Language Research

Constitution of Belarus, adopted on March 15, 1994

The Law "On National Minorities in the Republic of Belarus" (N 1926-XII of 11 November11, 1992) is based on the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. It also draws inspiration from the Declaration of Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus on state sovereignty of the Republic of Belarus, and general principles of international law in the field of human rights and national minorities. The Law creates a legal basis for international relations and guarantees free development of national minorities in the Republic of Belarus. It promotes harmonization of international relations in the Republic of Belarus, maintenance and development of the cultures of national minorities and protection of their legal rights and interests.

The Law About Languages in the Belorussian SSR, January 1990

Top of page

Updated (November 2003)

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was adopted by the republican referendum on November 24, 1996.

Each person has the right to use his/her native language, and to choose the language of communication. According to the law, the State guarantees freedom of choice for the language of upbringing and education.

Article 14

The State shall regulate relations among social, ethnic and other communities on the basis of the principles of equality before the law and respect of their rights and interests.

Article 15

The State shall bear responsibility for preserving historic, cultural and spiritual heritage, and free development of the cultures of all the ethnic communities that live in the Republic of Belarus.

Article 17

The Belarusian and Russian languages shall be the official languages of the Republic of Belarus.

Article 50

Everyone shall have the right to preserve one's ethnic affiliation, and equally, no one may be compelled to define or indicate one's ethnic affiliation. Insults to ethnic dignity shall be prosecuted by the law.

Everyone shall have the right to use one's native language and to choose the language of communication. In accordance with the law, the State shall guarantee freedom to choose the language of education and teaching.

THE 1995 LAW ON PRESS AND OTHER MASS MEDIA (amended by the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 337-3 on December 13, 1999)¹

AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN PROVIDING MINORITY MEMBERS WITH RIGHTS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS AND THE GOVERNMENT OF MOLDOVA, 1997

Article 4

In order to preserve the ethnic originality of the Belarussian citizens in the Republic of Moldova and the Moldavian citizens in the Republic of Belarus, the Parties promote preservation and research of their cultural heritage, development of crafts, preservation of their historical and cultural monuments, creation of the necessary conditions for studying their native languages, history and geography of the state, to which these minorities belong by nationality, as well as their traditions and culture.

Article 5

The Parties recognize the Belarussian and Moldavian citizens the right to use their national names and surnames in official documents, according to the rules of transliteration and to establish the mass media in congruence of the legislation of the Parties.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS AND UKRAINE ON COOPERATION IN PROVIDING MINORITY MEMBERS' RIGHTS, 1999

Article 7

Each Party recognizes the minority members' right to use their native language in private and public life within the limits established by the Parties' legislation on languages.

Each Party recognizes minority members' rights to a national surname, name and patronymic.

Article 8

Each Party recognizes minority members' rights to have access to information in their own language, to disseminate freely such information including the right to establish the mass media in their own language.

Source: Minority-language Related Broadcasting and Legislation in the OSCE, Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy (PCMLP), Center for Socio-Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Oxford University & Institute for Information Law (IViR) (http://www.ivir.nl/index-english.html), Universiteit van Amsterdam (Study commissioned by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities), April 2003, edited by T. McGonagle (IViR), B. Davis Noll & M. Price (PCMLP), http://www.ivir.nl/publications/mcgonagle/Minority-language%20broadcasting.pdf

¹ The distortion of the recognized norms of the language used is not allowed.

The State Committee on the Press (now the Ministry of Information) according to this article warned the mass media that used the pre-reform version of the Belarussian language. The High Court of Commerce, which reviewed the lawsuit of a newspaper on the recognition of this warning as unlawful, decided that the legislation does not establish what is to be "the recognized norms of the language used." After that, the State Committee (and later the Ministry of Information) did not issue warnings on the basis of this Article.

Top of page