On changes in legislation regarding the handling of appeals

Current year has brought certain changes and additions to the handling of applications.

By the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of December 19, 2022 No. 877, amendments have been made to the List of organizations where the BOOK OF REMARKS AND SUGGESTIONS is kept. In this regard, I draw the attention of applicants once again that as of 02.01.2023, the keeping of previously issued books of remarks and suggestions has been discontinued in the prosecutor's offices.

Also, from 02.01.2023, electronic applications are submitted to state bodies and other state organizations, including prosecutor's offices, through the STATE UNIFIED (INTEGRATED) REPUBLICAN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR ACCOUNTING AND PROCESSING OF CITIZENS' AND LEGAL ENTITIES' APPLICATIONS (//обращения.бел).

In this regard, if an applicant sends an electronic application through other communication channels (outside the specified system), such applications will not be registered or considered.

Article 1 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Citizens' and Legal Entities' Applications" (hereinafter referred to as the Law) now stipulates that an ELECTRONIC APPLICATION is an application submitted by an applicant through the system for accounting and processing of applications.

The requirements for electronic applications are contained in Art. 25 of the Law. We would like to remind you once again that documents confirming the authority of the applicants' representatives must be attached in electronic form to electronic applications submitted by them. The essence of an electronic application cannot be set out by referring to Internet resources. The text of the application must be legible. The use of obscene or offensive words or expressions in applications is not allowed.

If the established requirements for electronic applications are not met, they may be left without substantive consideration.

We would also like to draw the attention of applicants once again to the fact that the submission of electronic applications is provided for only within the framework of the aforementioned Law. And the specifics of the prosecutor's offices are such that applications are also considered here within the framework of other legislation (civil, civil procedural, economic procedural, criminal procedural, legislation,

defining the procedure for administrative proceedings), to which the scope of the Law does not apply (Art. 2 of the Law). In such cases, citizens and legal entities must submit written appeals to the prosecutor's offices regarding the protection of their rights and legitimate interests.

Applicants should also remember that responses (notifications) to electronic appeals are also sent through the appeal registration and processing system, except for cases provided for in Art. 25 of the aforementioned Law, when written responses are given (written notifications are sent) – if the applicant requests a written response in their electronic appeal.

For issues related to the functioning of the appeal registration and processing system, please contact the phone numbers listed on the website https://обращения.бел. The resolution of problematic issues concerning the functioning of the system is under the control of the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus.

Deputy Head of the Organizational and Control Department of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office S.L. Zaitseva