Jurisdiction of cases to economic courts of the Republic of Belarus.

Economic courts of the Republic of Belarus administer justice by settlement of disputes between economic entities in the field of economic relations arising from civil, administrative, land, financial and other public legal relationship including that with participation of international organizations, foreign persons, and citizens in compliance with the competence set by the Code of economic procedure of the Republic of Belarus.

There are other cases and disputes, apart from the economic ones, under the jurisdiction of the economic court:
· on ascertainment of facts of legal significance in the field of entrepreneurial and other economic activity;
· on complaints about notarial acts or refusal to perform them;
· on acknowledgement and carrying out of the decisions of foreign courts and foreign arbitration awards on disputes arising at exercise of entrepreneurial and other economic activity;
· on appeal of judgments of international arbitration courts situated in the territory of the Republic of Belarus;
· on issue of orders on enforcement of judgments of international arbitration courts;
· on economic insolvency (bankruptcy);
· on establishment, reorganization and liquidation of legal entities, organizations that are not legal entities, termination of activity of individual entrepreneurs;
· on denial of state registration, on evasion of state registration of legal entities, organizations that are not legal entities;
· between a stockholder and a joint-stock company, participants of other economic associations and companies, arising at exercise of activity by these associations and companies;
· on protection of business standing in the field of entrepreneurial and other economic activity.

Other cases can be attributed to the jurisdiction of an economic court by legislative acts.

Code of the Republic of Belarus on Judicial Organization and Status of Judges provides a basis for examination of disputes on protection of foreign investments, interests of foreign persons in the state courts of Belarus. The Code of economic procedure of the Republic of Belarus determines the procedure of examination of disputes with participation of foreign persons.

The following disputes with participation of foreign investors are attributed to the jurisdiction of the economic courts of the Republic of Belarus:
· on reimbursement of sustained damages;
· on appeal of actions (inaction) and nonnormative acts of the officials of state (controlling, fiscal, custom) and other authorities infringing upon rights and legitimate interests of foreign investors;
· on application of economic sanctions;
· disputes between founders (participants) of the legal entities established by foreign investors;
· on denial of registration of the enterprises with foreign investments, in protection of business standing;
· on economic insolvency (bankruptcy) and other disputes attributed to their competence by the international agreements and the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

At the same time the foreign persons enjoy procedural law and discharge procedural duties on a par with organizations and citizens of the Republic of Belarus, except for the cases determined by the legislation including the international agreements.

Jurisdiction of the economic courts of the Republic of Belarus.

The cases within the jurisdiction of an economic court are examined in first instance by the economic courts of the regions and by the courts equaled to them, except for the cases attributed to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus.

The Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus as a court of first instance examines:
· cases on challenge of nonnormative legal acts of the President of the Republic of Belarus, of the Council of the Republic and the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, of the republican authorities of public administration and of other republican bodies, non complying with the law and infringing on the rights and legitimate interests of the applicant in the field of entrepreneurial and other economic activity;
· economic disputes between the Republic of Belarus and administrative and territorial units of the Republic of Belarus, as well as between administrative and territorial units of the Republic of Belarus;
· cases related to the state secrets;
· other cases attributed to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus by the legislative acts.

Additionally the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus is entitled to determine the jurisdiction, to initiate proceedings and examine any case within the limits of jurisdiction of economic courts.

The examination of the cases with participation of foreign persons is attributed to the competence of economic courts of the regions and the city of Minsk by virtue of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus On Amendments and Supplements to Some Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus dated December 22, 2006, No. 19.

Proceedings on review of a court ruling.

Review of court rulings in economic courts is conducted in the proceedings of appeals, cassational instances, in the exercise of supervisory powers.

An appeal (protest) against a court ruling of an economic court of first instance which has not entered into legal force is examined by an economic court of appeals instance of an economic court of a region or of the city of Minsk.

An appeal (protest) can be submitted within fifteen days after the disputed court ruling was passed by an economic court of first instance, if the otherwise is not provided for by the Code of economic procedure. An appeal (protest) against a court ruling of an economic court of first instance shall be examined in time of not more than fifteen days from the day it was received by the economic court including the time for adoption of resolution based on the results of its examination.

A cassation (protest) against a court ruling of an economic court of first instance which has entered into legal force and against a court ruling of an economic court of an appeals instance is submitted to the Cassational Board of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus via the economic court which has passed the disputed court ruling.

A cassation (protest) can be submitted within one month after the disputed court ruling has entered into legal force. A cassation (protest) against a court ruling of an economic court of first or appeals instance shall be examined in time of not more than one month from the day the case was received by an economic court of cassational instance including the time for adoption of resolution based on the results of its examination.

Court rulings of economic courts that have entered into legal force in the Republic of Belarus can be reviewed in the exercise of supervisory powers by the protest of the officials (Chairman of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus or Attorney General of the Republic of Belarus against court rulings of any economic court in the Republic of Belarus except for the rulings of the Plenum of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus; Deputy Chairmen of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus and Deputy Attorneys General of the Republic of Belarus — against court rulings of any economic court in the Republic of Belarus except for the rulings of the Presidium or the Plenum of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus.

The Presidium of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus is the economic court of supervisory instance regarding the court rulings passed by economic courts of first, appeals and cassational instances.

The Plenum of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus is the economic court of supervisory instance regarding the court rulings of the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus.

The persons being the parties to a case, as well as the persons whose rights and legitimate interests have been infringed by the court ruling passed in a case are entitled to submit an appeal in the exercise of supervisory powers. An appeal in the exercise of supervisory powers on a court ruling can be submitted to the persons entitled to bring protest in time of not more than one year after the court ruling has entered into legal force.

An appeal in the exercise of supervisory powers is examined by an official entitled to bring protest in the exercise of supervisory powers in time of not more than two months from day it was received by an economic court the Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus, Office of Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus.

Review of the court rulings, which entered into legal force, on newly-discovered circumstances.

The court rulings, which entered into legal force, can be reviewed by the economic court that passed them on the grounds of newly-discovered circumstances.

Proceedings on reopening of the case on the grounds of newly-discovered circumstances can be initiated on application of the persons which are parties to the case, as well as on the proposal of officials entitled to bring protest in the exercise of supervisory powers within the limits of their competence.

Application on reopening of the case on the grounds of newly-discovered circumstances can be submitted not later than three months from the day the newly-discovered circumstances were discovered. There are no time constraints for bringing a proposal.

The reasons for reopening of the case on the grounds of newly-discovered circumstances are:
· the circumstances refuting the conclusion of the economic court on the case, which were not known and could not have been known to the applicant and to the economic court;
· deliberately false evidence of the witness, deliberately false conclusion of the expert, the specialist, deliberately wrong translation, forged documents or forged real evidence which entailed passing of an illegitimate or groundless court ruling in the case and determined by the sentence which entered into legal force;
· criminal acts of the persons, which are parties to the case, or of their representatives or criminal acts of the judges committed in connection with this case and determined by the sentence which entered into legal force;
· reversal of the ruling of an economic court or other court or of resolution of other authority, which was the reason for passing of this court ruling, and adoption of the corresponding ruling opposite in substance to the corresponding act (in whole or in its part), on the ground of which the court ruling in this case was passed;
· invalidation by a court ruling, which entered into legal force, of an economic court or of a court of general jurisdiction of a transaction which entailed passing of an illegitimate or groundless court ruling in the case;
· recognition by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus of legislative acts, which were applied by an economic court in the case, non-complying in whole or in their part with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus or non-complying in whole or in their part with normative legal acts of greater legal force.

The application (presentation) on reopening of the case on the grounds of newly-discovered circumstances is examined in a court session in time of not more than one months after from the day it was received by an economic court.

Enforcement procedure

From January 1, 1998 the Office of law enforcement officers of economic courts, which is the agency for enforcement of judicial and other acts in economic issues, was created in the system of economic courts of the Republic of Belarus.

A law enforcement officer is a representative of the state and is protected by the state in discharge of his/her duties on enforcement of court rulings and other acts in the manner prescribed by the Code of economic procedure.

All the matters of enforcement procedure are attributed to the competence of the law enforcement officer, except for the matters attributed by the Code of economic procedure to the competence of the economic court.

The law enforcement officer initiates the enforcement procedure, exercises supervision over voluntary execution, performs enforcement and return of the executive instrument to the recoverer, takes measures on establishment of the debtor location and performs other actions provided for by the legislative acts on the grounds and in the manner prescribed by the present Code.

Enforcement procedure on economic disputes is a stage of legal proceedings in the economic court, representing application by the economic court of measures aimed at restoration, including compulsory one, of infringed legitimate interests of a party (parties) in the field of economic activities.

The objective of enforcement procedure is timely and complete execution by an economic court of the court ruling or other act for the purpose of restoration of infringed rights of the person which have instituted a claim for it.

The ground for enforcement is submission of an executive instrument into an economic court for it execution in the manner prescribed by the Code of economic procedure.

Economic courts ensure the enforcement of court rulings and of the acts of other agencies and officials in the cases provided for by the legislation.

Economic courts restore the terms for submission of the orders of the court to enforcement, execute the turn of enforcement, settle the applications of the parties including those of alteration of method and procedure of enforcement, complaints of the parties to the actions of the law enforcement officer, as well as settle other questions, provided for by the Code of economic procedure and other legislative acts.

The executive instrument may be presented for enforcement not later than six months from the day of entering into legal force of the court ruling, or from the day of termination of the time set at suspension or deferment of its execution, or from the day of issue of a court determination on restoration of the missing time for presentation of an executive instrument for enforcement.