Alyaksandr Lukashenka on Tuesday administered the oath of office to judges of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. By decision of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, the Constitutional Court was headed by Siarhei Sivets, while the Supreme Court was headed by former Prosecutor General Andrei Shved. Other newly appointed judges were also sworn in.
Lukashenka said judges should be guided by the principle of justice, because it is impossible to prescribe everything in laws.
“I swore to myself that, to the extent of my abilities and capabilities, I would do everything so that there is justice in society. Remember, I said (and you, as lawyers, will understand me) that we cannot spell everything out in laws. But our spirit, foundation, and basis are one — justice. And this concerns you first and foremost. Be fair to our people, to our nation. I wish you happiness and good health, live long lives and act for the benefit of your country and our people,” he said, according to his press service.
Later the same day, Alyaksandr Lukashenka also awarded former chairs of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, Valiantsin Sukala and Pyotr Miklashevich. Sukala was awarded the Order of the Fatherland, Second Class, and Miklashevich the Order of the Fatherland, Third Class. Valentyn Sukala headed the Supreme Court from 1997 to 2025, while Piotr Miklashevich led the Constitutional Court from 2008 to 2025.
According to Lukashenka, he expects the new judges to contribute to building the architecture of power in the country as he envisions it.
“We are not parting with these ‘monsters’ of jurisprudence (forgive me for that ‘nice’ word). I very much hope that the renewed Constitutional Court, and especially the Supreme Court of the country, will function exactly like this — in peace and harmony with other branches of power and state bodies — and will make a worthy contribution to the final shaping of the architecture of Belarus that we would like to see in government,” he said.
“I am sincerely grateful to you for everything you have done. This applies to all of us. Time moves on, young people come. This is good and right. We must pass on our experience to them, if they wish, which is what we will do in the coming years, no matter what is said or written about us,” Lukashenka continued.
He also promised to meet with the judges again to discuss problems.
“We will talk about the future with you again. Please do not move too far away from what we have been creating together for decades. Thank you very much. I think that those who come to replace us will do it better than us and more worthily,” he added.
