MAINSTREAMING OF THE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND … · The educational and methodological seminar...

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Materials of the International Educational and Methodological Seminar

(Minsk, 30-31 October 2015)

MAINSTREAMING OF THE ELEMENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY CONCEPTS IN THE LEARNING

PROCESS OF HIGHER LEGAL EDUCATION SYSTEM IN BELARUS

BELARUS STATE ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY

MAINSTREAMING OF THE ELEMENTS OFHUMAN RIGHTS AND GENDER

EQUALITY CONCEPTS IN THE LEARNINGPROCESS OF HIGHER LEGAL EDUCATION

SYSTEM IN BELARUS

Materials of the InternationalEducational and Methodological Seminar

(Minsk, 30—31 October 2015)

MinskEcoperspektiva

2016

УДК [378.091 : 34] : 341.231.14 (082)ББК 74.58я43 И54

Translation from Russian: Siarhei Bohdan

Editorial team:Candidate of Juridical Sciences, Dean of Law Faculty of the BSEUA. N. Shkliareuski;Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Professor, Head of Civil Law Department of the BSEU T. S. Taranova;Candidate of Juridical Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of International Economic Law Department of the BSEUT. V. Telyatitskaya;Assistant of the Department of Theory and History of Law, Master of Laws A. V. Haurylenka;Programme Offi cer of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Master of Laws O. N. Bezbozhna

The preparation of this publication has been arranged by Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law as part of academic cooperation with the Belarus State Economic University and other higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus with the fi nancial support of the Government of Sweden represented by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Institute or Sida. Distributed free of charge.

ISBN 978-985-469-496-2 © Belarus State Economic University, 2016 © The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, 2016

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Table of Contents

Disciplines 8

Foreword 10

Beliakova, K. Filipchanka, Y. Human rights and values as a substantial element of the courses taught at the law clinic 14

Bogonenko V.A. Mainstreming human rights and gender equality issues in the disciplines “Civil law,” “Commercial law,” “Fundamentals of intellectual property management” 17

Chichina E.V. Coverage of human rights and gender equality issues in the curriculum of the academic discipline «Labour law» 20

Davis, M. F. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality in legal ethics courses 23

Haurylenka A. On mainstreaming of the elements of human rights and gender equality concepts in the educational process (based on experience of teaching of the academic discipline «General theory of law») 31

Ignatik M.I. Using the elements of human rights and gender equality concept in implementation of the concept of practice-oriented training (experience of teaching Private International Law) 34

Ivuts N.I., Khaletskaya T.M. On implementation of the consumer’s right to education in the field of protection of consumers’ rights [Consumer Rights and their Protection] 37

Kandrichina I.N., Yanovich P.A. Copyright and related rights in the context of human rights 40

Khvatsik Y. Ethical aspects in lawyer’s work with clients with special needs [Lawyers’ Professional Skills, Family Law, Legal Ethics]. 43

Konovalova Zh.Ch. On mainstreaming human rights issues in lectures [Civil law] 46

Kozyrevskaya L.A. Human rights as a dominant principle in teaching of special legal disciplines (based on experience of teaching of Licensing Institute) 49

Krasnobayeva L.A., Grahotskiy A.P. Methods of teaching the discipline “Children’s Rights” 53

Krstić, I. Serbian experience in integrating human rights in legal courses 55

Lisouskaya T. Human rights in Family Law: ways and methods of mainstreaming 60

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Malets D.A. On mainstreaming human rights issues in academic disciplines «Legal regulation of economic activity» and «Commercial law» 65

Mankevich I. On the right to adequate food of certain categories of persons 67

Masharov R.N. Methods of mainstreaming human rights components in practical exercises of the courses “Housing law” and “Commercial law” 71

Mazhayeva L.E. Mainstreaming of the concept of human rights in academic discipline «Financial law» 74

Perepelitsa E. Gender component in scholarly discourse and national law 77

Rechits E.V. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the discipline “Prevention and eradication of corruption” 80

Rechits E.V. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the discipline “Environmental law” 83

Savitskaya K.D. Human rights issues in the disciplines Civil law, International private law, Labour law, Legal service in a firm 86

Shakhnovskaya I. Sexual minorities as subjects of Constitutional law [Constitutional law of the Republic of Belarus, Constitutional law of foreign countries] 89

Sinitsa I.M. Human rights issues as subjects of term and graduation papers on Criminal law 93

Slivko O. Experience of teaching human rights concept in the Brest A.S. Pushkin State University [International law, Public international law] 95

Stanishevskaya L.P. On gender equality in the Republic of Belarus 98

Taranova T.S. Implementation of the right to access to justice in International Civil Procedure 102

Taranova T.S. Teaching of the disciplines dealing with Settlement of Legal Conflicts in terms of human rights protection 105

Telyatitskaya T.V. Some ways of mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in Administrative Law Disciplines [Administrative Law, Administrative Delict Law and Law of Administrative Procedure] 109

Vegera I.V. Mainstreaming of human rights aspects in teaching the discipline «Current Problems of Constitutional Law» 112

Vujadinovic, D. Gender equality in legal education 115

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No. Disciplines Author Page1. Agrarian Law Mankevich I. 67

2. Administrative Delict Law and Law of Administrative Procedure

Telyatitskaya T.V. 109

3. Administrative Law Telyatitskaya T.V. 109

4. Principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution

Taranova T.S. 105

5. Introduction to the Jurisprudence Vujadinovic, D. 115

6. Gender equality Stanishevskaya L.P. 98

7. Gender studies Vujadinovic, D. 115

8. Gender component Perepelitsa E. 77

9. Civil law Bogonenko V.A. Konovalova Zh.Ch.Savitskaya K.D.

174686

10. Housing law Masharov R.N. 80

11. Licensing institute Kozyrevskaya L.A. 49

12. Constitutional law Shakhnovskaya I. Vegera I.V.Vujadinovic, D.

89112115

13. Constitutional law of foreign countries

Shakhnovskaya I 89

14. International law Slivko O. 95

15. International public law Slivko O. 95

16. International private law Ignatik M.I.Savitskaya K.D.

3486

17. General theory of law Haurylenka A. 31

18. Fundamentals of law Krstić, I. 55

19. Intellectual property Bogonenko V.A. Kandrichina I.N., Yanovich P.A.

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20. Consumer rights Ivuts N.I., Khaletskaya T.M.

37

21. Children rights Krasnobayeva L.A., Grahotskiy A.P.

53

Disciplines

Disciplines

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No. Disciplines Author Page22. Legal service in a firm Savitskaya K.D. 86

23. Legal regulation of economic activity Malets D.A. 65

24. Prevention and eradication of corruption

Rechits E.V. 80

25. Lawyers’ professional skills Khvatsik Y. 43

26. Family law Khvatsik Y. Lisouskaya T.Vujadinovic, D.

4360115

27. Sociology of law Vujadinovic, D. 115

28. Labour law Chichina E.V. Krstić, I.Savitskaya K.D.

205586

29. Criminal law Sinitsa I.M. Vujadinovic, D.

93115

30. Settlement of legal conflicts through mediation

Taranova T.S. 102

31. Financial law Mazhayeva L.E. 74

32. Economic law Bogonenko V.A.Malets D.A.Masharov R.N.

176571

33. Environmental law Rechits E.V. 83

34. Legal clinics Beliakova, K. Filipchanka, Y.

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35. Legal ethics Davis, M. F. Khvatsik Y.

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Foreword

Nowadays, human rights and freedoms and guarantees of their implementation are becoming basic values in development of society, both at national and international levels. The National Security Concept of the Republic of Belarus, approved by Presidential Decree No. 575 of November 9, 2010, mentions adherence to constitutional and human rights and freedoms among the principal national interests in political sphere.

The norms of international instruments concerning human rights and freedoms and implementation of these rights and freedoms are taken into account by states in the course of improvement of their national legislation. The Republic of Belarus has ratified many international treaties defining international standards on human rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (signed on 16 December 1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (signed on 16 December 1966), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (signed on 18 December 1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed on 20 November 1989). Belarus acceded to the Convention on International Access to Justice (signed on 25 October 1980), Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (signed on 28 July 1951) and is also party to other multilateral conventions. As far as the Commonwealth of Independent States is concerned, Belarus is a party to the CIS Convention on the Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (signed on 26 May 1995).

Human rights are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, Art. 2, which states that the person, its rights, freedoms and guarantees of their attainment manifest the supreme goal and value for society and the state. The Constitution establishes the right to a decent standard of living, the right to equal protection of the rights and legitimate interests of everyone without any discrimination, the right to life, the right to protection from unlawful interference with privacy, including encroachments on the privacy of correspondence, telephone and other communications, honour and dignity, the right to freedom of movement and residence, the right to work, the right to a healthy environment, the right to freely elect and be elected to state bodies on the basis of universal, equal, direct or indirect suffrage by secret ballot. The Consitution also guarantees everyone freedom of opinion, belief and its expression, as well as other rights and freedoms and provides specific guarantees of their implementation (Art. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30,

Foreword

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33, 38, 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus). The constitutional provisions on human rights and freedoms and their protection mechanisms are further developed in legislation concerning specific spheres of life.

The educational and methodological seminar on the theme «Mainstreaming of the Elements of Human Rights and Gender Equality Concept in the Educational Process of Higher Legal Education System of the Republic of Belarus» has been organised by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Lund, Sweden). The seminar has been held at the Faculty of Law of the Belarus State Economic University in Minsk on 30-31 October 2015. The seminar provided representatives of scholarly and pedagogical community with an an opportunity to share their experience of teaching human rights to masters students and undergraduates studying law.

The organisers of the seminar did not limit human rights issues to some specific areas of law; and topics of presentations covered a wide range of rights, including personal, social, economic, cultural and environmental ones, both fixed in international instruments and national legislation, as well as gender equality issues. The breadth of the covered issues proves the complexity of the considered issues and need for further research on them.

The educational and methodological seminar gained international status. The scholars from the University of Belgrade (Serbia), Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Sweden) and School of Law of Northeastern University (USA) attended the seminar. Representatives of the universities from different regions of Belarus, in particular Academy of Public Administration under the Aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Belarus State University, Belarus State Economic University, Belarusian National Technical University, Belarusian Trade and Economic University of Consumer Cooperatives, Brest A.S. Pushkin State University, Vitebsk State P.M. Masherov University, Gomel F.Skorina State University, Grodno Y.Kupala State University and Polotsk State University participated in the event. The educational and methodological seminar has been attended by scholars from the National Center of Legislation and Legal Research of the Republic of Belarus.

The participants of the international educational and methodological seminar examined general problems of study of human rights and focused their attention on mainstreaming of human rights and gender equality issues in specific legal disciplines taught to undergraduate and masters students and involving the issues of general theory of law, constitutional and civil law, commercial law, family law, labour law, environmental law, copyright

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and related rights with regard to learning the basics of intellectual property management, as well as a number of other academic disciplines. The participants of the seminar discussed how human rights issues are studied in students’ research papers. Furthermore, attention was paid to human rights aspects in curricula of academic courses taught in the law clinic.

It is expected that the collection of articles prepared using the materials of the international educational and methodological seminar will be useful for university teachers, doctoral students, masters students, undergraduates, experts in the field of human rights and gender equality, as well as other persons interested in these issues and conducting research on human rights and gender equality.

The participants of the international educational and methodological seminar express their sincere gratitude to the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Lund, Sweden) for organisation of the seminar and financial assistance in publication of its materials.

T.S.Taranova, Doctor of Law, Professor,Head of a Department of the Belarus State Economic University

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Beliakova Katsiaryna, Filipchanka Yauheni

Vitsebsk P.M. Masherov State University

Human rights and values as a substantial element of the courses taught at the law clinic

(translated from Russian)

In recent years as the standards of law education in the country are reformed, Belarusian academic community logically faces quite a serious challenge: while changing form of courses taught it has to a certain extent to review their substantive and methodological components as well. One of the essential elements of this process, in our opinion, involves the necessity to mainstream in the legal disciplines eternal values, including, cetrainly, human rights.

Among the really successful platforms for promoting the idea of human rights in Belarus today are university law clinics. Most often, they function as structural units of law faculties which allow students to acquire practical skills of professional activity through various activities. Students clinicians acquire practical skills needed in the future work by advising citizens directly in the clinic, by correspondence, conducting classes with students of the higher grades of secondary schools and undergraduate students of the university.

According to an independent study conducted in 2015 by the advocacy association «New Eurasia» there are currently 11 legal clinics in Belarusian universities1. Many of them run training programmes (usually in form of optional courses) on development of professional skills of the lawyer, as well as on legal awareness of school students. In addition, some clinics have established specialised sections for protection of a certain category of human rights (for example, the section «Environmental Law» at the legal clinic of the Belarus State University), rights of a certain vulnerable group (for example, cooperation of the Law Information Laboratory of Vitebsk State University and Vitebsk Regional Retirement Home for Disabled and Veterans).

Taking as an example the activities of the Law Information Laboratory of Vitebsk P.M. Masherov State University (hereinafter - LIL) we can

1 Итоговый отчет по результатам исследование «Актуальное состояние и перспективы развития юридического клинического образования в Республике Беларусь» (Final Report on the Results of the Study on Current Situation and Prospects of Law Clinic Education in the Republic of Belarus). – Минск, 2015. – 46 с.

Beliakova, K. Filipchanka, Y. Human rights and values as a substantial element of the courses taught at the law clinic

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see three main areas of promoting the idea of human rights in the legal clinic: 1) mainstreaming relevant topics (tasks) in training programs aimed at developing professional skills of prospective lawyers; 2) protection of human rights directly, by providing free legal assistance by students-clinicians (directly and by correspondence); 3) dissemination of knowledge on human rights among schoolchildren through training on relevant topics by students working at the clinic.

In the first case, the relevant component can be directly included in the training program. In particular, individual themes can directly deal with national, regional and international systems of human rights protection, as well as the peculiarities of protecting the rights of certain categories of citizens (such as people with disabilities). In addition, the ideas of human rights values somehow manifest themselves in almost every structural unit of the clinical programme because the classic version of training in a legal clinic involves development of the triad «knowledge - skills - values.» At the same time, the clinical course is shaped by use of interactive methods that allow students to practice skills of critical thinking, to express their views on sensitive issues, to listen to the ideas of their colleagues, etc.

As an example we can use the theme «Professional Ethics and Values of the Lawyer» taught as part of the LIL programme «Professional Skills of the Lawyer.» During the sessions the trainer uses such methods as discussion, brainstorming, work in small groups (problem solving). Students discuss the idea of values that somehow manifest themselves in the work of the lawyer, shape his professional activity; they substantiate their views on the issue of core values, among which they always list human rights, human life, dignity, freedom and security, etc.; they solve problems involving rather difficult ethical issues while focusing on the values they cited carrying out the previous tasks.

While consulting citizens, students-clinicians, under the direction of their supervisor, apply their knowledge in practice. This activity makes them develop a sense of responsibility for their work, not only before the client and themselves, but also society as a whole. The clinic concurrently achieves so not only educational but also social objectives (protection of the rights of vulnerable persons who, due to various reasons, can not afford to apply for a paid assistance to a lawyer), promoting the idea of human rights directly by supporting their implementation.

Legal education of school students and [junior] university students contributes, on the one hand, to distribution among schoolchildren of knowledge about their basic rights, ways and means of their protection,

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while, on the other hand, it helps to disseminate the appropriate values among students-trainers, as the method of «peer education» is very efficient in vocational training. Students themselves develop structure of the trainings using interactive methods that guarantee higher efficiency in providing legal information.

Thus, legal clinics achieve educational and social goals and their activities in the best possible way promote the ideas of human rights and shape the respective outlook of future lawyers.

References1. «Актуальное состояние и перспективы развития юридического кли-

нического образования в Республике Беларусь»: Итоговый отчет по результатам исследования / Информационно-просветительское уч-реждение «Новая Евразия», юридический факультет БГУ. – Минск, 2015. – 46 с.

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V.A.Bogonenko, PhD in Law (Candidate of Juridical Sciences)Polotsk State University (Novopolotsk)

Mainstreming human rights and gender equality issues in the disciplines “Civil law,”

“Commercial law,” “Fundamentals of intellectual property management”


Teaching of legal disciplines at Belarusian universities is based on the training programme documentation including the curricula of educational programmes. It formalises learning activities within the framework of training periods and establishes relative uniformity of legal education. Introduction of new learning and methodological components into the educational environment, in particular updating of training programmes, helps achieve the greatest impact in training of students, and most importantly, to personalise a particular legal discipline. In this sense, it is very important to mainstream human rights and gender equality issues in separate legal disciplines. Updating the curricula allows the university to quickly fill the educational disciplines with new themes, and thus ensure their legitimacy in the educational process and scholarly activities [nauchnoe tvorchestvo].

Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in such disciplines as Civil Law, Commercial Law, Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management has its own peculiarities, which largely stem from predominance of the traditional private-law institutions, and on the other hand, influence of public-law factors. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in these disciplines is possible through many topics. As examples I can cite the following topics and prospects for their actualisation in the context of this problem.

Bogonenko V.A. Mainstreming human rights and gender equality issues in the disciplines “Civil law,” “Commercial law,” “Fundamentals of intellectual property management”

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Civil LawSubject: General Characteristic of Civil and Commercial Law of Foreign Countries.Example: Transformation of economic human rights in the private law-based forms: freedom of industry and commerce - legal entities (foundation, legal capacity, etc.).Subject: Citizens (Natural Persons) as Civil Law Subjects.Example: Legal capacity of citizens (right to engage in entrepreneurial activities, etc.). Social and legal aspects of the legal personality. The rights of foreigners and stateless persons, etc.

Commercial LawSubject: Commercial ContractExample: A commercial right of the citizen: freedom to acquire property and civil contractual forms mediating the acquisition of property and inadmissibility of the denial to citizens an opportunity to participate in real estate auctions on the grounds other than those established by the legislation.

Subject: Legal Regulation of Entrepreneurial Activities.Example: An economic right of the citizen: right of inheritance, inheritance of certain types of property, including inheritance of a share in registered capital of a limited liability company.

Fundamentals of Intellectual Property ManagementSubject: Concept and Legal Nature of Intellectual PropertyExample: freedom of literary, scientific and other kinds of creative activities (cultural rights) and individual moral rights of the author, including the right to be recognised as the author of a work.

Subject: Copyright and Related RightsExample: Freedom of arts and sciences as cultural rights and scholarly works as subjects of copyright.

The subjects related to human rights and gender equality are integrated in the legal disciplines mentioned above through making changes and additions to the curricula (actualisation of subjects). This process gets formalised in lectures and seminars in the form of an information-analytical component, presentations, tests, solving cases. In addition, human rights and gender

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equality issues are assigned as themes of graduation and course papers, as well as research projects.

Law students, among other topics offered in the academic disciplines Civil Law, Commercial Law and Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management can study the following subjects:

• Intangible Benefits in Civil Law;• Right to Free Movement in Civil Law;• Legal Grounds of Inviolability of Privacy;• Right to Life as an Intangible Benefit;• Legal Grounds of Euthanasia in the Law of Foreign Countries;• Legal Basis for Establishment and Activities of Religious Organisations;• Contract on Use of Paid Medical Services;• Right of Authorship as an Individual Moral Right;• Concept and Legal Nature of the Legal Entity;• Principle of Individuality in the Corporate Law of Foreign Countries;• Legal Regulation of Real Estate;• Legal Grounds of Inheritance of Immovable Property.•

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E.V. Chichina, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences], Associate Professor of the Department of Civil Law Disciplines,

Belarus State Economic University

Coverage of human rights and gender equality issues in the curriculum of the academic

discipline «Labour law»


The Republic of Belarus has proclaimed itself a state of law (Art. 1 of the Constitution), which recognizes the priority of universally accepted principles of international law and ensures compliance of its own legislation with this law (Art. 8 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus).Labour law, being an element of the legal system of the Republic of Belarus and having a social orientation, has incorporated many of the international human rights standards.In accordance with the Standard programme and curricula, the academic discipline «Labour Law» necessarily implies a link and reference to the sources of international law and to specific human rights (as applied to the realm of labour relations). In particular:- As part of the theme «The Sources of Labour Law. International Legal Regulation of Labour» the teacher presents also international labour standards and tells about their relationship (correlation) with national law, as well as international labour standards enshrined in the United Nations instruments (in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights);- As part of the theme «Concept and Types of Labour Law Principles. International Principles of Legal Regulation of Labour» the teacher thoroughly considers with students the following principles: freedom of labour and prohibition of all forms of forced or compulsory labour; state’s guarantees of the right to work, assistance in preserving existing workplaces and in employment; equal opportunities for individuals without discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; providing healthy and safe working conditions; state’s limitation of working hours and guarantees of the right to rest; guarantees of the right to fair remuneration; establishment of state guarantees for the protection of labour rights of workers, and others.

Chichina E.V. Coverage of human rights and gender equality issues in the curriculum of the academic discipline «Labour law»

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- As part of the theme «Legal Regulation of Labour and Employment» students deal with securing the human right to protection against unemployment, and a legal mechanism for its implementation provided in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus;- The right of everyone to establish trade unions and join trade unions for the protection of one’s interests is considered within the theme «The Subjects of Labour Law»;- Many of the issues related to the theme «Employment Contract» are not merely told about but explained to students in «conjunction» with the measures taken to ensure human rights recognised by the Republic of Belarus. For example, a general rule enshrined in Art. 30 of the Labour Code, which allows an employee’s transfer to another job or position only with written consent of the employee, is being studied «not in isolation,» but in the context of the right to free choice of employment and prohibition of forced labour, etc.;- The right of every person to just and favourable conditions of work is elabourated on in the theme «Protection of Labour» and the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and the right to paid annual leave - in the themes «Working Time», « Time for Rest and Time Off in Labour Law. Employment and Social Paid Leaves»;- The theme «Wages and Regulation of Labour Volume. Warranty and Compensation Payments» addresses the right of everyone to equal pay for equal work without any discrimination, and the right to just and adequate remuneration ensuring a decent human existence for himself and his family;In addition to inclusion of information about human rights into training materials, the teacher presenting lecture material on the themes «Employment Contract», «Wages and Regulation of Labour. Warranty and Compensation Payments»,» Specifics of Labour Regulation Concerning Certain Categories of Workers» and others, focuses students’ attention on presence of the idea of gender equality in the labour legislation of the Republic of Belarus.Students are invited to explore the issues of implementation of human rights in labour sphere and some of the problematic aspects of [labour] law enforcement in their individual research work (research paper, coursework, graduation thesis, etc.).

Thus, we can draw the following conclusions:

1. The content of curriculum and training material of the academic discipline «Labour Law» reflects the major human rights in social and

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labour sphere enshrined in universal international instruments of the United Nations, namely, the right to work; the right to free choice of employment; the right to protection against unemployment; the right to just and favourable conditions of work; the right to equal pay for equal work without discrimination of any kind; the right to just and adequate remuneration ensuring a decent human existence for the worker and his family; the right to establish trade unions and join trade unions for the protection of one’s interests; the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and the right to paid annual leave.

2. The students’ obtain awareness and knowledge of human rights and the idea of gender equality in social and labour sphere through the following major activities: learning theoretical propositions contained in lecture and other training materials of the academic discipline «Labour Law,» study of recommended literature and regulations (including international), independent research on issues of concern.

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Martha F. Davis Professor of Law

Director, Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy, Northeastern University School of Law;

Distinguished Chair in human rights and humanitarian law at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Lund University

Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality in legal ethics courses

I. Why Mainstream?

Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility courses are an important focus for “mainstreaming” human rights and gender equality because these courses address issues that lawyers will face almost daily in their professional lives. To prepare lawyers to practice, and to ensure a strong and inclusive legal profession that can engage clients’ trust while serving justice, law students should be exposed to human rights and gender issues in an environment where they can preview the challenges ahead. This will prepare them to make decisions that will further the legitimate interests of their clients and the profession, informed by an understanding of human rights and gender equality concerns.

Ethical issues pervade the practice of law. Lawyers routinely make decisions about how to advise clients to proceed in addressing personal or private business matters as well as a range of public matters, including criminal cases. The starting place for providing legal advice is an analysis of the law. But the law is seldom clear cut, and there are many times when lawyers must use their judgment, skill and experience – not case law or legislation – to develop their advice to clients. These judgments often implicate legal ethics issues, such as confidentiality, loyalty, and competence, and ethical considerations may, and often should, affect the advice that a lawyer provides.

The practice of law also involves many other facets beyond legal research and advice. Lawyers must deal with the social aspects of interacting with clients, putting them at ease or assessing whether they are acting freely when they ask for certain legal interventions. Lawyers may also be involved with mentoring colleagues and running their own legal practices, making business decisions that implicate human rights or gender equality.

Davis, M. F. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality in legal ethics courses

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Understanding that ethical considerations are a central part of lawyering, this section addresses three questions: (1) Does ethical lawyering incorporate human rights norms?, (2) What are some of the specific human rights norms relevant to the ethical practice of law?; and (3) What are some aspects of gender equality pertinent to the ethical practice of law?

(1) Does ethical lawyering incorporate human rights norms?Lawyers worldwide are bound to conform to professional ethics standards as a condition of retaining their license to practice. The current standards applicable to the Belarus legal profession are elaborated in the Law «On the Bar and Legal Practice in the Republic of Belarus» of 6 April 2012, No. 334 – Z

These professional standards explicitly state in Article I that lawyers’ are charged with “the implementation and protection of the rights, freedoms and interests of individuals and legal entities.” Article V of the standards reiterates the role of lawyers in protecting rights and freedoms. These preliminary articles echo Article 62 of the Republic of Belarus Constitution concerning the right to legal assistance. Further, they set the tone for interpreting and implementing the remaining provisions of the 2012 law.

While the professional responsibility code of Belarus does not directly reference human rights, related documents reflecting basic principles of legal practice make clear that the rights-protective activities of lawyers should be interpreted in light of human rights. The International Bar Association (IBA), for example, has developed International Principles on Conduct for the Legal Profession which draw on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; as in Belarus, human rights are not specifically mentioned, but inform the interpretation of these standards. The Code of Conduct of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is more explicit, noting in its initial provisions that lawyers have a special role in ensuring human rights. In 1990, the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, adopted a statement of Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. These Basic Principles identify the special role of lawyers in ensuring “adequate protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all persons are entitled.” Additionally, the Basic Principles indicate that lawyers “shall seek to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized by national and international law and shall at all times act freely and diligently in accordance with the law and recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession.” The Basic

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Principles have been endorsed by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In sum, formal legal ethics codes and related documents, both in Belarus and internationally, identify a special role for lawyers in protecting and defending rights. Authoritative sources from Europe and worldwide incorporate human rights norms as a key source of ethical guidance for lawyers.

Discussion Questions: Are these ethics codes references to human rights really actionable, or are they simply aspirational? Could someone be professionally disciplined for violating human rights? Is it significant that the Belarus standards do not directly reference human rights?

(2) Whataresomeofthespecifichumanrightsnormsrelevanttotheethical practice of law?

Given the breadth of human rights topics and the limited class time for addressing these issues, teachers may want guidance on which human rights norms are particularly relevant to the ethical practice of law. Here, I identify three: (a) human dignity, applied to client relationships; (b) the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the Guiding Principles), and (3) the right to a lawyer.

(a) Human DignityClients come to lawyers to help solve problems, and clients often trust their lawyers with secrets that they do not wish to share with others. The concept of human dignity, central to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reinforces many of the existing concepts of legal ethics, including unconflicted loyalties and obligations of confidentiality. A lawyer can treat a client with dignity by keeping the client informed of the developments in his or her case, by maintaining the client’s confidentiality and by ensuring that the lawyer’s advice is not influenced by outside conflicts.

Human dignity also relates to gender equality issues. Power differentials falling along gender lines can be accentuated by the power differentials between a lawyer and his or her client, leading to the potential for exploitation. A lawyer may be an expert, able to navigate through difficult situations, while a client may be in distress, at a psychological low point, and dependent on a lawyer for help. As a matter of human dignity as well as legal ethics, it is incumbent on a lawyer to avoid exploiting such situations. Some ethics codes, such as those in the United States, bar sexual relations between a lawyer and client because of just such concerns.

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Discussion Questions: How should a lawyer resolve conflicts between concepts of human dignity and ethics code provisions? For example, should a lawyer provide financial assistance to a client for food and housing while pursuing his or her case, even if it will create an appearance that the lawyer has a personal financial stake in the case? Should obligations of confidentiality to a client prevail even when revealing those confidences would exonerate someone who has been accused of a serious crime, who faces a loss of liberty? (b) The Guiding Principles The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights articulate non-binding human rights principles that should guide business practices. For lawyers, these principles generally provide guidance on the sorts of substantive advice to give business clients. In particular, businesses should “protect” against human rights abuses, “respect” human rights, and “remedy” any human rights violations. To effectuate human rights as spelled out in ethics codes, lawyers’ legal advice should take these guidelines into account.

The Guiding Principles may also indicate specific internal practices for law firms in their capacities as businesses in their own right. Several law firms in the United Kingdom have developed their own human rights and business codes. The first step in implementing these codes in a law firm is a human rights assessment that examines the actual adverse human rights impacts of the law firm’s own business and the business of its clients. When a law firm is implicated in a business client’s human rights violation, it may be ethically necessary for the lawyers and law firm to take action to minimize those impacts – for example, by advising the client on ways to avoid or mitigate the potential human rights violations.

Discussion Questions: Does lawyers’ compliance with the Guiding Principles require a fundamental shift in the traditional view of lawyers as their clients’ agents? Should lawyers be exempt from the Guiding Principles if the lawyers are implicated in human rights violations because they are acting to protect client confidences?

(c) The Right to Criminal and Civil Legal RepresentationMany Legal Ethics courses address the right to legal assistance as part of

the curriculum. There are many resources that frame this as a human rights concern, and some significant case law from the European Court of Human Rights on this issue. These materials are briefly summarized here.

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Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees the right to a fair trial in both civil and criminal proceedings. This has been interpreted as providing for a general requirement of “equality of arms” between the parties in the case. When criminal charges are involved, the right to legal assistance is explicitly set out in ECHR Article 6 (3) (c). In contrast, an entitlement to free legal assistance in civil cases has emerged from case law. In particular, the European Court has taken into account whether absence of counsel would effectively deprive an applicant of access to the proceedings.

The leading case on the right to civil legal assistance, Airey v. Ireland 32 Eur Ct HR Ser A (1979): [1979] 2 E.H.R.R. 305, highlights the gender dimensions of this issue, since women are generally less likely to be able to afford access to counsel but may have emergent needs for such assistance. Mrs. Airey sought judicial separation from her physically abusive husband. When out-of-court negotiations over a separation agreement failed, she sought a judicially ordered separation. However, she was unable to obtain such an order without counsel, and she could not afford to pay an attorney. After exhausting her domestic remedies, she sought a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. The Court ruled that denial of appointed counsel in such circumstances violated Mrs. Airey’s human rights under Article 6 of the ECHR. Among other things, the Court stated that legal counsel was necessary since “the ECHR is intended to guarantee rights that are not theoretical or illusory but are practical and effective.”

Discussion questions: Given scarce resources, what cases should receive priority for legal assistance – those involving “important issues,” or those where only one side is represented, or perhaps those where the litigants meets a particular standard of poverty? Does the right to legal assistance mean that a lawyer must take on any case, or should a lawyer be permitted to refuse to represent an individual or institution because of a belief that the potential client engages in human rights violations?

(3) What are some aspects of gender equality pertinent to the ethical practice of law?

Some legal ethics codes – for example, Canada’s – explicitly bar sex discrimination by lawyers as an ethical matter, beyond whatever civil or criminal liabilities might arise from the conduct. A lawyer who engages in sex discrimination (or other types of prohibited discrimination such as race discrimination), may risk disciplinary proceedings or even loss of their legal license for serious offenses. Actionable offenses might include serious sexual harassment or exploitation at the legal workplace, workplace wage

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discrimination, or offensive gender-based harassment or discrimination in the course of legal practice, perhaps demeaning a judge or an opposing counsel based on her sex.

Discussion Question: Should a lawyer be professionally disciplined for sex discrimination in his or her workplace if it does not affect the lawyer’s legal work on behalf of clients?

II: Methodologies for Mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality in Legal Ethics

Because Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility are intimately related to the practice of law, these courses are often taught in an experiential mode using real-life scenarios drawn from legal practice or even films and TV clips that show lawyers in action. Since legal ethics is so closely related to human rights concerns, many of these lend themselves to discussions of legal ethics through a human rights frame. For example, episodes of “The Practice” (creator David E. Kelley) and “The Good Wife” (creators Michelle King and Robert King) often embed ethical issues that also raise human rights questions. Movies like the classic “Anatomy of a Murder” (Otto Preminger, dir., 1959) or “My Cousin Vinnie” (Jonathan Lynn, dir., 1992) are standard fare in Legal Ethics classes, and can also be viewed and analyzed through a human rights lens.

Legal Ethics can also be taught by combining interactive lectures with a series of short memo or “skills” assignments asking students to take on various roles within a law firm or a government law practice. Some memos might involve dramatic facts, where the student/lawyer is asked to consider how to respond when his or her client asks for legal justification for what appears to be a human rights violation – for example, a legal opinion justifying the suppression of speech or a legal opinion supporting prolonged incarceration without trial. But many human rights issues are more subtle and arise in the routine practice of law. Here is an example of a skills exercise involving the Guiding Principles, and notes to faculty on the exercise:

Example: Skills ExerciseYou are a junior attorney in the private practice of law. A new client, ShopTemps, approaches your law firm for representation. ShopTemps is a start-up that places temporary workers into sales positions in shops throughout Belarus. The shops pay ShopTemps for this service and then

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ShopTemps pays the workers. Under ShopTemps policy, participating shops are required to sign a general nondiscrimination pledge agreeing to treat workers fairly. ShopTemps’ president asks your firm what more the new business should do to comply with the Guiding Principles, and your supervisor asks you to prepare a first draft of the memo answering this question. Please prepare a memo to your supervisor outlining the issues that ShopTemps should address.

(Notes to Faculty re. Skills Exercise: To write the assigned memo, the student will have to assess the human rights impact of the business and ascertain the relationship of the lawyers to that impact. In this example, ShopTemps has already taken some positive steps with its non-discrimination agreement. However, that agreement may not do enough to ensure that the temporary workers do not undercut the wages of more permanent shop staff. The memo should explore whether a human rights approach would require taking that issue into account, and perhaps recommend that ShopTemps ‘ clients provide some proof that the temporary placements do not have that negative effect on wages. For more ideas for skills scenarios involving the Guiding Principles, see the A4D resources cited below.)

III. Resources on Mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality in Legal Ethics Courses

Analyses:Advocates for International Development, The U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: A Guide for the Legal Profession, available at http://www.l4bb.org/reports/A4IDBusinessandHumanRightsGuide2013%28web%29.pdf.

Articles:Hannah Brenner, Expanding the Pathways to Gender Equality in the Legal Profession, 17 Legal Ethics 261 (2014)David Luban, Is there a Human Right to a Lawyer, 17 Legal Ethics 371 (2014).

Case Law:Airey v Ireland 32 Eur Ct HR Ser A (1979): [1979] 2 E.H.R.R. 305 (addressing the right to civil counsel under the ECHR)

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Steel & Morris v. United Kingdom, (2005) 41 E.H.R.R. 22 (elaborating on the right to civil counsel under the ECHR, including “equality of arms”)

Ethics Codes:International Bar Association: International Principles on Conduct for the Legal Profession and Commentary (2011), available at file:///C:/Users/rwi-mda/Downloads/IBA_International_Principles_on_Conduct_for_the_legal_prof.pdf.

Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, U.N. Hum. Rts. (1990), available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/RoleOfLawyers.aspx.

Recommended TV and Film Clips:“The Practice: Honor Code,” Season 6, Episode 7, http://www.tv.com/shows/the-practice/honor-code-96782/: This episode is based on a famous U.S. case, Spaulding v. Zimmerman, that pits client confidentiality against larger ethical and moral concerns. The lawyers within the firm wrestle with the right path and make different choices.

CBS 60 Minutes, The Alton Logan Story, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/26-year-secret-kept-innocent-man-in-prison/: This documentary clip tells the story of two lawyers who honored client confidentiality even though the result was long-term imprisonment of an innocent man.

“The Good Wife: Breaking Up,” Season 2, Episode 10, http://www.cbs.com/shows/the_good_wife/episodes/52629/: In general, early seasons of The Good Wife are more likely to yield believable ethical issues than more recent seasons. This episode is filled with ethical issues that can be examined through a human rights lens, including racial stereotyping, the right to legal assistance, conflicts issues, and confidentiality.

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Haurylenka А. Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)

On mainstreaming of the elements of human rights and gender equality concepts in the

educational process (based on experience of teaching of the academic discipline «General

theory of law»)


It is well known that the issues of human rights (hereinafter - HR) and gender equality (hereinafter - GE) belong to the most discussed concepts in modern European scholarship. An analysis of European scholarship development shows that this subject is considered to be relevant not only in relation to the social sciences, but also in technical branches of human knowledge.Both of these issues attract also increased attention on the part of numerous international and regional bodies and organisations (e.g., UN, EU and others). That is confirmed by the analysis of legal documents adopted by these bodies and their various activities aimed at promoting the HR and GE issues in the various spheres of public life.With regard to Belarusian reality these two concepts are mainstreamed in different ways. With regard to human rights issues, in general, there is a consensus in society about the phenomenon of human rights, and understanding, albeit intuitive, what it is about. This thesis can be proven by the presence of a sufficiently large number of standards relating to human rights in national legislation (beginning with the Constitution and the basic codified acts). The Republic of Belarus also adheres to the main international legal instruments in the field of human rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, etc.). Questions arise not about recognition and formal acceptance of human rights, but much more about their implementation.However, as far as gender equality is concerned, it is clear that, in spite of a number of measures (legislative and institutional), undertaken by the state, it remains quite alien to the contemporary Belarusian society. With regard to the issues mentioned above it seems more promising to concentrate on dissemination of information and education [about these issues], which will explain the key elements of the gender equality concept to Belarusian society.

Haurylenka A. On mainstreaming of the elements of human rights and gender equality concepts in the educational process (based on experience of teaching of the academic discipline «General theory of law»)

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Due to these circumstances, it is educational sphere, including the system of higher education, which provides an opportunity to familiarise students with the elements of both of these concepts. With regard to the training of specialists having higher legal education, it would be appropriate to mainstream the elements of these concepts in educational process in the course of teaching the academic discipline «General Theory of Law» (hereinafter - GTL).The good prospects of familiarising the students with the HR and GE issues through the study of this discipline have to do with a number of its specific features, namely:- GTL is a fundamental legal discipline, which develops major categories, definitions and other theoretical elements for all legal sciences;- GTL is one of the first proper legal disciplines studied by students;- GTL performs an ideological function, i.e., it fosters the student’s respect for social institutions and norms, shapes his legal culture, contributes to his legal consciousness.In accordance with the content of a model curriculum of the academic discipline «General Theory of Law» developed by experts of the Law Faculty of Belarus State University, we can identify several topics, which address human rights issues. These are the Theme 8 («Man, Society and Law») and Theme 13 («The Rule of Law and Civil Society»).It is suggested to consider the basic elements of the concept of human rights within the framework of these themes. Meanwhile, the suggested thematic plan allocates for the Theme 8 two hours of lectures and two hours of seminars, and for the Theme 13 - four hours of lectures and two hours of seminars. Because practical skills are developed at seminars, the time allocated by the suggested thematic plan for studying of these subjects seems insufficient.Due to this fact, we propose the following plan of a seminar on human rights and gender equality issues to be conducted in four hours of classroom work:Subject of the session: Human rights and freedoms (including gender issues): history of development, concept, types, sources, mechanisms of protection (4 hrs).1. Human rights (a historical retrospective). The modern doctrine of

human rights (including gender issues).2. Historical development of human rights legislation.3. Classification of human rights.4. Characteristics of the major human rights and freedoms (including

gender factor).

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5. Safeguarding of human rights.6. Sources of human rights: international, regional, intergovernmental

and national (including gender factor).7. Mechanisms protecting human rights and freedoms. International

protection of human rights.8. Mechanisms for regional and interstate protection of human rights.9. Mechanisms of domestic human rights protection.10. International and national responsibility for the violations of human

rights (including gender factor).

It appears that the inclusion of this seminar into the thematic plan will enable the students not only to get the concentrated information on human rights issues, but also to raise their awareness of gender issues.

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M.I. Ignatik, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno (Grodno)

Using the elements of human rights and gender equality concept in implementation of the

concept of practice-oriented training (experience of teaching Private

International Law)


The Millennium Declaration, adopted at the summit of UN member states in September 2000, has emphasised that the promotion of gender equality is an essential condition for reducing poverty and hunger, and a condition of successful development. The document defines eight goals in specific areas of development. Among them – fighting discrimination against women and promoting gender equality.Gender policy of the Republic of Belarus, aimed at implementation of its international obligations, requires the study of these issues by law students. Meanwhile, the higher education institutions of the country, including those training lawyers, have been instructed to strengthen the practical component in the training of [law] specialists. It seems that these two tasks can be successfully addressed [together] in the seminars on Private International Law (hereinafter - PIL), especially if the teacher sees it as «a poli-systemic complex» - a system of legal norm related to public international law and national state. The most promisiong in terms of fulfilling these tasks are the themes «Marriage and Family Relations in the PIL» and «Labour Relations in the PIL.» A major part of the PIL curriculum belongs to comparativistics - comparative study and comparison of respective norms and institutions in the law of different countries. This approach meets the needs of the practice. The instructor formulates the task:- to study an international treaty as a source of private international law; determine the links (correlation) between national legislation and international treaties;- to identify the problems of human rights and gender equality in national legislation (the ones that have been resolved and those that must be solved);

Ignatik M.I. Using the elements of human rights and gender equality concept in implementation of the concept of practice-oriented training (experience of teaching Private International Law)

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- to compare the existing norms of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus and foreign countries.Because these topics of the PIL curriculum include numerous issues and documents aimed at ensuring gender equality (only the UN adopted more than 100 of such instruments), students’ activities at the seminars should be organised as follows. The first group of students is asked to study the international treaties in the sphere of public law, the second - to explore the international treaties on private law, and the third - to analyse national legislation on some aspect of marriage and family or employment relationship with a foreign national. As an example, let us take the theme «Nationality of Married Women.» The Civil Code of Iran, for example, provides that any woman who is a citizen of a foreign state but whose husband is a citizen of Iran, is considered a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The instructor tells the students about this norm and invites them to discuss it in terms of gender equality and human rights. The students who dealt with the issues of international «private» law treaties will determine that the provision of national law of Iran contradicts Article 1 of the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women of 1957, which states: «Each Contracting State agrees that neither the conclusion nor the dissolution of marriage between any of its nationals and an alien, nor the change of nationality by the husband during marriage, shall automatically affect the nationality of the wife.» Then the instructor can arrange a discussion codenamed «persistent teacher versus persistent students» and remind the students that there is such a thing as «the status of an international treaty.» If we resort to this method and apply it to the said Convention, it becomes clear that Iran never joined it. Hence, its provisions are not applicable in that country. At this stage the students who studied the international «public» treaties enter the discussion with the thesis that the provision of the Civil Code of Iran does not correspond with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women of 1979, which obliges the states to guarantee the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. They quote respective articles. The instructor objects that although the 1979 Convention is by far the most comprehensive international instrument in the field of gender equality and it has been ratified by more than a hundred countries in the world, Iran is not one of these states. Students do not give up. They refer to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 15 of this international instrument establishes that everyone has the right to a nationality, no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of citizenship or the right to

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change his nationality. The Universal Declaration has no strict legal status, but it has an indisputable moral authority, it is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, and other documents of the International Bill are legally binding. The discussion proceeds in the direction of analysing the content of the norms of these documents with regard to this issue. Then, the discussion continues with a review of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus on the issues of citizenship.How to fix in normative documents this form of the training session? The “Instruction on Development and Approval of Curricula and Internship Programmes for Implementation of the Content of the Higher Education Programmes in 2015” provides such an opportunity (pp. 4.17; 4.18). Belarus’ entry into the Bologna process requires the transition from the standard [tipovye] to suggested [primernye] curricula. It will make the procedure for inclusion of human rights and gender equality issues in the educational process easier.

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Ivuts N.I., PhD StudentKhaletskaya T.M., PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]

Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)

On implementation of the consumer’s right to education in the field of protection of

consumers’ rightsConsumer Rights and their Protection


The consumer’s right to education in the field of protection of consumers’ rights was for the first time specified in the Law «On Protection of Consumers’ Rights» in 2002. In accordance with Art. 6 of this Law, the consumer’s right to education in the field of protection of consumers’ rights is implemented by state bodies, public associations of consumers, traders, producers, manufacturers which inform consumers about their rights and take necessary actions to protect these rights, also through inclusion of the consumer knowledge basics in curricula of secondary general and secondary special education systems.In order to implement this right since 2001, 38 secondary schools of the country introduced for 8-10 classes the optional course «Basics of Consumer Knowledge»; since 2002, this course has already been studied in 85 schools.In July 1999, the Belarusian Consumers Protection Society (hereinafter - BCPS) started publishing the newspaper «Vestnik potrebitelskikh znanii» with circulation 3,000 copies. Information on various issues dealing with consumers’ interests is also communicated to consumers through other periodicals («Respublika», «KP v Belarusi», «Zvyazda», «Narodnaya Gazeta», «Obozrevatel’», «Vit’bichi», «Belorusy i rynok», «7 dnei «,» Trud v Belarusi» and others).The national and local radio and television channels produce a variety of programmes dealing with the protection of consumers’ rights (for example, the TV program «Dobro pozhalovat’», radioseries «Sovet potrebitelyam»).BCPS organises «direct» lines for the readers of the newspapers «Zvyazda», «Narodnaya Gazeta», «Minskii Kurier», «KP v Belarusi».BCPS and its organisational structures have set up «hot» lines for consumers. Only in the last three years 17,985 people called a «hot» line.

Ivuts N.I., Khaletskaya T.M. On implementation of the consumer’s right to education in the field of protection of consumers’ rights [Consumer Rights and their Protection]

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The single phone service for protection of consumers’ rights is being created for the population of the Republic of Belarus. On the web-site of BCPS (http://potrebitel.nsys.by) citizens can get get ready-made answers to frequently asked questions, and learn about the activities (information days, seminars, counseling centers, competitions, etc.) organised by BCPS. The web-site www.potrebiteli.by also provides free legal online consultation on consumer protection issues.BCPS regularly holds numerous seminars and conferences on various topics related to consumers’ protection («Quality of Consumer Goods and Consumers’ Protection»; «Development of Consumers’ Social Movement in Belarus: Problems and Solutions», «Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers as an Aspect of Development of Legal State,» etc.).At the same time, BCPS conducts various studies (testing of food and consumer goods), the results of which are communicated to consumers. For example, in 2000-2001 as part of the project «Development of Consumer Culture in the Field of Food Safety in Belarus,» it conducted monthly tests of food products. During this period of time the following products have been tested: cooked sausage; seasonal vegetable products grown in Belarus; Belarusian fruit wines; vegetable oil; fruit and vegetable juices produced in Belarus; mayonnaise, milk, sour cream, cottage cheese of domestic production; fizzy drinks; canned fish.BCPS together with the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship has created a public department of «Protection of Consumers’ Rights» with the following mission: provision of legal assistance to consumers; improvement of methodology of teaching the academic discipline «Consumer Rights Protection»; study of legal practice in the field of consumer protection; carrying out research work in the field of consumer rights protection; expansion of relations with consumer protection associations; organisation of internships for students, arrangement of students’ writing diploma projects at the BCPS; education, additional training on the protection of consumers’ rights.Ministries and other central government bodies also take measures aimed at educating consumers. In particular, Art. 11 of the Law «On Protection of Consumers of Utility Services» stipulates that the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Belarus shall organise consultations between consumers and providers on the protection of the rights of consumers of utility services.

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Thus, as noted by S.P. Gurskaya «the wider and more varied propaganda and information citizens will get on the issues of protection of their rights as consumers, the better will develop social consumers’ movement. As a result, the whole of society will be more prepared [to deal with the problem], there will be less infringements of consumers’ rights and the constitutional rights of citizens to safety, information, etc. will be more fully implemented.» [4, pp 37-38].

References1. Гурская, С.П. Правила торговли и защита прав потребителей / С.П. Гурская. – Минск : Высш. Школа, 2005. – 188 с.

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I.N. Kandrichina, PhD [Candidate] in Sociology,Belarusian National Technical University (Minsk)

P.A. Yanovich, Senior LecturerBelarusian National Technical University (Minsk)

Copyright and related rights in the context of human rights

Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management


By a decision of ministers of education of the European Higher Education Area Belarus has been included into the Bologna Process, that is, Belarusian education system is focused on integration into the world system of higher education through creation of new educational standards, introduction of modern information technologies into educational process, development of distance learning and use of interactive teaching methods. In addition, the educational process itself is transforming from the approach based on knowledge toward the result-oriented approach, i.e., development of competencies. A crucial role in that is played by the forms and methods of training, aimed at developing the person which corresponds with the sustainable innovative model of national economy and meets the requirements of globalisation of world space, first of all competition, labour and education.In this regard, the higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus shall above all redirect the students enrolled in the I and II stage of higher education away from mere rote learning [zauchivanie] and representation of educational information toward gaining experience of independent search for it and its analysis, as well toward developing students’ initiative and self-education. It is especially important in the teaching of legal disciplines in Belarusian universities, since ensuring and maintaining law and order in society, and guaranteeing realization of the inalienable rights and freedoms depends on the level of legal culture and legal socialisation of the individual.Mainstreaming elements of the concepts of human rights and gender equality in the educational process in the course of implementation of competence-based approach in higher education is an important and controversial topic. The most expedient option would be including some

Kandrichina I.N., Yanovich P.A. Copyright and related rights in the context of human rights

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of these issues in the teaching of such legal disciplines as “Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management,” because, according to the standards of higher education of the Republic of Belarus, it is learned by students of all specialties. In addition, the thematic plan of this academic discipline facilitates introduction of interactive teaching methods like problem-based lecture, provocative lecture, visualisation lecture, lecture-dialogue, role-playing and simulation games.Let’s consider the opportunities for mainstreaming the elements of the concept of human rights in the process of teaching the subject “Fundamentals of Intellectual Property Management” in more detail using the example of the study of copyright and related rights.Copyright laws often collide with the generally recognised human rights. Copyright has a dual economic nature, which was enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the one hand, copyright law protects the rights of individuals involved in creation of intellectual products, and on the other hand, it provides access to literary and artistic works that are the object of protection. Copyright contributes to creation of economic and legal environment favouring the growth of investment into production of intellectual property objects. The development and functioning of an efficient system protecting the rights of persons involved in creation and distribution of copyright objects, has a positive impact on economic performance, contributes to improvement of the structure of national economy, economic growth and helps address a number of social and economic problems. The use of interactive teaching methods, along with introduction of some components of the human rights concept into the classroom discussion on this problem is the key to involvement in active learning of a maximum number of students, and each of them can act as a subject of intellectual property [relations]. Mainstreaming human rights in this context also helps to realize the possibility of violations of the rights of students as creators of copyrighted works, and as consumers of the products of intellectual activity.Violation of copyright and related rights can take form of illegal use of copyrighted works, as well as assignment of authorship. The most striking examples of illegal use of the objects of copyright or related rights are:1. Processing of an existing product, which does not result in artistic or

scientific independence of a new work;2. Compulsory co-authorship (forcing the author to include as co-authors

persons not involved in the creation of the work);

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3. Illegal reproduction of someone else’s work (re-publishing without the author’s knowledge of his work, removal of a part of a work, adding a commentary or explanatory text to a work);

4. Illegal distribution of someone else’s work (selling, public performance, presentation) contrary to the will of the author;

Belarus has acceded to a number of important international agreements, including the Stockholm Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.The criminal law norms guarantee protection of interests of copyright holders. Criminal sanctions are one of the most important institutions preventing violation of copyrights. To individualise a legal entity, products, works and services the following means are used: a trademark and service mark, appellation of origin, warning markings, similar designations.

Khvatsik Y. Ethical aspects in lawyer’s work with clients with special needs [Lawyers’ Professional Skills, Family Law, Legal Ethics].

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Yuliya Khvatsik, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]Clinical Director


Ethical aspects in lawyer’s work with clients with special needs

Disciplines: Lawyers’ Professional Skills, Family Law, Legal Ethics.


As of September 2015, the agencies for labor, employment and social protection have registered 545.5 thousand persons with disabilities. People with disabilities make up about six percent of the total number of citizens of our state. These citizens are vulnerable not only from a physical point of view but also from a legal one. This causes a significant number of appeals to the lawyers for the protection of violated rights of people with disabilities. Unfortunately, the culture of communication with people with disabilities in our society, among representatives of all trades and professions, is poor. This is probably so because of the historical aspects of limited participation of persons with disabilities in public life, low social culture and other factors.Membership in the legal professional corporation guarantees a [certain] level of [a person’s] culture, erudition and professionalism. For this reason, the list of academic disciplines to be studied by law students includes such obligatory courses as «Introduction to the Profession,» «Legal Ethics,» «Professional Skills of a Lawyer.» Theoretical knowledge gained by students by studying these courses helps them to raise their intellectual level, to develop professional competence, as well as to develop the skills of working with prospective clients. At the same time the curricula of these courses lacks an element of attention to people with various disabilities. In general, not only mechanisms protecting rights of people with disabilities, but also culture and ethics of working with this category of the lawyer’s clients are paid too little attention. At the same time, special knowledge and skills of working with special categories of clients may help future lawyers expand their professional activities, to better serve clients or cultivate their target audience. When a lawyer follows the disability etiquette, his or her

Khvatsik Y. Ethical aspects in lawyer’s work with clients with special needs [Lawyers’ Professional Skills, Family Law, Legal Ethics].

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colleagues and clients with disabilities feel themselves more comfortable and work more productively [with him]. Introduction of a component about disability etiquette into educational process will enable young lawyers to more effectively collaborate with people with disabilities, and hence successfully defend their human rights and to ensure [their] equal access to public and social life. It seems necessary to include the issues involving ethics of interaction with clients with special needs in such academic disciplines as «Legal Ethics,» «Professional Skills of the Lawyer,» «Family Law.»These issues have been taught by me for two years in the courses «Family Law,» «Professional Skills of the Lawyer,» and «Legal Clinic» as a result of cooperation with the non-profit organisation «Office for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities» (hereinafter - Office). The Office provides legal assistance, offers advice on the rights of people with disabilities and implementation of these rights, issues expert opinions on issues related to the rights of people with disabilities, launches initiatives aimed at improving national legal norms dealing with the persons with disabilities and others. Together with the lawyer of the Office a lecture with elements of presentation and expert briefing on disability etiquette in the work of a lawyer and an interactive practical seminar have been developed.This lecture is held annually as part of the taught courses, although it is adapted to the purposes of a specific discipline. So if the lecture is presented in the course «Family Law», then it focuses on specifics of the legal status of families with disabled children, or marriage and family relations of persons with disabilities. It includes analysis of the typical legal problems of of these categories of citizens, offers theoretical and practical advice on the implementation of disability etiquette in counseling these categories of citizens by the lawyer.A practical training applying interactive teaching methods is staged as part of the course «Practical Skills of the Lawyer.» Before classes students independently study the basic study material. At the beginning of the seminar after explaining the training purposes the instructor provides a brief theoretical introduction, then the students working in small groups solve difficult ethical situations in the lawyer’s work with subsequent presentation of the solutions they found in form of demonstrations. After the demonstrations, the proposed ethical solutions are discussed with participation of all the students present in the class. Thus, in one seminar, students acquire experience of solving four to five ethical problems. As homework, students are invited to draft an ethical code for lawyers (a legal clinic).

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A sample task for students: a client applied to the BSEU Legal Clinic. The client has the complete loss of hearing and cannot speak. He writes his issue on paper.Task: To interview the client in compliance with disability ethics. To find out essence of the legal issue, formulate the purpose of the client and questions for a student-counselor.Thus, a law student who knows ethics of dialogue with people with disabilities can avoid possible obstacles to communication, create a friendly atmosphere helping effective work with the client. Following disability etiquette helps avoid embarrassment and misunderstandings in dealing with people with physical disabilities (loss of hearing, eyesight, motor activity, and others). Prospective lawyers objectively need this knowledge.In our opinion, attention to people with various disabilities; desire, knowledge and skills which are necessary to overcome the difficulties of working with special categories of clients are important competencies of the lawyer which contribute to a more professional and efficient delivery of services to clients with special needs, protection of their legitimate rights and interests as well as ensuring of their access to legal aid.

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Zh.Ch. Konovalova, PhD in Law (Candidate of Juridical Sciences)Belarus Trade and Economics University of Consumer Cooperatives

(Gomel)

On mainstreaming human rights issues in lectures

[Civil law]


All democratic states recognise the person [lichnost’] as the source of [state] power - on the one hand, and its autonomy from the government - on the other hand. To recognise the autonomy of the individual means to recognise his or her rights and freedoms, recognise the value of a person regardless of his or her race, gender, religion, and so on. These ideas and principles are implemented also in the civil law. Civil law is the branch of law which uses as its method the principles of the equality of participants, autonomy of their will in property-related and non-property personal relations, therefore its relationship to the theme of human rights is unquestionable and has its own specific traits. Several aspects of human rights and gender equality can be highlighted in the study of civil law.Thus, in the course of study of the civil law principles the correlation with universally recognised human rights, both in terms of their incorporation in the legislation and in terms of their presence in the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, can be analysed. Considering the theme of legal capacity of natural persons the teacher can discuss (for example, through «brainstorming») why the volume of legal capacity of minors does not equal the volume of legal capacity of adults, or whether the age limits set out in the Civil Code are justified. The teacher can also discuss the question whether this provision violates the principle of equality of participants of the regulated relations. Studying consumer rights in the framework of certain types of public contracts (retail sale, consumer contract, etc..), the Internet and media ads on providing the services «Husband for an Hour» or «Wife for an Hour» can be analysed from the gender perspective.Further aspect constitutes the use of participative, students-friendly and gender-sensitive approach to teaching and learning based on rights implementation. Students will receive practical information, acquire critical

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thinking skills in the course of discussions and disputes, as well as the skills of dispute resolution on the basis of both legislation and general principles of law in the course of practical training. Basic cognitive skills of students are developed during their work in the classroom and in the course of implementation of training tasks (projects). The skills of reading, writing, oral presentation and critical thinking are honed as a result of moot court hearings, analysis of legal acts and other documents.One of the main forms of teaching in the modern higher school is the lecture. Problems of increasing the efficiency of lectures can be viewed from the perspective of improving the selection of information and material to be presented in lectures, honing lecturing skills. At the same time, in order to improve the effectiveness of education, it is necessary to resort also to other activities different from a simple hearing, remembering and recording. There is a definite pattern of memorisation in learning: we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 80% of what we say ourselves, and 90% of what we learn through our own work. Hence, it is necessary to find ways of organising students’ activities in the framework of the lecture method of teaching. Learning through educational interaction in the course of the lecture helps students find different ways to solve problems, evaluate various solutions and their consequences, acquire a new look at things, and develop critical thinking. One such way involves using the lecture method with a guide [1, p. 95].This kind of lecture may be composed on the theme «The Principles of Civil Rights.» Each student receives a guide to the lecture - three sheets of paper which map the presentation structure of the lecture, and provide some empty space for each item of this structure reserved for the own records of the students.The central place in a lecture is given to the students’ work on studying the correlation of the principles of civil rights and human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as analysis of examples of jurisprudence in order to find out the principles of civil law which the court of law might have followed in adjudication.As an example of judicial practice the lecture examines the case No. 80-8/2013 considered by the Economic Court of Brest Region on July 11, 2013 [Судебная практика // Консультант Плюс], in which the court justified its refusal to protect the rights of the plaintiff with regard to recovery (exaction) of the interest on commercial loan in the amount of BYR40,986,680 by referring to inadmissibility of unjust enrichment of one party at the expense of the ruin of the other. Substantiating its position, the court emphasised that

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one of the objectives of legal procedure concerns facilitating development and improvement of the business partnership, formation of norms and ethics of business practices. Exaction of penalty interest on commercial loan in the specified amount does not fit into this procedural principle. In determining the content of a contract the principle of freedom of contract does not exclude the necessity for compliance with the rules of reasonableness and justice, as well as compliance with the principle of equality and balance of the parties’ interests. Students are encouraged to evaluate the arguments of the court concerning the violation of these principles by the plaintiff in the case. It is also possible to invite the students themselves to name the principles through which the court could have substantiated its decision.

References1. Инновационные методы обучения в гражданском образовании/ Величко В.В., Карпиевич Д.В., Карпиевич Е.Ф., Кирилюк Л.Г. – 2-е изд. доп – Мн.: «Медисонт», 2001 – 168с.

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L.A.Kozyrevskaya,Associate Professor of the Department of Civil Law Academic Disciplines,


Human rights as a dominant principle in teaching of special legal disciplines (based on experience of teaching of Licensing Institute)


With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the abandonment of socialist ideology as the only acceptable one in our society, the new sovereign states faced the task of entering the global ideological process, a component of which is the concept of recognition and protection of human rights. Belarus, sharing and recognising the primacy of generally recognised principles of law, has included into its Constitution the rights and freedoms enshrined in the international instruments as an essential element of the legal status of the individual, and proclaimed as the foundations of its constitutional system the principle of the rule of law, the priority of human rights and freedoms, economic freedom and equality [1 Art 1, 2, 13, 22] as general legal guarantees of reality of proclaimed rights.The constitutional prescriptions become effective when they are actually embodied in law-making, law enforcement practices and in legal awareness of each individual member of society. At the same time it is particularly important to make the future lawyers develop not only respect for these constitutional provisions, but also teach them how to apply the principle of priority of the rights and freedoms as the dominant principle in law-making, scholarly and practical activities. In this regard, attention should be paid to the prevailing in Belarusian legal education customary practice of presenting the knowledge in the special disciplines in isolation from basic constitutional regulations. The Constitution and the international human rights instruments are mentioned in special training courses, as a rule, in a formal way, without their substantive analysis regarding the institutions under consideration, and that practice is only partly explained by objective reasons (limited time allocated to the study of a certain discipline). The deliberations outlined above can be illustrated using the analysis of the main approaches to teaching of licensing as an institute within the curriculum of the course «State Regulation of Economic Activity.»

Kozyrevskaya L.A. Human rights as a dominant principle in teaching of special legal disciplines (based on experience of teaching of Licensing Institute)

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Traditionally, educational and scholarly literature defines licensing as «an element of the permitting system» [2, p. 4], or as a «special procedure for the acquisition of the right to engage in certain activities» [3, p. 72]. With all the apparent differences in the prevailing approaches, as a unifying element we can identify the view, according to which the licensing process is treated as the process of issuing permits to engage in certain activities with subsequent supervision of compliance with the terms and conditions of the permitted activities. This position has been legally recognised and consolidated in the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 01.09.2010 No. 450 «On Licensing of Certain Types of Activities».However, the Constitution proclaims and the international community recognises the right to freedom of economic activity, i.e., freedom of any activity not prohibited by law (Part 3 of Art. 13 of the Constitution). There is a correlation between this constitutional provision and the norm contained in Art. 17 of the Civil Code of Belarus, under which individuals and commercial entities may engage in business and any other activities not prohibited by law. Therefore, from the standpoint of the concept of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen it is impossible to talk about any licensing system, if the mode of general permission for any activity is established in the economic sphere. None of the normative legal act prohibits activities subject to licensing.It seems that the theory of licensing and authorisation-based system and licensing as its element is currently retained as a tradition that emerged in the Soviet period [4, p.551] when general permission mode of economic activity was out of the question for ideological reasons. Thus, in order to preserve the unity of principles of the legal system construction, to ensure consistency with the spirit and letter of the Constitution of Belarus the legislation shall abandon the interpretation of the license as part of the authorisation-based system because of the impossibility of this system’s functioning in the economic sphere.Accordingly, with respect to the license it can only involve limitation of rights permissible under the Constitution of Belarus on the basis of law and only to the extent that is necessary in the interests of national security, public order, protection of morality, health, rights and freedoms of others [1, Part 1, Art. 23]. Thus, T.A.Chervyakova proposes to determine permit and authorisation-based system as a set of remedies through which the «conditional admission to the permitted activity» occurs [2, p. 5]. However, the proposed approach essentially changes nothing: either economic entities, with certain exceptions, are entitled to carry out any activity not prohibited by law; or the authorisation-

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based mode of this activity is established, and then it does not matter whether the activity is prohibited or «conditionally permitted.»Thus, in the course of studying this institution students’ attention should be focused on the fact that licensing serves as a method of state management of economic activity. This method involves establishing the conditions for the exercise of certain operations or activities in order to promote and protect morality, health, rights and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities, as well as national defence and security. Thus, licensing as a social phenomenon is characterised by such features as the establishment of a consensus of private and public interests in the framework of general permit [obshchedozvolitelnyi] mode; legitimisation of the right’s holder; providing the conditions for realisation of legal personality; protection of rights and interests of third parties. The proposed approach makes it possible not only to shape students’ skills of theoretical analysis of legal problems from the standpoint of the priority of the rights of man and citizen, but also to teach them how to resolve certain practical issues. For example, choosing the criteria for selection of activities subject to licensing should be based primarily on the need to implement human rights and freedoms. In particular, criteria of «excellence» or «significant concentration of capital,» proposed in the literature, [5, p. 16] per se cannot serve as criteria for the selection of licensed activities. But they can be be applied taking into account the need to guarantee the rights and freedoms of third parties. For example, if works or services that require high professionalism, are consumed by a person who, by definition, is unable to assess this qualification (consumer – as defined according to the legislation on consumer protection), then, certainly, such activity is subject to licensing.Thus, utilisation of this approach in teaching of legal disciplines will help, on the one hand, to develop a new methodology of assessment of legal institutions, overcome “piecemeal” [fragmentary] presentation of legal disciplines, when interdisciplinary connections are established only with respect to certain obvious positions and, on the other hand, give future lawyers clear ideas of the human and civil rights as the dominant principle in lawmaking and law enforcement in all areas of public life.

List of references• Конституция Республики Беларусь 1994 года : с изм. и доп., при-

нятыми на респ. референдумах 24 нояб. 1996 г. и 17 окт. 2004 г. – 10-е изд., стер. – Минск : Нац. центр правовой информ. Респ. Беларусь, 2014. – 62 с.

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• Червякова, Т.А. Институт лицензирования как элемент разреши-тельной системы : автореф…. дис. канд. юрид. наук / Т.А.Червякова – Минск: БГЭУ, 2010. – 27 с.

• Воронов, А.М. Общие административно-правовые режи-мы обеспечения общественной безопасности / А.М.Воронов, М.И.Агабалаев // Современная наука: актуальные проблемы тео-рии и практики. – Серия «Экономика и право». – 2012. − № 1. – С. 70−74

• Советское административное право (общая и особенная часть) / А.П.Алехин и [и др.]. – М.: Юридическ. литература, 1973. – 827 с.

• Ионова Ж.А. Правовые проблемы государственной регистрации и лицензирования предпринимательской деятельности: : автореф…. дис. канд. юрид. наук. – М.: Российская академия наук, 1997. – 32 с.

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L.A. Krasnobayeva, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]A.P. Grahotskiy, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]

Educational Establishment «Francisk Skorina Gomel State University» (Gomel)

Methods of teaching the discipline “Children’s Rights”


The students of the Law Faculty of the Educational Institution “Gomel Fr. Skaryna State University” with a special focus on “Advocacy and Notariat” and “Organisation of State Agencies’ Work” are required to study the discipline “Children’s Rights.” This discipline is an important part of the law students’ training. As an essential component of modern higher education [the discipline] “Chidren’s Rights” has very significant general theoretical and practical importance not only for legal education but also for university training of future schoolteachers.

In the process of studying the discipline, students shall verse themselves in special literature and regulatory documents, learn about the importance of children’s rights. Students are introduced to the basic concepts of chidren’s rights, they analyse the role of children’s rights in society, discuss the process of bringing national legislation into line with international norms and standards on human rights.

The study of the course “Chidren’s Rights” builds upon the students’ knowledge acquired by them after mastering the subjects Constitutional Law, General Theory of Law and Human Rights.

The lectures raise and theoretically substantiate actual problems of study and implementation of human rights instruments, study in detail the structure and content of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, provide guidance to students for their independent learning the course subjects.

The practical exercises deepen and consider in a more detailed way the issues raised in the lectures, develop the skills needed for the study and analysis of literature, test students’ knowledge, drill their skills in use of interactive teaching methods. While studying the discipline students are asked to do different tasks in creative writing, i.e., to compose essays, papers, summaries. Practical training may be conducted in the form of a

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conference on human rights problems in the modern world. For example, it may include presentations on the following topics: “Human Rights in Biomedical Experiments (Cloning, Surrogate Motherhood, Organ Transplantation, etc.),” “Possible Ways to Protect the Rights of Ethnic Minorities,” “Protection of the Rights of Sexual Minorities,” “Development of Computer Technologies and Violation of the Right to Security.”

In the course of studying the topic “International Protection of Children’s Rights” students may be asked to discuss the question of existing restrictions on chidren’s rights. It is proposed to present in diagram form a comparative analysis of human rights and chidren’s rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The lecture on “National System of Protection of Chidren’s Rights” deals with the following aspects: judicial and extra-judicial system for protection of children’s rights in the Republic of Belarus; state policy on protection of motherhood, fatherhood and childhood; realization and protection of the rights of children at risk; inclusive education and the problems of integration of disabled children into society; liability of minors in the legislation of the Republic of Belarus. The practical exercise can be devoted to discussion of the Law “On the Chidren’s Rights” which includes substantiating possible changes and additions that may contribute to ensuring the rights and interests of the child. Students majoring in non-legal areas of study are asked to design a practical exercise on chidren’s rights for their pupils, in accordance with their age and individual characteristics, as well as to determine which children’s rights are violated in specific situations. As a result of this activity students shall learn to analyse situations in which children have found themselves, and to characterize these situations in terms of chidren’s rights.

Thus, the purpose of teaching the discipline is to form a humanistic outlook, develop a sense of civic responsibility, a deep understanding of children’s rights, shaping values and attitudes necessary for the respect of human rights.

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Ass. prof. Ivana Krstić,Belgrade University (Serbia)

Serbian experience in integrating human rights in legal courses

In the past 20 years, many universities introduced International Human Rights law course. However, in some universities, this course is not compulsory for all students and the number of credits, compared to other courses, is not sufficient for deeper and comprehensive study of human rights. Thus, International Human Rights Law courses usually cover a general framework of human rights, main international sources, universal and regional human right systems of protection, and derogation of human rights. However, only some aspects of particular rights (the right to life, freedom from torture, the right to privacy, terrorism, etc) are covered in course syllabuses. Also, human rights are so broad and their study require lecturers who have a very solid basis in civil, criminal, administrative, commercial and other legal areas, and it’s very complex to present all these issues within one particular course and by an international law expert. Therefore, it is very important to integrate human rights in other law courses. This is natural for the Constitutional Law, but many other legal courses should cover certain human rights aspects and raise awareness among students about some burning issues that deserve special attention and legal analyses.

The “Global Compact”, launched by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1999, calls upon business to “support and respect the protection of international human rights within their sphere of influence and make sure their own corporations are not complicit in human rights abuses.” The growing reach and impact of business enterprises have given rise to a debate about their roles and responsibilities with regard to human rights. Commercial law professors need to address this issue in their classes, and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for implementing the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, can be used as a material for debate on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, as well as the access to remedy, as

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human rights need legislative, administrative and judicial protection. Despite this growing need, human rights are not recognized in business

courses at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. However, human rights are recognized in some other economics-related courses that will be presented below.

Labour LawThere are different approaches in examining labour rights as human rights. For internationalists, a group of rights are human rights if international human rights documents recognize them as such. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a part of customary international law, prohibits slavery and servitude (Article 4), the right to work in a freely chosen job; equal pay for equal work; decent remuneration for work performed; the right to form and join trade unions (Article 23), a right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours, as well as holidays with pay (Article 24). Also, it prohibits discrimination on different grounds (Article 2), which can appear in the area of employment. All these issues are covered in the Labour law course. Professor insists on consulting ILO standards (which are particularly covered within the International Labour Law course), general recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the case law of the Council of Europe European Committee on Human Rights. As the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights is also very interesting in relation to slavery and servitude (Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the right to form and join trade unions (Article 11), these issues deserve a particular attention. Thus, students analyze different legal terms through the jurisprudence of the ECtHR: what is slavery (Siliadin v. France, app. no. 73316/01, 25. July 2005), and what servitude (Seguin v. France, app. no. 42400/98, 7 March 2000; C.N. and V. v. France, app. no. 67724/09, 19 October 2012), forced or compulsory labour (Van der Mussele v. Belgium, app. no. 8919/80, 23 November 1983), exceptions from the forced or compulsory work (Floroiu v. Romania, app. no. 15303/10, 12 March 2013; Bazyatyan v. Armenia (GC), app. no. 23459/03, 7 July 2011), etc. Van der Mussele case is interesting as it raises the question if provision of free legal aid by lawyer which is not covered by the State and its refusal is subjected to serious sanctions can be considered to be forced labour. The professor divides group into two and ask each to find arguments for and against this claim.

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Another important issue is the right to strike. Professor is raising debate among students during the seminars on two different approaches between the CJEU and the ECtHR in respect to this right. Thus, the CJEU in Viking (Case C-438/05, 11 December 2007) and Laval case (case C-341/05, 18 December 2007) requires the balancing of fundamental workers’ rights against economic market interests. Unlike the CJEU, the ECtHR gave full protection to the right to collective bargaining and collective action (Demir and Baykara . Turkey, app. no. 34503/97, 12 November 2008; Enerji Yapi-Yol Sen v. Turkey, pp. no. 68959/01, 21 April 2009) making a shift from the previous position that the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike are not essential means for upholding the right of trade unions in Member States.

Discrimination is another important topic, and presents a very significant part of the course syllabus. It is done in a form of seminar papers prepared by students with the following topics: female/male traditional working posts, ageism in employment, equal pay for equal work, paternity leave for male workers, part-time job and other working adjustments for workers with small children, stereotypes and prejudices as a hurdle in achieving equality, the role of positive measures in the area of employment in relation to vulnerable groups (Roma, women, etc), maternity leave for adoptive parents, foster parents and surrogate and intended mothers, etc. Seminar papers are prepared in a group of two students, who should present their findings in no more than 20 minutes. Afterwards, other students pose questions and make comments. This methodology can be improved by assigning a student to have a role of commentator, who will first initiate discussion and present his/her disagreements with some conclusions, or raise some issues that were not covered in the paper.

Fundamentals of LawThis course includes several topics that contain a human rights dimension. One of the topics is Legal basis of natural resources and environmental protection. It covers environmental protection, which is a separate course at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. It is a new and growing discipline which certainly has to include human rights dimension. There are three important approaches to this issue: 1) the environment is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights (particularly the right life, the right to adequate food, the right to water, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to adequate housing); 2) certain

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human rights are important for a good environmental decision-making (such as the right to information, participation in decision-making, the right to effective remedy); and 3) the right to healthy environment should be considered itself as a human right. Although there is no explicit provision in the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees the right to healthy enviornment, the ECtHR has a very extensive jurispridence where this protection is provided indirectly, through application of some other provisions, such as Article 2 (the right to life), Article 8 (the right to privacy), Article 13 (the right to effective remedy), and Article 1 of the Protocol no. 1 (the right to property). The growing jurisprudence of the European Court in environmental cases indicates the need to include this topic in mainstream human rights law, and the most important jurisprudence is disscussed with students. There are some interesting topics, such as the balance between the economic development and individual interests, State responsibility in cases of environmental pollution, the question of excessive noise, urban development and a negative impact on the enjoyment of private life. Procedural aspect of Article 8 is particularly developed in time. It would be interesting to make a comparison between the right to environmental information interpreted by the ECtHR and this right contained in the Aarhus Convention (see e.g. Guerra v. Italy, app. no. 116/1996/735/932, 19 February 1998; Tătar v. Romania, app. no. 67021/01, 27 January 2009; Kolyadenko and Others v. Russia, app. no. 17423/05,et al., 28 February 2012; Vilnes and Others v. Norway, app. no. 52806/09, 22703/10, 5 December 2013). This can be done by students, who will get an assignment to read these judgments, to analyze them and to present ECtHR’s standards in this area.

Another interesting topic covered by the course is corruption. The Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade offers a Legal clinic in anti-corruption. In first semester, students follow interactive lectures provided by theoreticians and practitioners in order to increase their knowledge in anti-corruption. The programme is divided into three parts: UN standards, European standards and Serbian legal framework. Question that is posed to our students is how to define corruption and how much and in what way corruption is detrimental to the enjoyment of human rights. Particular attention is given to relationship between corruption and independence of judiciary, the right to information, the right to education, the freedom of assembly and association, the right to legal remedy, the right to health, and an impact of corruption on different vulnerable groups (women, children, prisoners, poor, etc.). At the end of semester, students present their comparative research on integrating a human

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rights perspective into the fight against corruption, and write analyses on whether and which human rights principles are components on the National Strategy for combating corruption in Serbia from 2013.

Materials that are used are some academic papers, sources of the UN Human Rights Council (Resolution 17/23, 19/38, 22/12; a study of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, report A/HRC/19/42, interim study of independent expert, A/HRC/28/60; a research based report of the Advisory Committee (A/HRC/28/73), as well as Council of Europe sources and GRECO research on gender dimensions of corruption. The latest topic was a part of student’s debate, divided into two topics:1) the disproportionate impact of corruption on two sexes, and 2) the relationship between levels of corruption and increasing women’s participation.

Finally, in second semester, in addition to providing legal information and legal advice to real clients, in cooperation with one NGO from Serbia, students have monitored the court cases with corruptive elements and reported, among others, if the right to a fair trial was respected in each case.

Human rights dimension is necessary in all legal courses, as we educate future lawyers who will deal with different human rights issues in practice. We need to teach them to read documents in original, to analyze them, to motivate them to think beyond the context and to be critical about international and national jurisprudence in certain areas. Thus, it is important not only to introduce human rights dimension in different legal courses, but also to implement interactive teaching methodologies, such as organization of debates, case studies, and writing and presentation of student’s research. Students should understand that there are always arguments for and against certain solution, and they should be capable of identifying those arguments and weighing them.

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Lisouskaya TatsianaPh.D. in History [Candidate of Historical Sciences], Associate Professor,

Brest State Technical University (Brest)

Human rights in Family Law: ways and methods of mainstreaming


Teaching human rights in the system of higher education currently takes place directly, through introducing the courses «Human Rights» or «Human Rights Law.» Meanwhile, the universality of the human rights concept lets us teach human rights also indirectly - through introduction of certain aspects of human rights in other legal and non-legal courses: «Fundamentals of Law,» «International Law,» «Constitutional Law» and others. The introduction of human rights aspects in the course «Family Law», in our opinion, is also an organic and efficient way to do that, as it allows to discuss and explore not only the right to marry and the protection of family life from the perspective of human rights, but also gender equality and issues of the scope of state protection of and intervention in implementation of these rights.

We have identified the following major content-related components for mainstreaming of the human rights issues in the course «Family Law»:1. Theoretical Component: content-related aspects of the concepts of

«marriage» and «family»; cultural, national and religious traditions in determination of the volume of rights in the realm of family life; rights and scope of restrictions on parents’ competence, etc.;

2. Gender equality in implementation of the right to marriage and to protection of family life: the right to marry, choice of given and family name, equality of spouses in the upbringing of children, implementation of rights of parents of children born out of wedlock;

3. Mechanisms which support the implementation and protection of the right to marriage and family life: positive and negative obligations of the state.

The mainstreaming of the presented aspects of human rights is achieved by using various methods of their introduction in the course «Family Law.» We use and present here the three major of them:

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1. Determining the meaning of the basic concepts and their theoretical comprehension: «marriage», «family», extent of implementation of the rights to marriage and family; rights and scope of restrictions on parents’ competence.

2. Revealing the features of national legislation in areas where «freedom of discretion» of national law is applied. By using this method the issues of conclusion and termination of marriage, guarantees and national mechanisms for implementation of the right to the protection of the family, parents’ communication with their children in prison are studied.

3. Identifying mechanisms of implementation of negative and positive commitments with regard to protection of family life and establishing of equality between spouses in marriage and family relations. Especially efficient proves to be determination of mechanisms of state protection of family and family life, achieving equality of spouses in upbringing of children, in communication with and access to children, implementation of fathers’ rights with regard to the children born out of wedlock.

These methods of introduction of human rights issues in the course «Family Law» should probably be applied in practice seminars. Through interactive organisation of practice seminars the teacher can create learning conditions for activisation of independent cognitive activity of students that significantly increases the efficiency of the learning process. The format of practice seminars gives an opportunity to use the following methods and techniques:

1. Analysis of legislation. As part of this method, at practice seminars students analyse international legislation, in particular several UN and the Council of Europe’s instruments: the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950, Protocol No. 1 of the Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 21 on the Convention, the Resolution (78)37 «On the Equality of Spouses in Civil Law,» Recommendation No. 1074 (1988), the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Marriage Age, Protocol No. 7 to the Convention

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for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1987, as well as a series of documents relating to the rights of the child.

2. Making summary analytical tables. This method is used for a content analysis of the basic concepts related to the right to marry and the right to protection of family life, as well as for determination of the scope of these rights, opportunities and limits of restrictions. To do that, students analyse the legislation and the practice of the ECHR and the Commission on Human Rights, systematise them and make a summary table «Content of Key Concepts Related to the Right to Marriage and Family Life» (see a sample on opposite page):

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Concept Legislation Practice Content

The Right to Marriage

ICCPR, Art. 23.2;EC Art. 12;Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage

X and Y, Z v Netherlands;Rees v United Kingdom;F against Switzerland; Communication No. 902/1999, Jocelyn against New Zealand

1. Marriage is the union of heterosexual subjects;2. The right to marriage is not linked to the right to divorce, and is not limited by presence of barriers to divorce and remarriage;3. Determination of the age of consent belongs to the sphere of competence of national legislation.

Respect for Family Life

ECHR, Art. 8.1;ICCPR, Art. 23.1.

Airey v Ireland;Johnston v Ireland;X and Y, Z v Netherlands;Burghartz v Switzerland;Keegan v Ireland;Olson v Sweden.

1. Non-interference of the state;2. Positive protection;3. Respect for family life applies

not only to the classic family relations;

4. Respect for family life applies to sexual relations;

5. Family life includes a wide range of parental rights.

Family ICCPR, Art. 23.2;ECHR Article. 8.1.

Marx v Belgium;Lebbing v the Netherlands;Keegan v Ireland;Kroon and Others v Netherlands;Communication No. 549/1993, Hopu and Besser v France

1. Relations between close blood relatives;

2. The insufficiency of a biological relationship for the protection of family life;

3. The notion of the family includes factual family bonds outside of marriage. Biological and social realities prevail over legal presumption;

4. Cohabitation is the basis of family life, but family relationships are not interrupted by separation;

5. The family itself is not granted legal protection, however, the state has the right to use mechanisms aimed at preserving the family.

The Equality of the Rights of Parents

ICCPR, Art. 23.4; CEDAW Art. 16; General Recommendation No. 21; Protocol No. 7, Art 5 of the 1984 Convention; Protocol No. 12 to the 1984 Convention; Resolution (78)37 «On the Equality of Spouses in Civil Law»

Salguero de Silva Mouta v Portugal;Rasmussen v Denmark;Hoffman v Denmark;Hendrickson v Netherlands;Communication No. 514/1992, Sandra Fei v Colombia.

1. The birth of a child by a mother does not give her greater rights in respect of the child’s father;

2. When a child is born out of wedlock fathers should enjoy equal rights with their mothers;

3. Ethnic, religious and other differences cannot be the basis of greater or lesser parental rights unless they violate the rights of the child;

4. It is necessary to create conditions which ensure equality of parents who live separately with their children.

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5. Writing of essays: «Balance of Rights of Parents and Children in the Course of Family Life: Problems of Prioritising,» «The Evolution of the Concept of the Reunification of Family Members Living Separately.»

6. Study and analysis of judicial cases in order to determine principles and identify mechanisms for implementation of positive commitments of the state:

• Protection of family life (Johnston v Ireland, Johansen v Norway, Keegan v Ireland, Olson v Sweden, Abdulaziz, Kabalis and Balkandali v United Kingdom, Gül v Switzerland, Ahmud v The Netherlands);

• The equality of spouses (Salguero de Silvia Mote v Portugal, Hoffman v Austria, Marx v Belgium);

• Ensuring equal rights of parents (Salguero de Silvia Mote v Portugal, Rasmussen v Denmark);

• Gender equality in implementation of the right to marriage (X, Y, Z v the Netherlands, Jocelyn v New Zealand, Reese v United Kingdom, Sheffield and Horsham v United Kingdom);

• Positive obligations of the state with regard to the right to marriage and protection of family life (Kroon and other v the Netherlands, Sylvester v Austria, Communication No. 858/1999, Buckle against New Zealand, Elsholz v Germany).

Evidently, there are ample opportunities for mainstreaming of various aspects of human rights in the academic discipline of «Family Law». The methods and techniques applied are aimed at mastering the content of the concept of human rights through the study of the right to marriage and the family, determining the scope and extent of the implementation of these individual rights, as well as through the study of the competence of the state in implementation of human rights and the limits of state intervention in implementation of individual rights.

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Malets D.A., AssistantDepartment of International Commercial Law


On mainstreaming human rights issues in academic disciplines «Legal regulation of economic activity» and «Commercial law»


Incorporation of human rights issues into the academic disciplines «Legal Regulation of Economic Activity» and «Commercial Law» seems to be highly important matter because commercial legal relations are regulated not only by private law but also public law standards, and the state has a significant part in the implementation of the latter. In the course of teaching these academic disciplines the human rights issues are, one way or another, touched upon in discussing almost all topics of curriculum that deal mostly with the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities and other related rights.

It seems logical that studying legal regulation of economic activities the students shall focus on constitutional foundations for regulation of public and private forms of ownership enshrined in Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus. So, in the course of training the teacher should disclose the legal sense and issues of practical implementation of the constitutional provisions on granting equal rights to all to engage in economic and other activities, providing equal protection and equal conditions for development of all forms of ownership, providing equal opportunities for all to freely utilise their abilities and assets for business and other economic activities not prohibited by law. It is advised to explain to the students in which normative legal acts these constitutional provisions have been established. Through debate they can discuss whether these provisions have direct effect or are declarative. The teacher can invite the students to develop within a few training sessions some specific proposals aimed at improving the legal regulation of the public relations considered.

It should be noted that human rights issues can be touched upon in the course of explaining the theme of state regulation of economic activity, as well as legal status of business entities.

For example, licensing of certain economic activities can be considered through the prism of the rights of economic entities and citizens’ rights.

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Dealing with this theme the teacher should clarify the students that the licensing is used in the interests of national security, public order, protection of rights and freedoms, morality, public health, environmental protection. At the same time taking into account the course taken by the Republic of Belarus toward the liberalisation of economic relations, it would be appropriate to hold with students a discussion on the need to reduce the number of licensed activities, simplify licensing procedures. It is recommended also to express an opinion on the issuing of permanent licenses, discuss how in the course of improving the institution of licensing it is necessary to maintain a balance of interests of the state, economic entities and citizens.

While considering the legal status of business entities the teacher can scrutinise the issues of legal regulation of public associations, describe the procedure for state registration and liquidation of public associations and other non-profit organisations, its differences from the registration and liquidation of commercial organisations.

Human rights issues can be taken into consideration in the course of teaching the topics related to liability for offenses in the sphere of economic activity, and in that case it is possible to discuss humanisation of this responsibility and improvement of the criminal and administrative legislation in this area. The issues of liability for the violation of the rights of entrepreneurs can be discussed separately.

As a result, we can conclude that in academic disciplines «Legal Regulation of Economic Activity» and «Commercial Law» it is advisable to not go the way of inclusion in the curricula of specific topics related to human rights but to consider them within the existing curriculum. At the same time, it is necessary to focus attention of the faculty members who teach these disciplines on the need to pay greater attention to these issues.

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Mankevich Iryna, Belarus State Economic University

On the right to adequate food of certain categories of persons


One of the basic and fundamental human rights is the right to food, and knowledge of legal grounds of its providing and implementation, and ability to implement it, have an important part in professional formation and development of the individual [lawyer]. The importance of the right to food stems from the fact that food is one of primary human needs ensuring man’s survival. The human need for food starts from the birth and continues throughout his life. At the present stage the food is increasingly considered not only one of the basic human needs, but also a social good.

For the first time the human right to food has been established in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 as part of the right to an adequate standard of living in the form of moral and political norm («soft» law) [1]. Later on, the right to food was included in other international instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Art. 11), Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition, approved by the UN General Assembly resolution of 17 December 1974, Convention on the Prevention of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), Convention on the Rights of Child (1989) and others [2]. The expert interpretation and more precise definition of the right to food has been provided in General Comment No. 12 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1999), which oversees the implementation of the Covenant. It states that the right to adequate food is realised «when every person - man, woman, child - separately or jointly with others at any time, has physical and economic access to adequate food or the means to obtain it». [3] According to international standards, states are obliged to respect, protect and fulfill the right to adequate food.

Belarus recognises the priority of universally accepted principles of international law, and ensures compliance of the national law with these principles. Article 21 of the Constitution stipulates that implementation of

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the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Republic of Belarus is the supreme goal of the state. Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing, housing and continuous improvement of necessary living conditions. The state guarantees the rights and freedoms of citizens of Belarus that are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the laws and international obligations of the state. [4] Thus, the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus has established one of the fundamental human rights - the right to adequate food. The right to food, having a universal character, is closely connected with other civil, political, economic, social, cultural, environmental rights, and is important both in times of peace and in wartime.

But there could be situations when people, regardless of their actions, their living conditions and the environment get deprived of their rights and cannot exercise their rights and obligations in full anymore. In this case, the person becomes «vulnerable.» And if the state declares a category of citizens to be “vulnerable”, it is obliged to provide them with adequate assistance. It is believed that the larger categories of «vulnerable» people, the more civilised is the state. The category of «vulnerable persons» for various reasons may include women, children, persons with disabilities, retirered persons [pensioners], refugees, minorities and others. It seems that the category of «vulnerable persons» can be infinitely large, as in every country there are people that need more social support and protection. There are a number of problems related to implementation of the right to adequate food of «vulnerable persons», among which are: unbalanced nutrition, food supply infringement for economic reasons; problem of the physical limitations of the right to food regarding the persons who are in the medical, penal and other institutions, refugees.

Evidently, the problem of safety of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is also relevant for the Republic of Belarus. Currently, the GMOs are not produced in the Republic of Belarus on an industrial scale but they are common in the market. Imports of genetically modified foods in our country – if they meet certain requirements - is not prohibited. But the impact of genetically modified foods on human health and the body has not yet been determined. Everyone has the right to choose either to eat genetically modified foods, or avoid them. The person buying such foods is consciously making such a choice. However, there are some categories of citizens who, because of their social status, location or age cannot do such a choice. This category of people, as a rule, includes children enrolled in educational institutions (pre-school, general education establishments,

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etc.); persons permanently or temporarily residing in institutions of social services (child care centers, social shelters for children and adolescents, special homes for single elderly persons, etc.); persons undergoing treatment or rehabilitation in health care institutions (hospitals, clinics, sanatoria and health resorts, etc.); persons on active duty in military service; imprisoned persons (in corrective labour colonies, prisons, etc.). The above-mentioned categories of people have no choice but to eat the food offered to them by the institution in which they stay. In some cases, these citizens do not know (do not think) about the composition of a product. Very often, due to age-related, mental or physical limitations or social status of such persons, they cannot demand information about the quality of the food products they consume, and some because of their [intellectual] development are not even aware of the existence of the GMOs. Because the absolute safety of genetically modified foods for human health has not been proven, the purchase of such products by the aforementioned institutions in order to use them preparing the meals for the persons residing in these institutions is unacceptable and violates their constitutional rights. Therefore, it is necessary to exercise proper control over the quality of the nutrition of such persons. The food served in this kind of establishments is subject to regular control by inspection agencies – local Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations, Control and Audit Offices (KRU), etc. However, it should be underlined that the checks are selective. These organisations cannot do them every day. The chief of the respective institution is personally responsible for the quality of food in them.

Belarusian legislation on the GMOs is relatively tough. The Republic of Belarus has ratified many international conventions (such as the Cartagena Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters Relating to the Environment). In addition, national legislation is evolving, as well. Thus, the Law of the Republic of Belarus «On the Safety of Genetic Engineering» (2006) requires monitoring [of respective activities] and introduces responsibility for violation of legislation on the safety of genetic engineering activities. Nonetheless, national legislation governing the procedure of staying the above-mentioned categories of persons in these institutions does not contain provisions which would allow to implement the right to health in the field of nutrition of vulnerable categories of persons.

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Given the above mentioned circumstances, in order to clarify the legal basis for implementation and protection of the right to adequate food, we consider it appropriate to include these issues in the curriculum of the academic discipline «Agrarian Law»

References1 Всеобщая декларация прав человека 1948 года. – Минск :

ПРИНТКОРП, 1999. – 30 с.2 Международные акты о правах человека: Сборник документов.

М.: Норма-Инфра – М, 1998. – 784 с.3 Замечание общего порядка № 12, содержатся в документе

E/C.12/1999/5, (двадцатая сессия, 1999 г.) [Электронный ресурс]. – 2015. – Point of access: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/russian/gencomm/Repcomm12s.html – Date of access: 15.10.2015.

4 Конституция Республики Беларусь 1994 года (с изменениями и дополнениями, принятыми на республиканских референдумах 24 нояб. 1996 г. и 17 окт. 2004 г.). – Минск: Амалфея, 2005. – 48 с.

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R.N. Masharov,Lecturer

Academy of Public Administration underthe Aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus (Minsk)

Methods of mainstreaming human rights components in practical exercises of the

courses “Housing law” and “Commercial law”


Human rights and their interpretation by supranational structures are legal theoretical basis of problem- (practice-) focused training of lawyers. At the core of this training is the so-called competence-based approach in the system of legal education. This approach aims to make the student develop a set of competencies that are in demand first of all by the employer. Therefore, this approach involves connecting competencies required of lawyers with the National Qualifications Framework (which is still being established in the country), standards of legal profession (non-existent at all) and training programme for lawyers. A special place is given to the so-called unique “academic” (university-related) competencies that are defined in each institution. “Academic” competencies reflect the ability of their holder to address professional (close to scholarly) problems through analytical assessment of scientific achievements (doctrine).

Meanwhile, this model reflects increase in the degree of “obligatoriness” of mastering a certain set of competencies: required minimum (National Qualifications Framework) + standard set (professional standards) + wished ideal (a set of “academic” competencies in the curricula).

Linking professional legal competencies with the human rights theory find its reflection at the level of “academic” competencies, when a lawyer rather than limit himself to analysis of legislation, looks for a balance of interests of the law subjects on the basis of doctrinal approaches to its interpretation.

In this regard, the main task of a professor or lecturer who supports formation of the academic competencies of students in the disciplines “Housing Law”and “Commercial Law” is to design a training course so that they get an opportunity to deal with a situation in which solving a case / problem will not only require using the skills of analysis and application of

Masharov R.N. Methods of mainstreaming human rights components in practical exercises of the courses “Housing law” and “Commercial law”

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legislation but also offering a variant of a decision on the basis of theoretical approaches to legal regulation of a legal institution.

For example, teaching the discipline “Commercial Law” I urge my students to consider the following incident:

“A. asks for a consultation “about specifics of conducting entrepreneurial activity by a public association through its participation in formation of commercial partnerships [khozyaistvennoe obshchestvo].” A public association wants to be one of the participants (founders) of a limited liability company to be created, and it will have a share in its authorised capital which amounts to 20%, other founders of the commercial partnership are natural persons. All revenues from participation in the commercial partnership will be spent by the public association for the statutory objectives.”

To solve the problem students are urged to apply the legislative norm concerning non-profit organisations which restricts their right to engage in entrepreneurial activity. The norm is an assessment-based one, and the decision on admissibility of entrepreneurial activities by non-profit legal persons entirely depends on the law enforcer. Therefore, students are asked the question about their version of the interpretation of national legislation. Usually, the legal interpretation at this stage ends because of blurred wording and lack of references to legal doctrine, and, a fortiori, to international legal norms, in the decisions of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of the Republic of Belarus.

To substantiate their legal position at the level of “academic” competencies, students are asked to use the legal interpretations of Art. 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 22 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Art. 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and establish their own position on their basis.

The situation is similar with the discipline “Housing Law.” Students are asked to consider an incident in which an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs enters the home of a citizen without his or her consent. As in the first case, the reasons for such intervention are fixed by the legislator, but their application is based on an assessment. The case involves legal interpretation of the prohibition of interference in private and family life, inviolability of home, secrecy of correspondence and protection against illegal encroachments on honor and reputation. As in the first example, the legal interpretation ends, at best, with the norms of law authorizing the personnel of law enforcement agencies to enter homes. The legitimacy of their application is not analyzed at the theoretical legal level. That is, the

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connection between interpretation of national legislation and universal legal categories is mostly lost on students.

At the same time, the Criteria for evaluation of learning activities of students in higher education institutions on a ten-grade scale – mandatory for use in universities - actually require the skills of such interpretation in issuing “9” and “10” grades.

These criteria require of the teacher to develop the tasks that would allow [the training] to reach the level of formation of academic competencies. It entails significant resource costs. Furthermore, structuring of a training course aimed at supporting formation of the students’ competencies – from basic to academic – also requires time and financial costs.

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L.E. Mazhayeva, Senior Lecturer,Department of theory and history of state and law

Educational Establishment «Francisk Skorina Gomel State University (Gomel)

Mainstreaming of the concept of human rights in academic discipline «Financial law»


The concept of human rights occupies a prominent place in modern science. Scholars of various countries and scientific schools conduct research in this area. But it is not enough to engage only in the theoretical development of the concept. It is also important to mainstream the concept of human rights in the taught legal disciplines. Let us in more detail discuss the methodology of mainstreaming human rights in an academic discipline like financial law.

In recent years, the legal regulation of financial relations is one of the most important and urgent tasks of the state in social, economic and political sphere. One of the objectives of this academic discipline is to study the financial legislation of the Republic of Belarus and its practical application.

While teaching the subject «Fundamentals of Tax Law» in a seminar, teachers should point out that taxation restricts such economic human right as the right to property, and characterise relation between tax legislation and guarantees for protection of the right to property. To do this, the teacher can invite students to stage a discussion on the compatibility of such a form of restriction of the right to property as taxation with international and national human rights standards. The discussion shall include analysis of the public law-related essence of the constitutional duty to pay state taxes, duties and other payments, the students are also invited to define the limits of restrictions on the right to property in the sphere of taxation.

While dealing at the seminar with the issue of forced collection of taxes and dues (duties), the teacher shall elaborate on such moot questions as indisputable procedure of collecting taxes, dues (duties) and fines from organisations in contrast to the judicial procedure provided for individuals, its compliance with the constitutional guarantees of property rights. At the end of the discussion, the participants come to the conclusion that the right to property is not absolute and does not belong to the rights which cannot

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be restricted under any circumstances. Hence, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, it may be restricted in cases prescribed by law in the interests of national security, public order, protection of morality, health, rights and freedoms of others.

While considering in a seminar the ways to ensure the fulfillment of tax obligations it is recommended to focus on the issue of maintaining a balance between public and private interests. In this regard, it is proposed to stage a debate on the tax authorities’ right to suspend all debit transactions related to bank accounts of a payer. Usually, most of the participants of this discussion conclude that this right [of tax authorities] will violate the property right of the payer to funds exceeding the sum of tax arrears, and tax authorities should be entitled to stop spending operations to the amount of tax arrears specified in the executive order to suspend operations on the accounts.

Teaching at the lectures and seminars the topic «National and Local Taxes and Fees,» «General Characteristics of Special Tax Regimes,» it is important to analyse the tax legislation provisions which express the state’s special concern for the persons who, because of certain circumstances beyond their control, are not able to compete on an equal basis with others. In particular, I suggest talking about tax privileges for both public associations of disabled persons and organisations employing disabled persons, and for disabled individuals.

With regard to the tax privileges for public associations of persons with disabilities and organisations that employ people with disabilities, the teacher shall pay attention to these categories of privileges as he lectures on questions of value added tax, income tax, land tax, property tax, state duty, because they [the privileges] can serve as one of the economic incentive for an employer to hire people with disabilities. At the seminars, students may be offered the task of calculating the payable taxes of these organisations. An example of the problem: In 2014, Production Unitary Enterprise «Metiz», more than 50% of whose workers are hearing impaired persons, has sold fasteners, furniture accessories, finished textile products for BYR5 bn. The property of the Unitary Enterprise is owned by the NGO «Belarusian Society of Persons with Disabilities.» The company is located in a building in Mogilev. In May 2015, the Joint Venture «Spartacus» has acquired and granted the Unitary Enterprise two computers for a total value of BYR12 million. Identify which taxes shall be paid by these organisations, which benefits shall be applied in these cases?»

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In a practical seminar on «Republican Taxes and Fees,» the students may be invited to fill the following table:

As a theme for a term or graduation paper students may be offered the following topic: «Taxation of Organisations Employing People with Disabilities.»

Name of Tax, Due (Duty)

Tax Privileges

Public Associations of Persons with Disabilities

Organisations Employing Disabled Persons

Individuals with Disabilities

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Elena Perepelitsa, Senior Associate of the Institute of Legal Research,

PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]National centre of Legislation and

Legal Research of the Republic of Belarus

Gender component in scholarly discourse and national law


Before we talk about the gender component in the context of national legal education and discuss in details those legal disciplines in which this component is to some extent already implemented or is just being introduced, I would like to briefly discuss (1) the notion of «gender» as its etymology reaches far beyond the actual law science; (2) how this concept entered scholarly discourse; (3) to designate those aspects where gender disparity becomes artificially problematised; and (4) to note those areas in which gender asymmetry really manifests itself, and therefore, requires a legal response.

The term «gender» has emerged on the basis of movements for women’s rights and feminist movements of XIX and XX centuries. The ideological platform of these movements questioned the dichotomy of human nature and its division into two different forms: male and female. In the period of post-modernism and value transformations associated with it, the term «gender» came to mean socio-cultural gender (social construction of gender), differentiated from the biological sex. There is no single view of the nature of gender. On the one hand, it is a mental construct that is used to differentiate between biological and socio-cultural functions of sex. On the other hand, it is a social construct shaped by traditions which historically developed in a particular society.

Currently, there are numerous gender theories which have their own interpretations of the term “gender” in its relation to the term “sex”. Each of these theories in its own way defines the binary opposition of the masculine and the feminine, and offers its own ways to overcome it. Nevertheless, one of the first definitions of the term «gender» coined by Ann Oakley seems to be relevant to the entire humanitarian knowledge. According to Oakley,

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«gender» is the subject of culture correlated with social differentiation into masculinity and femininity.

The concept of «gender» entered the scholarly discourse through linguistics, history, sociology, and then it was adopted by psychology, economics, political science and other sciences, and now it has become interdisciplinary. Although law science is the area of the humanities which accepted the gender component later than other areas, traditional law science can not be rebuked for ignoring a gender perspective and underestimating the gender dimension of reality. Organically linked to the very essence of the law (close but not identical with gender [equality]) the principle of legal equality is included in the law-developing regulatory processes and normative form of its being is embodied in legislation. Universal general democratic principle of equality has not exhausted its potential and impact on genesis of law. The state fulfills its mission to guard the constitutional principle of equal rights and freedoms regardless of sex, implementing it in various elements of the legal status of an individual.

Belarus consistently fulfills its obligations related to its signing of international instruments aimed at achieving gender equality and overcoming discrimination on the grounds of sex, including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979, the resolutions of world conferences on women, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference. The policy of gender equality is implemented through national programmes of action for gender equality. A significant step forward has been made with the recognition of the importance of gender analysis of the Belarusian legislation. However, a number of issues remain unresolved.

Gender perspective adds its specificity to the legal view of the world, filling such concepts as marriage, family, rights of women, relation between the actual and legal equality with additional meaning and content. They begin to sound differently through inclusion into scholarly discourse and mainstreaming of such issues as reproductive rights, somatic rights, including the right to dispose of one’s own body, gender discrimination, legal emancipation of women, etc. However, we must realise that what is postulated as a gender stereotype to be eradicated may in fact be the anthropological and immanent properties and characteristics of men and women that determine the specifics of their legal status. It is no coincidence that labour, family and pension law are structured primarily taking account of the priority of family and women’s identity, and it is a particular

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manifestation of the principle of legal equality enshrined in the Constitution. To insist that it is one of the gender stereotypes to be eradicated and to eliminate them would amount to deconstruction of the traditional way of life. Achieving full gender equality by ignoring the natural identity is hardly possible. The national system of law and legislation in this part is based on consolidating the traditional gender roles.

At the same time there are areas in which the overcoming and eliminating gender stereotypes are justified, necessary and urgent. In constitutional law – it is the actual inequality of women in access to management, power structures, opportunities to participate in political activities; in social sphere – it is discrimination against women which is manifested in employers’ unwillingness to employ them, marginalisation of women who find themselves in difficult circumstances, formal character of some benefits; in law enforcement – it is ensuring access to justice, protection from domestic violence, as well as the ongoing criminal policy and the high proportion of women among prisoners.

Thus, many legal contradictions and asymmetries, actually existing in the dichotomy of the sexes, can be resolved by mainstreaming the principle of gender equality into national law. But the gender approach has limits to its use, and that should be reflected in the [curricula of] national legal education.

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E.V. RechitsSenior Lecturer


Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the discipline “Prevention and

eradication of corruption”


Corruption is a complex and multi-dimensional social phenomenon that has a negative impact on all spheres of life of the individual, society and state. Public danger of corruption increases when corruption is associated with other types of illegal activity.

In order to help future specialists form a correct approach to identifying and addressing the problems associated with corrupt practices, as well as in order to contribute to formation of the legal state [Rechtsstaat], university students are taught the discipline “Prevention and Eradication of Corruption.” After mastering the discipline “Corruption and Its Social Danger,” the student shall know legal grounds of state anti-corruption policy established by the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Combating Corruption,” which aims to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens and public interests against the threats arising out of corruption; basic provisions of the Belarusian legislation which deal with corruption in the society; ways to ensure prevention, detection, suppression and disclosure of offenses that create favourable conditions for corruption and corruption-related offenses; be able to correctly interpret and apply legal norms to specific life circumstances; [be able to] put into practice theoretical knowledge gained by studying the discipline, and develop in his or her mind aversion to committing corruption-related offenses; possess knowledge of normative legal acts related to the issue of corruption; [know the] ways of realization of his or her rights and fulfillment of his or her duties in different spheres of life in accordance with law.

In accordance with the developed and approved curricula and programmes, study of the discipline “Prevention and Eradication of Corruption” covers the following topics affecting aspects of human rights and gender equality: “The Concept of Corruption, Its Socio-Economic and Legal Aspects,” “Causes

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of Corruption and Ways of Its Prevention,” “Fight against Corruption,” “Corruption-Related Offenses,” “Corruption in Higher Education Institutions.”

Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality components in the discipline “Prevention and Eradication of Corruption” is done by:

• including relevant issues for discussion (for example, corruption as a threat to the constitutional and human rights and freedoms, state organs and other government agencies involved in the fight against corruption, and their powers; opportunities for citizens’ participation in combating corruption; guarantees for individuals who contribute to exposing corruption; lecturer and university student as subjects of corruption offenses) into plans of lectures and seminars;

• using concrete examples of judicial and administrative enforcement practice to illustrate theoretical material (in particular, to illustrate the norm that the subject of the bribe taking may only be an official which is recognised as such in accordance with Part 4 of Article 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, the following example is brought forward. As established by the sentence of the Court of the Soviet District of Minsk, the director of the tunnel unit of the GSP “Minskmetrostroy” Mr. Sh., acting under a special power of attorney granted to him by the director of the GSP, rented premises and was subsequently convicted under Part 2 of Art. 430 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus for taking bribes. By the decision of the Judicial Board on Criminal Cases of the Minsk City Court the sentence was modified, and the actions of Sh. were reclassified due to the fact that the conclusion and termination of agreements on the lease of premises do not fall within the exclusive competence of the director of the tunnel unit, and therefore, the defendant is not a subject in obtaining a bribe in legal relations related to rental of premises);

• conducting discussions on relevant topics (such as “Death Penalty as a Punishment for Corruption,” “Public Control as a Means of Preventing and Combating Corruption”);

• organization of games (simulation of interviewing candidates for a position of a public servant; imitation of a meeting of an anti-corruption commission, etc.);

• conducting trainings (drafting notice to be sent to the immediate supervisor to inform about any conflict of interests; drafting of a commitment of a state official, etc.);

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• solving practical problems (for example, Mr. S. was detained for disrupting public order by police patrol. Narcotic substance - opium poppy straw - was detected during the inspection of S’s personal belongings. Trying to avoid criminal liability for possession of drugs S. offered a bribe police officers. Qualify the actions of S.);

• solving test tasks (e.g., the citizen of the Republic of Belarus has a) the right; b) the duty; c) no right to assist state agencies engaged in fight against corruption; a state official: a) has the right personally or through authorized representatives, b) has the right only through an authorized person, c) has no right to engage in entrepreneurial activity;

• assignment of relevant subjects to students to make presentations on them (“Basic Forms of Corruption in Higher Education Institutions,” “International Cooperation of the Republic of Belarus in the Sphere of Struggle Against Corruption,” etc.) etc.

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Rechits E.V.Senior Lecturer


Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the

discipline “Environmental law”


Environment for the human beings as a biological species is its habitat. Environmental protection and rational use of natural resources are strategic policies of Belarusian government. Modern conditions impose new requirements on legal regulation of relations in environmental sphere.

In order to expand the system of knowledge which future specialists shall possess about characteristics and mechanism of legal regulation of public relations in the field of environmental protection, natural resource management and environmental safety, as well as to promote the development of independent legal thinking, broad-mindedness and professional [competence], the students are taught the discipline “Environmental Law.” As a result of learning the discipline “Environmental law” the student shall know the legal grounds of state policy of the Republic of Belarus in the field of environmental protection, main provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Belarus on protection of environment and use of natural resources; be able to correctly interpret and apply the legal norms regulating economic and other activities in natural resource use, analyse different situations, including judicial court practice in the field of environmental protection and use of natural resources to find and apply the necessary legal standard.

In accordance with the developed and approved curricula and programmes, the study of the discipline “Environmental Law” covers the following topics affecting aspects of human rights and gender equality: “Citizens’ Status in Environmental Law,” “Right of Ownership to the Components of Environment”, “Right of Nature Resource Use,” “State Management in the field of Nature Resource Use and Environmental Protection,” “Responsibility in the field of Environmental Protection and Nature Resource Use,” and others.

Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality components in the discipline “Environmental Law” is carried out by:

Rechits E.V. Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the discipline “Environmental law”

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• including into plans of lectures and seminars relevant issues to be discussed (for example, constitutional environmental rights and duties of citizens, rights and duties of public associations operating in the field of environmental protection, legal status of public inspector for environment protection);

• using concrete examples of judicial court and administrative law enforcement practice to illustrate theoretical material (in particular, to argue that actions of a person who took possession of the trees that had been cut down and prepared for storage, sale or export by other persons, in practice were properly qualified as theft of property, the following example is used: the prosecuting party and the Court of Khoiniki District following Part 2 Art. 205 Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus qualified so the actions of S., who by prior agreement with another person had secretly stolen 18.35 cubic meters of industrial oak wood, harvested and owned by Khoiniki Forestry Establishment);

• conducting discussions on relevant topics (such as “Payments for Nature Resource Use as an Element of the Economic Mechanism of Environmental Protection,” “Public Control as a Means of Preventing and Combating Offenses against Environmental Security and Environment”);

• organisation of business games (“one against all”, “brain-ring,” etc...); conducting trainings (for example, drafting a claim for damages caused by an offense against the environmental security and the environment; drafting of the job description for an ecologist at an enterprise);

• solving practical tasks (e.g., Mr. P., Mr. V., and Mr. Sh. by prior agreement and without proper authorization, have illegally shot two deer in the tract “Omel’yanov Khutor” of the Mikhalin Forestry Section of the Pruzhany Forestry Establishment; and by that they caused damage to the environment through illegal hunting of two wild animals. On which basis and to which kinds of legal liability Mr. P., Mr. V. and Mr. Sh. may be brought?);

• solving test tasks (e.g., which of these rights are natural: a) right to receive, store and disseminate complete, reliable and timely environmental information; b) right to healthy environment; c) right to compensation for damage caused to life, health and property as a result of the impact on the environment; d) right to form associations that operate in the field of environmental protection. In regard to environmental protection citizens shall: a) comply with

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the requirements in the field of waste management; b) comply with hunting and fishing rules; c) carry out public control in the field of environmental protection; d) compensate the damage caused by their actions to the environment);

• assignment of relevant subjects to students to make presentations on them (“Right to Water: Methods, Forms and Types,” “Legal Regulation of Commercial and Recreational Fishing,” etc.); etc.

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K.D. Savitskaya, Master of LawsPolotsk State University (Novopolotsk)

Human rights issues in the disciplines Civil law, International private law, Labour law,

Legal service in a firm


Human rights education is an important task for all mankind. Human rights and freedoms can only be implemented if people are aware of their rights and know how to use them, as well as understand mechanisms of their protection. An important component of human rights education at the university involves providing friendly, attractive and tolerant atmosphere in the course of learning. One way to achieve this is to teach students to work together in small, constantly changing groups, and so provide them with the skills of teamwork, experience of mutual understanding, tolerance and solidarity. The main task of a modern approach to teaching the academic disciplines which involve the subject of individual rights and freedoms, is to transfer a certain amount of knowledge to students, as well as to influence their way of thinking. Because of this, teaching of human rights subjects requires a change in strategy and tactics in form of lectures and question-answer sessions at seminars. The most successful way of transmitting human rights knowledge to students involves using active teaching methods aimed at developing skills and abilities of critical thinking as well as abilities to take non-standard creative decisions. Interactive methods can engage not only the consciousness of man but also his feelings, emotions, will power, i.e., they include in the learning process «the man in his entirety.» This method helps to increase the percentage level of the effectively learned material. Results of a study, conducted on this issue in the 1980s by the National Training Centre (Maryland, USA), are presented in the table called the «Pyramid of training.»

Human rights issues can be introduced into the courses «Labour Law,» «Civil Law,» «Private International Law,» «Legal Service in a Firm» through the following non-formal education methods: work in small groups, Oxford debates, gallery, mock trials, role play, collage, movie making, viewing and discussing videos, etc.

Savitskaya K.D. Human rights issues in the disciplines Civil law, International private law, Labour law, Legal service in a firm

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Let’s illustrate the listed interactive methods with regard to specific academic disciplines. As part of the course «Labour Law» a human right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable work conditions and to protection against unemployment, the right to equal pay for equal work without any discrimination, the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring a dignified existence for himself and his family, the right to form trade unions and join trade unions for the protection of his or her interests, the right to reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay should be considered. To discuss these issues, the method of mock courtroom can be used. The case materials of the European Court of Human Rights can be used to prepare these classes. For example, a case of discrimination in the workplace because of sex change (Tamara Lusardi against the US Defence Department http://transgenderlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/EEOC-Lusardi-Decision.pdf).

Private international law covers a wide range of human rights. For example, studying natural persons as subjects of private international law, it is possible to consider issues of discrimination by conducting a role-playing game which discusses the categories of «discrimination,» «stigma» and «biases.» Under the game rules its participants are asked to help a young man in need of money to pay for education find tenants for the four rooms that he is going to rent. Students are given a list of 13 applicants who differ in their faith, nationality, views, have disabilities, some of them are old or face a difficult financial situation and some live in a same-sex marriage. After the game a discussion is held.

Within the discipline “Private International Law” students study a number of conventions and international treaties on human rights. To achieve effective learning of material the so called «jigsaw» method can be applied [1]. This method helps students obtain a large amount of information in a short time, it serves as a tool which helps solving complicated problems requiring specific knowledge.

To adapt the theoretical material on human rights within the discipline “Civil Law” students are assigned as homework to make working in small groups a video up to five minutes long. In the course of teaching this discipline, students are asked to discuss with respect to the curriculum such human rights as the right to life, the right to liberty and security, right to equal protection against any discrimination, right to free movement and residence, right to citizenship, right to marry, right to own property alone as well as in association with others, and others.

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As part of the course «Legal Service in a Firm,» students are asked to discuss the issue of discrimination at work, using one of the following methods: Oxford debates, debates using the methodology of argumentation of own position PRES (this methodology includes four elements - point of view, reason, example, summary) or «Take your position» method.

References1. Cialdini, R. Psychology of influence // [Electronic resource]. - 2015. - Access: http://azps.ru/hrest/88/7368098.html - Access Date: 10/20/2015.

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Shakhnovskaya Irina, Master in Laws,PhD Candidate at the Belarus State University (Minsk)

Sexual minorities as subjects of Constitutional law

(Constitutional Law of the Republic of Belarus, Constitutional Law of Foreign Countries)


Contemporary realities prove that the standard list of subjects of constitutional law no longer fits prevailing practice. Western trends, in particular, indicate involvement of «new» subjects in the constitutional process. Among the latter, in our opinion, we can safely name sexual minorities, as evidenced by law enforcement. The latter claim (can claim) to have their rights perceived as constitutionally significant issues.In many foreign countries, the constitutional right of sexual minorities to hold meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, etc. is actively implemented. For instance, in 2013 the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania ordered Vilnius City Municipality to allow a march of sexual minorities on the central Gediminas Avenue. According to the court, the local authorities «have not proved the need in this case to limit the right to freedom of assembly.» A little earlier, on October 1, 2011 Moscow city authorities (Russian Federation) allowed a rally organised by various sexual minorities.In 2009, representatives of sexual minorities held a march in Washington demanding from the government to change its policy in relation to military service regulation, i.e., to provide them with opportunities for free fulfillment of their constitutional duties. There are many examples of this kind.In European countries, legal basis for implementation of the constitutional right of sexual minorities to freedom of assembly is established by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter - the European Convention). For example, Part 1 of Article 11 of the European Convention declares that «everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.» This provision means that the right of assembly is guaranteed to

Shakhnovskaya I. Sexual minorities as subjects of Constitutional law [Constitutional law of the Republic of Belarus, Constitutional law of foreign countries]

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all, including the persons belonging to sexual minorities whose views are not popular. The court rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter - ECHR) shows that sexual minorities have recourse to their constitutional right to appeal to the court for protection of their violated rights. Thus, on May 12, 2015, the ECHR ruled that Georgia had violated Article 3, 11 in conjunction with Article 14 of the European Convention with regard to peaceful demonstrations of sexual minorities.Emergence of scholarly interest in sexual minorities as subjects of constitutional law in the Republic of Belarus is explained, in our view, by the emergence of the term «somatic rights» coined by the Russian lawyer V.I.Kruss, who extracts them from his belief in the right of every person to freely dispose of his body.The Republic of Belarus is a member of the Council of Europe, and therefore the European Convention is not a source of law on its territory, and the rulings of the ECHR are not considered «standard.» Meanwhile, the sphere of issues related to the concept of «discrimination» grows due to the processes of globalisation and integration of political and legal systems.Belarus currently faces a major problem as it has to choose between harmonisation of the Belarusian legal system with pan-European legal space and protection of its own constitutional values.On the one hand, the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - the Constitution) «allows» to consider sexual minorities as the subjects of constitutional law. Namely, Part 1 of Article 2 of the Constitution proclaims an important norm concerning man’s place in society and the state, «Man, his rights, freedoms and guarantees for their attainment manifest the supreme goal and value of society and the state.» Commenting on the contents of this principle, professor G.A.Vasilevich emphasizes that «activities of the state, its agencies and officials should take account of human rights and freedoms.» In this case, we shall remember that the constitutional legal category of «rights and freedoms» should be understood in its entirety. That is, they include not only individual human and civil rights, but also collective rights taking into account the «Zeitgeist» (rights of national minorities, sexual minorities, social communities, and others). Furthermore, developing the principle of priority of human rights and freedoms Part 1 of Article 21 of the Constitution proclaims that «the rights and freedoms of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus is the supreme goal of the state.»

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Another important constitutional norm follows from the wording of Part 1 of Article 14 of the Constitution: «The state shall regulate relations among social, ethnic and other communities on the basis of equality before the law, respect for their rights and interests.» In this case, «other communities» possibly mean also sexual minorities, who have equal rights along with other social communities (women, pensioners, the disabled, and others).Law enforcement practice in the Republic of Belarus also provides examples of implementation by sexual minorities of some of their constitutional rights. For instance, in 2001 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus refused to register BLL (Belarusian League of Sexual Equality «Lambda»). This example illustrates an attempt to exercise the constitutional right to association (Part 1 of Article 36 of the Constitution). In 2011, a rally for the LGBT rights has been allowed. The latter case illustrates implementation by sexual minorities of their constitutional right to freedom of demonstrations, enshrined in Article 35 of the Constitution.On the other hand, E.A.Lukasheva notes that «collective rights should never ignore human rights, conflict with them or suppress them. If the collective rights cause infringement of the rights of the individual, then goals, which unite this community, are anti-human and unlawful.» The restriction of constitutional rights of sexual minorities in the Republic of Belarus takes place not in the sphere of legal regulation, but in the sphere of legal practice and it involves impossibility of implementation of their rights in civil society.According to V.I.Kruss, «such objective and reasonable inequalities can and must be resorted to in order to correct de facto inequalities, depending on the circumstances, the scope of their application and context; to establish a fair balance between the protection of the interests of society and respect for human rights and freedoms.»Once again, let me note that «formally established» constitutional equality should not be in conflict with the developed constitutional values.Thus, the preamble to the Constitution contains a provision on its commitment to universal human values, that, in our view, excludes possible identification of the concept of family with a voluntary homosexual partnerhip. This view is supported by part 2 of Article 32 of the Constitution: «Men and women of marriageable age have the right to voluntarily marry and establish a family.»Developing this idea, let’s assume the constitutionality of restrictions on the right of sexual minorities to freedom of opinion and expression (Part 1 of Article 33 of the Constitution). The possibility of the restriction will «follow» from the provisions of Part 1 of Article 23 of the Constitution,

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which establishes that «the rights and freedoms of the individual may be restricted only in cases stipulated by law in the interests of national security, public order, protection of morality, public health, rights and freedoms of others.» In this case, the Constitution establishes morality as a constitutional value to be protected (the Preamble of the Constitution contains a similar provision, which we discussed above). Thus, to recognise the right of sexual minorities to «immoral belief» seems illegal.In conclusion, let me quote the words of V.I.Kruss: «The use of such powers - from the standpoint of constitutional legal thinking - is an abuse of law. The state whose constitution speaks of deference to popular tradition, faith in goodness and justice, the value of morality can not help [such abuse to occur], and should legitimately oppose this kind of law application.»Nevertheless, given the growing interest displayed by scholars of constitutional law and broader public, it is necessary to introduce these issues in curricula of legal academic disciplines.I propose to use the following method for introduction of these issues in such disciplines as «Constitutional Law of the Republic of Belarus» and «Constitutional Law of Foreign Countries»:

1. Revision of the content of lectures’ dealing with the theme «The Subjects of Constitutional Law»;

2. Development of seminars dealing with the subject «Sexual Minorities as Subjects of Constitutional Law»;

3. Inclusion of the topic «Sexual Minorities as Subjects of Constitutional Law» in the list of possible topics of term papers;

4. Studying court rulings, in particular decisions of the ECHR, on such cases during the hours allocated for students’ self-study.

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I.M.Sinitsa, PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]Francisk Skorina Gomel State University (Gomel)

Human rights issues as subjects of term and graduation papers on Criminal law


Criminal law is one of the leading branches of law of the Republic of Belarus, and it provides the legal basis for the criminal policy of the state. That is a system-building branch of legislation which functions as the basis for other branches of law dealing with fight against crime: criminal procedure law and criminal enforcement law. Criminal law as a law branch, and as an area of scholarly knowledge is shaped by diversity of scholarly doctrines and it is expected to represent all the achievements of modern legal culture, which incorporates human rights as its fundamental component.

Human rights gain weight and strength when they become part of the national legal system of a particular state. Hence, in the light of this, familiarisation of future lawyers with universal international standards of human rights and freedoms of man and citizen becomes ever more relevant matter. Knowledge of the fundamental principles of legal liability can not be complete without knowing these standards.

Studies of criminal law in addition to providing students with systemic knowledge of theory of criminal law, the existing penal laws of the Republic of Belarus and their implementation are expected to shape students’ professional legal conscience as lawyers, which is impossible without studying human rights.

It is necessary to give the student a clear idea of the priority of human rights recognised by the international community and, in particular, the Republic of Belarus. The student must learn how to correctly analyse, interpret and apply the penal law provisions in terms of human rights.

The main form of training in the study of criminal law is independent [autonomous] work. In accordance with the curriculum, students attend lectures, seminars, colloquiums, carry out control tasks, write term and graduation papers, do tests to control their mastering of new knowledge.

In our view, an effective method in achieving the planned objectives may be assigning the students such themes for their term and graduation papers [kursovye i diplomnye raboty] which, being related to human rights, will

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focus their research activities on the problems of recognition of these rights by society and state, as well as on their specific implementation.

Writing term and graduation papers is a decisive stage of training of students in a higher education establishment, which involves strengthening and deepening theoretical and practical knowledge in their chosen area of study. Practice shows that many students are studying with great interest the theme of human rights, the incorporation of relevant international norms into national law, the experience of foreign countries in this field.

In 2004-2011, the Faculty of Law of the GSU provided in-depth specialised training on «Organisation of the Law Enforcement Agencies of Belarus toCombatHumanTrafficking.» The first class of the students of this specialisation completed their studies in the summer of 2007, the second - in 2009, the third - in 2011. The students of this specialisation studied the issues of combating human trafficking as an international problem and various aspects of protection of victims’ rights. The students have defended more than 45 graduation theses on these issues.

Currently, law students are offered the following subjects as themes for their term and graduation papers:

«International Instruments Regulating the Legal Status of Women Prisoners»;«International Standards of Justice Administration for Minors»;«International Standards of Treatment of Prisoners»;«Standards and Norms of the United Nations in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice»;«International Standards in the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency,» and others.Working on the above topics the students can concurrently increase their legal literacy, develop skills of both theoretical and practical problems analysis, as well as shape their understanding of human rights as a defining aspect of law enforcement.That contributes to achieving the objectives of the study of criminal law, namely development of the legal thinking of students and their ability to be champions of law and protection of human rights in their professional activities.

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O.Slivko, Senior LecturerDepartment of Theory and History of State and Law

Brest A.S. Pushkin State University (Brest)

Experience of teaching human rights concept in the Brest A.S. Pushkin State University

International Law, Public International Law


In Belarus, the concept of human rights has become an integral part of the legal system and is now incorporated in the various fields of Belarusian law. The rights and freedoms of man and citizen are recognised and guaranteed in accordance with universally recognised principles and norms of international law and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.

The [state] educational standard and curricula of the Law Faculty of the Educational Establishment «Brest A.S. Pushkin State University» include teaching its students the academic discipline «Public International Law.» The curriculum of this discipline also deals with integration of international law in the national [legal] mechanism of the Republic of Belarus. Among the key topics are the concept of human rights and freedoms and mechanism of human rights protection. Until 2009, students of the Law Faculty of the EE «Brest A.S. Pushkin State University» learned the disciplines «Human Rights Law» and «International Protection of Human Rights,» which directly dealt with the entire range of issues related to the concept of human rights and gender equality. Currently, issues of these disciplines are included in the training courses «Constitutional Law» and «Public International Law.» Undoubtedly it has reduced the opportunities for a detailed study of the concept of human rights, as the curriculum allots just a few hours to the study of these questions. During this time, the student can master only the basic concepts. But the study of human rights includes not only consideration of the main categories and concepts but, above all, it forms the humanistic worldview of students, makes them share the ideas of liberty, develops their sense of self-respect, civic responsibility, a deep awareness of both their rights and responsibilities, and inalienable rights and interests of others.

Slivko O. Experience of teaching human rights concept in the Brest A.S. Pushkin State University [International law, Public international law]

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In the course of teaching the human rights concept as a part of the course «Public International Law» at the Law Faculty it became apparent that the main and the biggest challenge is to convince law students that human rights have not only a narrow legal focus. Human rights must be considered taking into account their social, economic, cultural and political significance. Human rights affect every aspect of our lives. And it is violation of human rights which generates almost all the problems of the modern world: violence, poverty, globalisation, environment [pollution], economic inequality and lawlessness, not to mention the wars and conflicts.

To study legal materials in seminars, the active forms of students’ activities are applied. These include students’ independent work with texts of different sources; writing essays; comparison of the standards of various legal documents; consideration of jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights; problems solving; debates and discussions; writing term papers and graduation papers on human rights issues; holding a brain-ring games on human rights in international and national law.

Business games have a special place in the learning process. For example, the simulation of the UN General Assembly session on human rights issues. In order to successfully participate in the game, students thoroughly study the position taken by the country they have to represent, items of the agenda, main activities of the United Nations on the simulated problem; they draft a report, a resolution; study basic information resources.

The independent work fosters the students’ aspiration and ability to think independently, to navigate in a new situation, to find their approach to solving a new problem, a method of obtaining knowledge, independence of opinion. First of all, the content of independent work tasks shall stimulate the students’ respective autonomous activities, the degree of which may vary.

Since 2011, the students’ Study Group [circle] «Modern Problems of Human Rights,» led by me, is functioning at the Department of Theory and History of State and Law. The students of the second to fifth years of study belong to the Study Group. As a result of the work of the Study Group the students have attended scholarly conferences, competitions and contests, and scholarly works done by students have been published in the conference proceedings. Over the past few years, a team of law students of Brest A.S. Pushkin State University took part in the national round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Successful study of human rights issues requires taking into account the following components: permanent work with normative legal documents;

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cognitive interest of students in human rights; autonomous activity of students; active cognitive activities of students in the classroom; transition from the traditional lesson to wide-scale use of discussion, games, problems solving, «round tables.»

Considering all the above, I believe that the decision about teaching human rights issues in higher educational institutions of the Republic of Belarus should result in compulsory and universal introduction [of the respective courses of human rights]. It would be ill-advised and ill-conceived to leave the study of human rights issues to take part in form of optional courses or as part of related disciplines, and not in form of mandatory disciplines. Human rights remain relevant and pressing issues in today’s society, and they will not lose their significance in the near future.

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L.P. StanishevskayaCandidate of Historical Sciences


On gender equality in the Republic of Belarus


Achieving gender equality is one of the seventeen goals of sustainable development proclaimed at the 70th anniversary session of the United Nations [General Assembly] in September 2015. As the starting point of gender equality policy in Belarus we can take 1995, when the Belarusian delegation took part in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. In accordance with the Beijing Platform for Action the Republic of Belarus has committed itself to mainstream a gender perspective in the development of national strategies, plans and programmes for development of the country (p. 21) [1, p.16]. In recent decades, Belarus has implemented some special projects aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women. Every four years, it is developing a national plan of action for the advancement of women. It successfully completed the first National Plan for 1996-2000. [2, p. 413]. The second National Plan (2001-2005) prioritised the problem areas, in which overt and covert forms of discrimination, especially in the economic and political spheres, still persisted. [3] The third National Plan (2008-2010) aimed to eliminate gender discrimination in all areas of public life [4]. The current fourth National Plan (2011-2015) envisages achieving equal rights for men and women in social and economic spheres; ensuring equal access to social protection and health; development of system of gender education; information support of measures aimed at ensuring gender equality, and others.

The implementation of gender policy in the Republic of Belarus is based on the legal, institutional and administrative foundations of gender equality. The government has developed and adopted «Guidelines for State Family Policy» [5], «The Concept of State Demographic Policy and Main Directions of Demographic Policy Implementation» [6], the Republican Programme «Youth of Belarus» for 2006 - 2010 [7] and other projects. National Strategy of Sustainable Socioeconomic Development of Belarus for the Period Until 2020 also envisages achieving gender equality [8, p. 20].

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The Constitution proclaims providing men and women with the equal opportunities to implement their equal rights and freedoms as one of the constitutional principles [9].

As a result of implementation of policies aimed at levelling the social status of men and women in all spheres of life, the country has made significant progress [in gender equality]. Belarus is one of the 27 countries that have reached the target level of participation of women in decision-making. [10] It is significant that one of the candidates for the presidency in 2015 was a woman. The active participation of women in economic and political life should be regarded an objective necessity. This need is dictated by the global socio-economic processes.

Evaluating the positive work done, it should be noted that in real life, the gap between the legal [formal] and effective equality between men and women still persists. The formation of the social status of women continues to be influenced by public stereotypes, shaped to a significant degree by social institutions (media, family, school, university).

Development of gender education system proves to be the main tool in struggle against gender stereotypes. An important component of gender education in institutions of higher education involves training of gender experts in the spheres of law, history, sociology, economics. Some educational institutions of Belarus have already introduced optional courses on the subjects like «Human Rights: a Gender Perspective», «Fundamentals of Gender Knowledge,» «Men and Women in History and the Modern World.» Gender aspects of social policy, the fundamentals of gender knowledge have been included in the curricula of the advanced training courses for managers and specialists of the education system

References

1. Пекинская декларация и Платформа действий. Пекин+5: Политическая декларация и Итоговый документ / ООН. Департамент обществ. информ. – Нью-Йорк: ООН, 2002. – 304 с.

2. О национальном плане действий по улучшению положения жен-щин на 1996–2000 годы: постановление Каб. Министров Респ. Беларусь, 6 июня 1996 г., № 373 // Собр. указов Президента и по-становлений Каб. Министров Респ. Беларусь. – 1996. – № 17. – Ст. 413

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3. О национальном плане действий по обеспечению гендерного ра-венства на 2001–2005 годы: постановление Совета Министров Респ. Беларусь, 7 мая 2001 г., № 670 // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 2001. – № 46. – 5/5888.

4. О национальном плане действий по обеспечению гендерного ра-венства на 2008–2010 годы: постановление Совета Министров Респ. Беларусь, 3 сентября 2008 г., № 1286 //Совет Министров Республики Беларусь [Электронный ресурс]/Совет Министров Республики Беларусь. – Минск, 2008. – Point of access: http://www.government.by/public/shared/rus/solutions/rus_solution102170_1.p df] – Date of access: 16.03.2009.

5. Об утверждении Основных направлений государственной семей-ной 11 политики Республики Беларусь: Указ Президента Респ. Беларусь, 21 янв. 1998 г., № 46 // Национальный центр право-вой информации [Электронный ресурс]. – Point of access: http://ncpi.gov.by/sbornik/sb_text.asp?NR=P39800046. Date of access: 20.01.2006.

6. О Концепции государственной демографической политики и Основных направлениях реализации демографической полити-ки с учетом устойчивого развития экономики в переходный пе-риод: постановление Совета Министров Респ. Беларусь, 24 июня 1998 г., № 996 // [Электронный ресурс]. – Point of access: http://www.pravoby.info/documente/part0/akte0629.htm. – Date of access: 20.01.2006.

7. Об утверждении Республиканской программы «Молодежь Беларуси» на 2006–2010 годы: Указ Пезидента Респ. Беларусь, 4 апр. 2006 г., № 200: в ред. Указа Президента Респ. Беларусь от 12.01.2007 г. // Консультант Плюс: Беларусь. Технология 3000 [Электронный ресурс] / ООО «ЮрСпектр», Нац. центр правовой информ. Респ. Беларусь. – Минск, 2008.

8. Об утверждении Республиканской программы «Молодежь Беларуси» на 2006–2010 годы: Указ Пезидента Респ. Беларусь, 4 апр. 2006 г., № 200: в ред. Указа Президента Респ. Беларусь от 12.01.2007 г. // Консультант Плюс: Беларусь. Технология 3000 [Электронный ресурс] / ООО «ЮрСпектр», Нац. центр правовой информ. Респ. Беларусь. – Минск, 2008.

9. Конституция Республики Беларусь // Национальный реестр пра-вовых актов Республики Беларусь. - 1999. - № 1. - 1/0; 2004. - № 188. - 1/6032.

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10. Официальный сайт ООН [Электронный ресурс] / Минск, 2015.— Point of access: http://www.un.org/ru/index.html. — Date of access: 08.11.2008.

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T.S.Taranova, PhD in Law [Doctor of Juridical Sciences], Professor, Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)

Implementation of the right to access to justice in International Civil Procedure


The relevance of the study of the academic discipline International Civil Procedure (hereinafter - ICP) by future lawyers follows from the fact that, in connection with the consideration by the national courts of civil lawsuits involving foreign citizens, stateless persons, foreign organisations, there arises a need for application of special procedural rules relating to representation of persons mentioned above in the procedure, obtaining evidence from another country, execution of court orders and sentences of foreign courts.

In order to successfully master the material of ICP students shall rely on previously acquired knowledge of civil procedure, commercial procedure, civil law, international private law.

It should be noted that the material of ICP is not easily digestible, its specificity is related to the necessity of studying the national legislation and international instruments on international civil procedure. The right of access to justice for foreign nationals and stateless persons is linked with the procedural rights of the above-mentioned persons implemented in the course of hearing the lawsuits involving them. These rights are studied in the theme «The Legal Status of the Foreign Parties of the Civil Procedure.» To understand these issues, one needs to learn what is meant by access to justice, procedural equality of rights of foreign citizens and stateless persons with nationals of the state in which the court is located, which scholarly positions on these issues have been developed, to examine the provisions of international treaties and national legislation.

Freedom of access to courts of justice for foreign citizens and stateless persons, introduction of the principle of equality of their rights in litigation with nationals of the state in which the court is located have been stipulated by numerous international documents (Convention on Civil Procedure (concluded on March 1, 1954) [1] Convention on International Access to Justice (concluded on October 25, 1980) [2]; Minsk Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases

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(concluded on January 22, 1993) [3], Kishinev Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations Concerning Civil, Family and Criminal Cases (concluded on October 7, 2002) [4], and others).

Many international treaties contain norms on free access to the courts for foreign citizens and stateless persons in each of the contracting states under the same conditions established for citizens and persons ordinarily resident in the state. Foreign persons should not be charged to secure paying court costs (cautio judicatum solvi). For example, Art. 14 of the Convention on International Access to Justice stipulates that no collateral and downpayments of any kind shall be required by reason of foreign nationality or the fact that these persons do not have a domicile or residence in the state in which the proceedings are instituted by persons who usually live in a contracting state and who are plaintiffs or third parties participating in proceedings before the courts or tribunals of another contracting state. The same rule shall apply to any payment required of plaintiffs or third parties, or to to secure paying proceedings’ costs.

It is forbidden to demand to secure paying court costs (cautio judicatum solvi) from refugees. According to Art. 16 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees [5] every refugee must enjoy the right to go to court in the same position as nationals, in particular in matters of legal assistance and exemption from payment of court costs (cautio judicatum solvi).

During the training it seems appropriate to give examples of the jurisprudence of international courts of law. Thus, the European Court of Human Rights in its Resolution of 21 February 1975 on the case «Golder v United Kingdom» (application No. 4451/70) [6] expressed its position that the right of access to justice is one of the essential components of the right guaranteed by Art. 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (p. 36 of the Judgment).

Having clarified the provisions of international norms and their application, students can learn the rules of national law, which provides foreign citizens and stateless persons the right to unimpeded access to the courts of law of the Republic of Belarus, and to use in the courts all the civil procedural rights equally with citizens of the Republic of Belarus (Art. 541 of the Civil Procedural Code of the Republic of Belarus [7], Art. 242 of the Commercial Procedural Code of the Republic of Belarus [8]).

Students can learn the provisions of international instruments and the rules of national law at the lectures. The seminars include discusing with the students the issues which concern the right to access to justice and the

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procedural rights of foreign citizens and legal entities, stateless persons in the context of the implementation of these rights.

References1. Конвенция по вопросам гражданского процесса (заключена в г.

Гааге 01.03.1954) // Соб. постановлений Правительства СССР. – 1967. – № 20. – ст. 145.

2. О присоединении Республики Беларусь к Конвенции о между-народном доступе к правосудию: Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 29 окт. 1997 г. № 553 // Соб. декретов, указов Президента и постановлений Правительства Респ. Беларусь. – 1997. – № 31. – ст. 987.

3. Конвенция о правовой помощи и правовых отношениях по граж-данским, семейным и уголовным делам (заключена в г. Минске 22.01.1993) // Ведамасцi Вярхоўн. Савета Рэсп. Беларусь. – 1993. – № 28. – ст. 375.

4. Конвенция о правовой помощи и правовых отношениях по граж-данским, семейным и уголовным делам (заключена в г. Кишиневе 07.10.2002) // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 2003. – № 73. – 2/956.

5. Конвенция Организации Объединенных Наций «О статусе бе-женцев» (Заключена в г.Женеве 28.07.1951) // // Консультант Плюс: Беларусь. Технология 3000 [Электронный ресурс] / ООО «ЮрСпектр», Нац. центр правовой информ. Респ. Беларусь. – Минск, 2015.

6. Постановление ЕСПЧ от 21.02.1975 «Голдер (Golder) против Соединенного Королевства» (жалоба N 4451/70) /Европейский суд по правам человека. Избранные решения. – Т. 1.- М.: Норма, 2000 // Справ.-правовая система КонсультантПлюс: Россия. ВерсияПроф [Электронный ресурс]. – М., 2015.

7. Гражданский процессуальный кодекс Республики Беларусь: Кодекс Республики Беларусь от 11 янв. 1999 г. № 238-З // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 1999. – № 18-19. – 2/13.

8. Хозяйственный процессуальный кодекс Республики Беларусь: Кодекс Республики Беларусь от 15.12.1998 N 219-З // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 2004. – № 138-139. – 2/1064.

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T.S.Taranova, PhD in Law [Doctor of Juridical Sciences], Professor, Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)

Teaching of the disciplines dealing with Settlement of Legal Conflicts in terms of

human rights protection


The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus [1] (hereinafter - the Constitution) establishes the priority of human rights and freedoms in the country, prescribing that the man, his rights, freedoms and guarantees for their attainment manifest the supreme goal and value of society and the state (Art. 2 of the Constitution), and that the provision of the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Republic of Belarus is the supreme goal of the state (Art. 21 of the Constitution).

Provision of human rights and freedoms shall be backed by their protection - ubi jus ibi remedium (where there is a right there is a remedy). Protecting human rights and freedoms is possible both in the judicial and non-judicial procedure. One of the elements of non-judicial protection is alternative dispute resolution. Various types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) - negotiations, including those carried out in the framework of the complaint-based procedure of settlement; negotiations involving a neutral person; as well as arbitration proceedings have been known for a long time, but only in recent years researchers and legislators have paid them their most thorough attention. The ADR gained particular relevance after updating of Belarusian legislation. The parliament included into the Commercial Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus [2] provisions aimed at resolving the conflict by its parties through conciliation procedure, and this Code has also been supplemented by adding to it an Annex regulating complaint-based settlement of a dispute. The legislation regulating activities of arbitration courts has been updated in connection with adoption of the Law «On Arbitration Courts.» The Law of the Republic of Belarus «On Mediation» [3] (hereinafter - the Law on Mediation) has been adopted and entered into force. The procedural rules on mediation after filing a civil lawsuit in court have been added to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Belarus [4].

The emergence of new ideas about alternative ways of resolving disputes and updating legislation in this area contributed to the introduction of

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the new discipline “Principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution” in all institutions of higher legal education. A curriculum of the academic discipline “Settlement of Legal Conflicts through Mediation” to be studied by the students of practice-oriented master’s studies at the BSEU, has been developed. It includes the study of mediation as a means of resolving legal conflicts.

From the methodological standpoint, teaching of these disciplines can include three sets of issues, and each of them can incorporate human rights components.

The first set of issues - general theoretical one - concerns historical moments in the development of the ADR, including examples related to international relations, as well as to the development of law in Belarus. Also, the small number of hours of instruction is allotted to clarification of the questions about the reasons for the emergence of social and legal conflicts, stages of their development, and other issues of conflict studies.

The second set of issues characterises the ADR (mediation) as a legal phenomenon that can ensure protection of human rights, as well as protection of the rights of economic entities not only in connection with the appeal to the court, but also through use of other mechanisms for resolving conflicts. Common traits and differences of the ADR (mediation) and jurisdictional methods of dispute resolution are identified. The circumstances that contribute to its appearance, the need to develop the ADR (mediation) in the modern period are determined.

The following international documents that have shaped formation of the ADR in national states are studied: Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe NR (81)7 on the Ways of Facilitation of Access to Justice (adopted on May 14, 1981), Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe NR (86)12 on the Measures to Prevent and Reduce the Burden on the Judicial Courts (adopted on 16 September 1986), Directive No. 2008/52 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union of 21 May 2008 Concerning Certain Aspects of Mediation in Civil and Commercial Matters, Resolution of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS’ States Members No. 39-14 (adopted in St. Petersburg on November 29, 2013) «On the Model Law «On Mediation (Extra-Judicial Settlement of Disputes)» with the Model Law on Mediation (Extra-Judicial Settlement of Disputes) attached [5, p. 14 , 6, pp. 908-909; 7, pp. 41-42; 8].

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The third set of issues has applied character and involves study of legislation governing specific methods of the ADR and their practical application, identification of legal conflicts affecting human rights which may be the subject of settlement through mediation and other types of ADR, mastering the material on the classification of legal documents used in the ADR, specifics of their preparation, as well as on the procedure and peculiarities of the ADR procedures.

From the Art. 2 of the Law on Mediation follows that the mediation procedure can be used to settle disputes arising out of civil relations, including those related to the entrepreneurial and other economic activities, as well as the disputes arising from work and family relationships, unless otherwise is stipulated by legislative acts or follows from the essence of respective relations.

The mediation may deal with a wide range of disputes arising from civil law-regulated relations, including those related to the need to protect property rights, dignity, privacy, implementation of intellectual property rights, and others.

The mediation procedure can resolve conflicts affecting labour rights which may be associated with suspension of an employee by an employer; with dismissal of workers; as well as demands for reinstatement and compensation for moral damages, amending official reasons for dismissal, recovery of wages for the period of forced absence, and others.

Likewise, mediation can settle family conflicts arising from the human right to respect for one’s private and family life. Such conflicts may involve disputes over divorce, division of property, child support payments, and may be associated with determination of the order of the child’s communication with the non-custodial parent, and others.

The arbitration court may deal with a wide range of disputes arising out of civil law-regulated relations, the parties of which can be both physical and legal persons who have concluded an agreement to submit the dispute to an arbitral tribunal.

References1. Конституция Республики Беларусь 1994 года (с изменениями и

дополнениями, принятыми на республиканских референдумах 24 нояб. .1996 г. и 17 окт. .2004) г. // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 1999. – № 1. – 1/0.

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2. Хозяйственный процессуальный кодекс Республики Беларусь: Кодекс Респ. Беларусь от 15 дек. 1998 г. № 219-З // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 2004. – № 138-139. – 2/1064.

3. О медиации: Закон Респ. Беларусь от 12 июля 2013 г. № 58-З // Нац. правовой Интернет-портал Респ. Беларусь. – 2013.– 2/2056.

4. Гражданский процессуальный кодекс Республики Беларусь: Кодекс Респ. Беларусь от 11 янв. 1999 г. № 238-З // Нац. реестр правовых актов Респ. Беларусь. – 1999. – № 18-19. – 2/13.

5. Солохин, А. Некоторые проблемы понятия «примирение» в на-уке арбитражного процесса и практике арбитражных судов / А.Солохин // Арбитражный и гражданский процесс. – 2009. – № 7. – С. 13–16. С. 14.

6. Рекомендация NR (86)12 Комитета Министров государствам-чле-нам относительно мер по недопущению и сокращению чрезмер-ной рабочей нагрузки на суды, 16 сент. 1986 г. // Права человека: сб. междунар.-правовых док. - Минск, 1999. - с. 908-909.

7. Каменков, В.С. История и понятие посредничества в хозяйствен-ном производстве Беларуси / В.С.Каменков // Арбитражный и гражданский процесс. – 2010. – № 9. – с. 40–44.

8. Постановление Межпарламентской Ассамблеи государств - участ-ников Содружества Независимых Государств N 39-14 «О модель-ном законе «О медиации (внесудебном урегулировании споров)» (Принято в г. Санкт-Петербурге 29 нояб. 2013 г.) // // Консультант Плюс: Беларусь. Технология 3000 [Электронный ресурс] / ООО «ЮрСпектр», Нац. центр правовой информ. Респ. Беларусь. – Минск, 2015.

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Telyatitskaya T.V., PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences],Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)

Some ways of mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in

Administrative Law Disciplines

Administrative Law; Administrative Delict Law and Law of Administrative Procedure


Mainstreaming human rights and gender equality issues in the legal disciplines in general, and in the courses “Administrative Law” and “Administrative Delict Law and Law of Administrative Procedure” in particular, seems to be very pressing matter due to the fact that modern legislation, and therefore - teaching of it – is based on the so-called national approach [obshchegosudarstvennyi], which suppresses the interests of the individual person. At the same time, in accordance with Art. 2 of the Constitution, a person, his or her rights, freedoms and guarantees for their attainment manifest the supreme goal and value of society and state.

In view of this constitutional provision, one of the main tasks of the faculty of law schools and faculties appears to be focusing attention on both human rights and gender equality issues by incorporating the relevant themes into the curricula of disciplines.

That is an especially important matter for administrative law because administrative responsibility is the most common type of legal liability. And, because of its mass character, hearing and decision on cases of administrative offenses and bringing those responsible to justice is going on in a wholesale way. That is, law executive agencies can not or do not want to care about fundamental rights and freedoms of the parties of administrative judicial procedure.

The most revealing is the situation with adherence to the right to protection of the person against whom the administrative procedure is being executed.

According to Art. 62 of the Constitution, every citizen has the right to legal assistance in exercising and protecting his or her rights and freedoms,

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including the right to resort at any time to help of lawyers and other his or her representatives. Caught in a difficult situation, lacking special legal knowledge and skills, a person needs competent assistance of a professional to realise and protect his interests. Violation of the right to protection of a natural person against whom an administrative procedure is being executed, is an absolute ground for cancellation of a decision about administrative penalty imposed on him. However, mechanism of receiving legal aid by parties in an administrative procedure is far from perfect.

It should be noted that in most cases the parties of a procedure do not know, or do not think about their rights to have a defender, and the right to ask for that. In addition, foreign nationals who do not know the laws of the Republic of Belarus also face administrative responsibility. As a result, citizens often can not fully exercise their right to legal assistance.

To more comprehensively familiarize students with the right to legal assistance in administrative procedures, it is deemed necessary to devote a separate lecture (2 hours) and, accordingly, practical exercise (2 or 4 hours) to this issue. Students should learn about the process of providing legal assistance in administrative offenses cases of different categories: who shall do what, which procedural documents shall be prepared for that, what specific rights and obligations shall be explained to the person against whom the administrative procedure is being executed, where, when and how he or she should complain if his or her constitutional right to a defense has been violated. In this regard it could be useful to conduct a business game on administrative procedure.

Another aspect of the human rights issues which should be introduced into the administrative law disciplines concerns the problem of protecting the rights of the complainant in the administrative procedure. Anyone, regardless of age and sanity, can become victim of an offense. At the same time, such person cannot defend his or her own innate rights until he or she reached a certain age (this is an expression of the constant dilemma between legal capacity of a person and his or her capacity to act). Hence, while teaching this topic it is necessary to talk about the possibility to recognise minors and insane persons as injured in an administrative procedure, the need to have present a legal representative of a minor or mentally incompetent victim. Discussion on this topic shall also address some civil law aspects, such as the fact that if a minor is recognised in a civil law procedure as having full capacity to act, it should lead to his or her recognition as having full capacity to act in administrative law, as well; that is, this person must independently exercise his rights and duties as a complainant of an administrative offense.

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And finally, the main topic which is proposed for introduction into the course of administrative delict law and which at the same time includes both human rights and gender issues is the problem of domestic violence and possible protection against it by using the means offered by administrative law. Attention here must be paid to prevention of domestic violence, work with both aggressors and victims, specifics of accountability (not to make things worse), study of foreign experience, etc.

The Department of International Economic Law of the Belarus State Economic University has designed themes of term and graduation papers on all of the problems mentioned above (and not only them), a master’s thesis is being written on them as well.

These issues are expected to form the basis of a new research theme of the department [which will be launched] in order to improve both the legislation in this field and training of law specialists in the relevant sectoral disciplines assigned to the Department.

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Vegera I.V. PhD in Law [Candidate of Juridical Sciences]Polotsk State University (Novopolotsk)

Mainstreaming of human rights aspects in teaching the discipline

«Current Problems of Constitutional Law»

Discipline «Current Problems of Constitutional Law»


One of the main components of the subject of constitutional law are the public relations concerning legal status of the individual in his relations with the state, regulation and development of national and international systems of human rights protection. Hence, it seems logical to incorporate in curriculum of the academic discipline «Actual Problems of Constitutional Law» a wide range of human rights issues which present scholarly problems and possess the largest relevance for the present stage of social development. These issues [of human rights] affect all areas of public relations in the field of constitutional law and function so to say as their «common denominator.» After all, the constitutional law is intended to organise the structure of society and the state with a view to achieving widest possible implementation of human rights and freedoms.

Within the academic discipline «Current Problems of Constitutional Law» the following several topics can be identified as the themes which directly reveal the essential aspects of the human rights concept:Theme: «The Nature and Mechanism of Implementation of the Constitution. Basic Law of the Republic of Belarus in the Context of ConstitutionalModels.»

Studying the issue of «General and Specific Features of the Constitution of Belarus. Possible Ways of its Improvement» includes considering the direct action of the Basic Law, and in particular Section 2 «Individual, Society and the State.» The possibility of direct implementation of enshrined rights and obligations, equal protection of rights and legitimate interests, incorporation of gender equality principle in the Constitution, improvement of forms and methods of the rights’ protection – these are suggested ways of organising various forms of teaching and research work of MA students.

Vegera I.V. Mainstreaming of human rights aspects in teaching the discipline «Current Problems of Constitutional Law»

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Theme 4. «The Constitutional and Legal Status of the Individual: World Experience, Legislation and Practice of the Republic of Belarus. NationalandInternationalProtectionofIndividualRightsToday.»All issues of this theme directly deal with the problematic aspects of the human rights concept, among them:

- The approaches to securing and safeguarding the rights and freedoms of the individual which exist in today’s world.

- The constitutional regulation of sources of individual rights and freedoms.

- Theoretical and practical significance of classifications of human rights and freedoms. Personal, political, economic, social, spiritual and cultural rights. Somatic rights. Liberal (negative) and positive rights.

- General characteristics of the constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual in Belarus: their formalisation in standard legal acts, practice of implementation.

- Restrictions of constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual.- Significance and types of guarantees of constitutional rights and

freedoms of the individual.- Defence of rights and freedoms in the court of law. The role of the

Constitutional Court and other national courts in the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

- The right to appeal to international organisations for the protection of rights and freedoms. The UN Committee on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights: legal status and practice.

- Constitutional duties of the individual.

Studying the theme «Development of Legislative Practice in the Republic of Belarus» includes considering the issue of «Citizens’ Participation in Law-making,» which discusses different kinds of political rights of citizens and their associations.

The developed plans for practice seminars take in consideration the specifics of certain themes related to human rights which require application of respective methodological approaches to the study of educational material. At the same time, MA students are given the opportunity in advance to find and prepare the necessary additional material (legislation, jurisprudence, scholarly papers, statistical data, etc.) to use at practice seminars.

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Inclusion of human rights and gender equality components in the educational process is achieved through the following methods:

- Presentation of theoretical material in the form of lectures and presentations,

- Discussion of problematic issues,- Presentation of a study which MA students have done autonomously,- Writing of essays,- Inclusion of some issues in the ongoing knowledge control tasks. The

following diagnostic tools are used for that: test tasks, problems, split-level control tasks (designed to test knowledge); writing assignments for independent work (focused on analysis and application of knowledge); discussions in the classroom (designed to test knowledge and develop analytical thinking); business games (aimed at mastering of new knowledge and its creative application), and others.

The following forms of work may be cited as examples of methodological tools aimed at integrating human rights aspects in the study of the academic discipline «Current Problems of Constitutional Law»:

- Fulfillment by subgroups of a creative task, which includes two stages:1) Drafting a communications to the Committee on Human Rights (a

complaint to the European Court of Human Rights) concerning a violation of any of the rights by a state;

2) Consideration of a communication (a complaint) in accordance with the established requirements and procedure.

- Analysis of a case of judicial practice according to the plan: admissibility of a complaint; the subject of the complaint; arguments of the parties, assessment of their validity; correlation of the actual situation with the legislation and international instruments; assessment of the judgment.

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Prof. Dr. Dragica Vujadinovic

Usefulness to mainstream gender equality in legal education

Due to the highest value standards of the modern international and national law, which have been based on universal human rights and women`s human rights, introducing the human rights sensitive approach and gender sensitive approach in legal education is of an utmost importance. It serves to the fulfillment of what an essence of contemporary law is - equal respect and protection for each individual. Mainstreaming of gender equality in legal education requires manifold institutional, pedagogical, educational changes.

Educating students of law - the future lawyers, judges, prosecutors, administrative workers, members of parliamentary and governmental bodies - in a gender sensitive manner means the real contribution to the gender mainstreaming. It means a real investment into better legislation, more proper interpretation and implementation of laws.

In the Serbian educational system each Faculty and University decides upon which syllabi and what curriculum has been accepted and implemented. However, «positive intervention from above» could be very useful regarding an improvement of gender sensitive legal education and higher education in general.

Faculties of law should implement all above mentioned mechanisms and procedures which aim at gender equality. Responsible persons/trustee or bodies for gender equality should be introduced; they will monitor female/male proportion in Faculty government, among academics, in electing different bodies.

All textbooks, and syllabi, as well as the general curriculum of the Law Faculty should be reconsidered from the point of how much the presentation and interpretation of legal issues (of law-making and law implementation, of an essence and main aims of different segments of law) has been gender and human rights sensitive (including women`s human rights perspective).

Gender studies should be introduced at all faculties of law. Courses of human rights, including women human rights, should be intensified. Culture of human rights and prevention of any kind of discrimination (including discrimination based on gender) should be intensified at all faculties of law.

Vujadinovic, D. Gender equality in legal education

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Permanent training/education of the whole academic staff in the field of gender equality, anti-discrimination and human rights culture should be introduced.

Gender-responsive budgeting initiatives, as one of key tools of gender mainstreaming, has to be introduced as well. It has to contribute to the main purpose through manifold projects, consisting of issuance of guidelines, training activities (training of monitors, commissioners, trustees, representatives of all relevant political, media, and educational bodies, which are responsible for gender mainstreaming; training of university professors as well as of the primary schools` and high schools` teachers and lecturers); institutional empowerment and networking; building monitoring infrastructure; developing and improving media cover; conducting projects for empirical survey of the content of textbooks, curricula and syllabi from the point of gender equality.

III Law Courses and Gender Equality Aspects - Gender perspective and gender sensitive approach in syllabi and pedagogically speaking has been by rule underdeveloped. All textbooks shall be reconsidered from the point of language. Their contents also shall be reconsidered from the gender sensitive perspective.

Constitutional law textbooks - reconsidering the quality of Constitution from the point of gender equality issue, interrelation of international and national law, and gender sensitive vocabulary.

Introduction to the Jurisprudence textbooks - as the introductory course at legal studies is supposed to help students to understand how law had been made by men and how women were invisible until recently, e.g. to understand that gender neutral legal language in the frame of patriarchal matrix does hide gender inequalities behind declarative universal legal norms. This course shall also stimulate from the beginning of legal studies a gender sensitive approach in understanding creation, interpretation and implementation of law. It shall carefully introduce gender sensitive language. (However, in the best textbook of Introduction to the Jurisprudence, recently published at our Faculty, stays the formulation male is identified with human (it is written «human and female»).

Sociology and Sociology of Law textbooks - it is also introductory course which shall consider family relations, genesis of family, categories of sex and gender, family violence, parents-children relations, social roles, social and cultural factors of both re-traditionalization and emancipation. It shall also include feminist sociology in itself. However, currently it still has been not sufficiently articulated in a gender sensitive way.

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Family Law textbooks - There are different textbooks of family law at our Faculty of Law, the more progressive one from the point of gender sensitivity and one, which has affirmed traditional family as the only legitimate one, which comments the existent (progressive) Family Law regulations against child abuse and use of violence in up-bringing as measures which put into danger the survive of the (traditional) family and also of the country as such!

Criminal Law - Reconsidering issues of criminalization of raped women, studying necessary protocols of systemic coordinated actions of police, social service, judiciary in the case of female torturing behind home walls, consciousness raising of students about how important is sanctioning and systemic prevention of the family violence.

Gender Studies - Until nowadays, there is no strategic plan and initiative of the Ministry of Education and Science in Serbia regarding gender studies courses. Each faculty is autonomous in establishing its curriculum and syllabus. Introducing of Gender Studies happens only when professors initiate them and Faculty governments accept it. At the Law Faculty in Belgrade, we (male professor and I together) implement inter-disciplinary approach. We include into the syllabus the historical-political, social, cultural and legal dimension of the gender issue. We consider also a national, regional, European and international context of the legal regulation and women`s protection, affirmation of gender equality. Especially we pay attention to the protection against violence, human- and sex trafficking.

Topics of Course seminars:Legalization of prostitution, Family violence, Protection of Children from all kinds of abuse, Forms of female subordination, Forms of male discrimination, Patriarchy in Modernity, Re-traditionalization and re-patriarchalization and role of religions, Building gender social roles through up-bringing and education, human trafficking, tabloidization of female social role,..

IV - The Methodology -Gender equality aspects at the course Gender Studies has been included through lectures and discussions; through two debates organized around the topics: 1. In favor of and counter right to abortion, 2. In favor of and counter lagalization of prostitution; through seminar papers which then are discussed in the classroom, through power point presentations of certain

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topics and referential statistical data. Students also prepare discussions based on media reports on gender-based violence and concerning whichever media report viewed upon gender sensitive approach. Discussion on gender relations between students and personal experiences of students have been also discussed.

Gender equality aspects can be and should be considered at all other legal courses, especially at those which have been dealing with family and gender, like Constitutional law, labor and social law, family law, criminal law, sociology of law, criminology. These courses should consider family relations differently from patriarchal matrix, should reconsider all dimensions of studying from the point of gender sensitive approach (especially in cases of rape, female revange killings of violent husbands and partners, sex-trafficking, prostitution, child care, protection of children from violence,....). Again, methodologically speaking, discussions, debates, seminar papers can be included.

V - Concrete examples (ex. case materials, legislation, topics of a course papers).

Legislation:The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia (2006) has not fully

complied with the EU Gender Equality Law. According to Prof. Dr Marijana Pajvancic, the University Professor of Constitutional Law, the following Constitutional provisions have been contestable from the point of gender equality:

• Article 15 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia does not specify the provision about equal opportunities for all from the gender perspective;

• Article 16 does not offer an integrative clause related to the relation between domestic law and international contracts and to the conscience of international contracts with the Constitution and domestic laws;

• Article 18 does not secure a direct implementation of an international law even when Serbia had already ratified international conventions for protection of human rights;

• Article 48 related to basic rights and recognition of differences does not mention gender differences, but only recognition of differences based on ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural identity;

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• Article 49 speaks about forbidding religious, racial and ethnical hatred, but not the one based on gender identity;

• Article 60 considers equal rights of women related to work, but does not specify necessity of equal pay for equal work, and does not offer any solution for an unpaid domestic labor;

• Article 62 speaks in a contradictory way about the right to marriage and family establishing;

• Article 63 speaks in an unclear way about the right to giving birth, in contrast to the Family Law that refers directly to women as possessors of this right.

Law on Gender Equality is adopted in December 2009, and came into force in December 2009. It was written in a compliance with the EU Gender Equality legislation. The clauses which had not been enough clearly articulated from the gender perspective in the Serbian Constitution, in this law have been better articulated and, as already mentioned, in accordance with the EU Gender Equality Law:

• Article 3 of The Gender Equality Law specifies what equal opportunities mean specifically in the case of female individuals;

• Articles 4, 5 and 6 specify indirect and direct discrimination based on gender;

• Article 7 articulates special measures for combating discrimination; • Articles 11 and 17 specify female rights to work, and equal pay to equal

work;• Articles 30, 31, 32, 33 and 36 explicate equal opportunities in education,

sports, culture, political and public life; • Article 47 states extreme urgency for proceedings initiated for

protection from gender-based discrimination; • Articles 48, 49 offer further precisions for criminal procedures related

to the gender based discrimination.

The Law on Gender Equality provides for special measures and programmes for victims of domestic violence that envisage provision of shelters, social, legal and other assistance and a compensation to the victims of violence. Government agencies are responsible for planning, organizing, implementing and financing the measures aimed at raising public awareness concerning the need to prevent domestic violence.

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According to the commentary of the Law on Gender Equality2, special importance has had the fact that this law secures the judicial protection from the gender based discrimination, and also secures sanctions in that respect.

Anti-Discrimination Law, which was also adopted in 2009, essentyially complements the Law on gender Equality.

The quota system is introduced in the amended Law on Electing the Members of Parliament, which proposes that each third MP must be female. However, the amendment according to which the female people’s representative should replace each female resigning MP again did not pass the Parliamentary procedure of adopting the amendments on this law. Of course, it opens a space for manipulations and escaping the rule, that one third of MPs shall be female ones.

Besides the Law on Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law, positive steps forward in favor of female and child protection from violence have been enacted in the amended Criminal Code in 2003, by which the family violence has been sanctioned, as well as non-payment of alimony. Rape in marriage, as well as sexual harassment and human trafficking have been sanctioned by Code. Changes of the Family Law in 2005, followed the same track concerning the family violence crime. Possibility of depriving the parent of his/her parental rights is proposed in cases of misuse of that right, neglect of and violence over own kids.

Labor law differentiates direct and immediate gender-based discrimination. All forms of discrimination, including the one based on gender, are forbidden regarding precodnitions for employment and for choosing candidates, regarding work conditions, education, professional promotion and job advancement, cancelling of the work contract, etc.

Case materials:With an intention to point out the good practice which can serve as an example of proper implementation of existing legislation in Serbia, two verdicts are selected as examples of court decisions which protect women`s rights (both verdicts passed before the adoption of the law of Prevention of Abuse at Work and the Law on Gender Equality):

2 Pajvancic, M., Petrusic, N., Jasarevic, S. Commentary on the Law on Gender Equality (Komentar Zakona o ravnopravnosti polova), Beograd, 2010. pp. 103-123.

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Municipal Court in Uzice, passed a verdict in a civil case on October 9, 2006, on a class action of several women for compensation due to discrimination on gender basis during dismissal and determination of retirement benefits. In explanation of its decision, the Court calls for application of domestic legislation (Art. 13 of the Constitution, Art. 12. and 18. of the Labor Law), but also the international documents, which country is obliged to respect and apply.

There will be mentioned also the cases of violation of equality, taken from the recent practice of the Commissioner for Equality.

In one case the Commissioner confirmed existence of indirect discrimination, not only towards the concrete women who submitted the complain that after coming back from maternity leave was removed to the lower level workplace, but also in the case of other more than 30 women form the same firm. Therefore, the Commissioner for Equality initiated the so-called strategic legal procedure (lawsuit) against this firm, which has still been in a process of decision-making.

The most sound case of gender based discriminatory legislation has been represented by the recently enacted Law on Ways of Determine Maximum employed in the Public Sector, which implied that only women become surplus workers with age of 60 and six months (namely, their previously achieved advantageous right to go to retirement on basis of age has been in this law transformed into discriminatory proposal for diminishing number of employed in the public sector). A month ago Constitutional Court of Serbia announced the temporary suspension of this discriminatory provision - while being opposed to constitutional guarantees against gender-based discrimination and constitutionally guaranteed equal access to workplaces - until the final decision on the constitutionality of this law will be announced. High female professionals - medical doctors, and general public stood against this highly discriminatory proposition, and the Constitutional Court reacted properly just a few days before the Law was expected to come into force.

Сборник статей участников международного учебно-методического се-минара, организованного Институтом прав человека и гуманитарного пра-ва им. Рауля Валленберга (г. Лунд, Швеция) и проводившегося на базе фа-культета права Белорусского государственного экономического университетав г. Минске 30—31 октября 2015 г. Статьи, размещенные в сборнике, представ-лены преподавателями университетов Республики Беларусь, Сербии, Швеции, США по вопросам использования аспектов прав человека и гарантий их реализа-ции при преподавании различных юридических дисциплин.Данное издание ориентировано на преподавателей, аспирантов, магистран-

тов, студентов, обучающихся по юридическим специальностям, специалистовв области прав человека и гендерного равенства, а также иных лиц, интересую-щихся данной проблематикой.

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