Фото: pravo.by
Today, amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses were published on the National Legal Internet Portal. Law No. 138-Z of April 15 was signed this week. Most provisions of the law will enter into force two months after publication.
The law introduces a number of new articles into the Administrative Code. In particular, it adds Article 19.16, “Propaganda of Homosexual Relationships, Gender Transition, Childlessness, and Pedophilia.”
“Dissemination in any form of information aimed at creating among citizens the perception that homosexual relationships, gender transition, childlessness, or the acceptability of pedophilia are attractive shall entail a fine of up to 20 basic units for individuals, up to 100 basic units for individual entrepreneurs, and from 100 to 150 basic units for legal entities,” the article states.
If such actions result in a minor being exposed to this information, the fine will range from 20 to 35 basic units. Offenders may also face community service or administrative arrest. For individual entrepreneurs, the fine rises to 100–150 basic units, and for legal entities to 150–200 basic units.
Another new article is numbered 19.15, “Violation of Rules for Keeping Companion Animals at Home.” Fines for violating rules on keeping such animals (dogs and cats) will range from 1 to 15 basic units. If harm is caused to people’s health or property, the fine will be 10–30 basic units, and community service or administrative arrest may also be imposed.
The Code also introduces Article 19.14, “Cruelty to Animals.” It establishes liability for cruelty (except torture) that does not result in the animal’s death or injury (fine of up to 15 basic units), abandonment of an animal (10–30 basic units), and cruelty involving torture that results in death or injury (20–30 basic units, community service, or administrative arrest).
New parts have been added to Article 10.12 of the Administrative Code, “Violation of Labor Legislation.” They introduce new fines for heads of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Penalties may apply for excessively high salaries and allowing employees to work without a written labor contract:
A repeated violation under Part 8 within one year after an administrative penalty was imposed will be punishable by fines ranging from 150 to 300 basic units. Additional fines of 2–20 basic units are предусмотрены for other violations of hiring procedures and labor legislation that harm employees.
Article 10.18 of the Administrative Code, “Violation of Requirements for Concluding and Executing Civil Contracts,” has also been expanded. In its new version, it consists of five parts. A fine of up to 25 basic units may be imposed for “the absence in civil contracts for work, services, or intellectual property creation, concluded by legal entities or individual entrepreneurs with citizens, of conditions established by law.” A fine of 4–50 basic units may be imposed for “failure or incomplete fulfillment by a legal entity or individual entrepreneur of obligations to citizens for payment for completed work, rendered services, or created intellectual property.” Higher fines are предусмотрены for repeated violations within one year.
The Code is supplemented with Article 12.36, “Violation of the Procedure for Transactions (Operations) With Digital Tokens.” It provides for fines from 20 to 100 basic units, with or without confiscation, for “transactions involving digital tokens prohibited by legislative acts, if the act does not constitute another administrative offense.”
The Code also adds Article 13.36, “Violation of Export or Import Restrictions in Foreign Trade Activities.” Penalties range from 5 to 20 basic units, and for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities up to 20% of the value of the imported or exported goods.
Liability is introduced for “failure to carry out work regulating the spread and number of certain plant species.” The sanction under this article предусматривает a fine of up to 10 basic units.
Article 23.1 of the Administrative Code is supplemented by Part 2, which establishes liability for mobile operators for violating requirements regarding territorial coverage and quality of communication services. Fines will amount to up to 100 basic units, for individual entrepreneurs up to 200 basic units, and for legal entities up to 1,000 basic units.
The Code is also supplemented by articles introducing liability for violations of cybersecurity requirements.
Liability is introduced for purchasing official or special passenger vehicles in violation of requirements regarding cost, manufacturer, or the absence of overdue debt. Fines range from 50 to 200 basic units, and for legal entities, excluding budget organizations, from 100 to 1,000 basic units.
The Administrative Code now includes Article 24.61, “Illegal Presence Within a Security Zone With a Special Legal Regime.” The fine is up to 8 basic units.
Another new article concerns “Illegal Representation of the Republic of Belarus at International Events.” According to the law, “violation of legislative requirements for organizing or holding cultural, sports, educational, or mass events aimed at selecting persons to participate in international events on behalf of the Republic of Belarus, or violation of the procedure for sending a representative of Belarus to an international event, shall entail a fine of 10–200 basic units, and for legal entities from 20 to 1,000 basic units.”
The Procedural-Executive Code of Administrative Offenses is supplemented by Article 19.7. It allows suspension of administrative penalties in the form of revocation of the right to operate wheeled tractors and self-propelled machines upon petition by the head of a local authority.
Suspension may be denied if the person was previously convicted under Criminal Code articles related to fatal traffic accidents, causing serious bodily harm, repeat drunk driving, or driving without a license. Suspension will also not be granted if the person has not paid an imposed fine.
The article states that the suspension decision loses force if the driver is dismissed from work involving tractors or self-propelled machinery, or fails to obtain such work. The decision may also be revoked upon petition by a local authority head.
Article 19.8 establishes the right of a local authority head to petition for release from an administrative penalty involving revocation of the right to drive vehicles. Such a petition may be filed if:
A separate chapter is devoted to educational measures for minors, specifying responsible authorities, procedures, and time limits. Grounds for exemption from liability have been expanded, including voluntary compensation for environmental damage or correction of errors in statistical reporting.
As part of debureaucratization, the law introduces the possibility of submitting complaints electronically and considering some cases without the citizen’s personal presence. In addition, around 150 articles of the codes have been revised based on more than 500 submitted proposals.