sciences.

The House of Representatives approved of the project of «The Law On The National Handicrafts» in the first reading.
After some arguments the session still included into the agenda one more item. The lawmakers have decided to consider in the first reading a very important document, a Criminal Code, that is, in essence, a Criminal Constitution of the country.

Victor Aleshkevich. 

Translated by Oksana Gorshkova.
"I’d be very obliged to you if you could send your remarks on the quality of the translation to oksana_g@usa.net Thank you very much in advance."