Sergeyenko: Draft law on criminal liability focuses on preventive measures

The draft law “On Amendments to the Codes on Criminal Liability” focuses on preventive work and differentiation of criminal responsibility, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko told the media prior to the meeting with the staff of the Investigative Committee of Belarus ahead of Day of People’s Unity, BelTA has learned.

“I was long invited to the Investigative Committee to speak to the staff. The topic of today's speech is multifaceted and includes three components. The first is to update you on the activities of the House of Representatives, its upcoming session,” Igor Sergeyenko said.
According to the chairman of the House of Representatives, the second part of the speech will cover the amendments that are be made to the codes on criminal liability. “This bill has been introduced to the House of Representatives. The document was developed by an interdepartmental working group, which included, among others, representatives of the Investigative Committee. This issue is expected to be considered at one of the first sittings. Innovations are to be introduced to 97 elements of crimes. The punishment will be reduced for some offenses and increased for others. In general, the main emphasis is placed on the differentiation of criminal responsibility, which will help the courts take clearer and more substantive approaches. The focus is also placed on preventive measures,” he stressed.Another component of the meeting with the staff of the Investigative Committee is the Day of People’s Unity. “On 17 September, our country will celebrate the national holiday - the Day of People's Unity. This is a new holiday, which, in accordance with the presidential decree, was established in our country three years ago. Historically this holiday has its roots in the 1939, when Belarus was reunited,” Igor Sergeyenko said, pointing out that back then the holiday was called the Day of Liberation of the Working People of Western Belarus from the Polish Lords. “This is the essence of the holiday which has been revived today. We will also talk about it and screen a documentary on the matter.”When asked about which crimes were to get tougher or softer punishment, the chairman of the House of Representatives said that the corresponding discussions were underway at various platforms, including the Investigative Committee, prosecutor's office and internal affairs bodies. “As I said, we are talking about 97 crimes, including drug trafficking, fraud, cruelty to animals. The House of Representatives is set give [the bill] the first reading only. We will take into account all the experts’ comments,” Igor Sergeyenko said.