Law of the Republic of Belarus On Export Control

Adopted by the House of Representatives November 25, 1997
Approved by the Council of the Republic December 19, 1997

        The Law at hand defines the legal Foundations of the activities of government agencies, legal entities, and physical entities of the Republic of Belarus in the area of export control. In addition this Law regulates the relations which arise in line with the movement of items which are subject to export control across the customs border of the Republic of Belarus and their use.

        CHAPTER 1. General Provisions

        Article 1. Definition of the Terms Used in This Law
        For the purposes of the Law at hand, the basic terms used shall have the following meanings:
        goods - any moveable property;
        exportation - the carriage outwards of items which are subject to export control for permanent disposition outside the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus;
        importation - the carriage inwards of items which are subject to export control for permanent disposition within the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus;
        reexportation - the carriage of previously imported items which are subject to export control and which have not undergone processing out of the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus;
        transit - the movement of items which are subject to export control through the Republic of Belarus between two points of the State border of the Republic of Belarus under customs supervision;
        weapons of mass destruction - chemical, bacteriological (biological), radiological, or nuclear weapons;
        dual-purpose goods - equipment, materials, raw materials, technologies, or scientific and technical information which are used for civilian purposes, but which can be used for the manufacture of armaments, military hardware, and munitions, including weapons of mass destruction and related delivery vehicles;
        technology - information and "know-how" expressed in the form of models, prototypes, drawings, diagrams, designs, instructions, and software products, or in an incorporeal form such as training and technical support (maintenance), which are essential to the development or use of a good.
        Article 2. Concept of Export Control
        Export control shall be taken to mean the establishment and exercise of a permissible procedure for the carriage of items which are subject to export control into the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus, their use, their transit and their carriage out of the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 3. Objectives of Export Control
        Export control shall be carried out within the Republic of Belarus for the purposes of:
        safeguarding the national security and protecting the economic interests of the Republic of Belarus, and;
        meeting the obligations of the Republic of Belarus under international agreements, as well as supporting international efforts aimed at the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons.
        Article 4. Fundamental Principies of the Exercise of Export Control
        Export control in the Republic of Belarus shall be based on the following fundamental principles;
        the performance of the state supervision of the movement of items which are subject to export control across the customs border of the Republic of Belarus;
        the verification of the use of items which are subject to export control;
        the openness and accessibility of information on the manner, rules, goals, and principles of the functioning of the export control system, as well as on the limits of liability associated with the violation of the export control laws of the Republic of Belarus;
        the establishment of lists of items which are subject to export control, as well as countries to which the exportation of these items has been temporarily prohibited or restricted, and
        the harmonization of export control rules and procedures with generally acknowledged international standards and practices.
        Article 5. Purview of the Law at Hand
        The Law at hand shall cover relations in which government agencies, legal entities, and physical entities of the Republic of Belarus take part over the course of engagement in foreign economic activities. This Law shall also be applied in those instances when the actions or the agreements performed or concluded respectively by government agencies, legal entities, and physical entities of the Republic of Belarus outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons, or when such actions or agreements inflict damage on the national security, political interests, and economic interests of the Republic of Belarus.
        The subject Law shall not cover relations which are regulated by patent and copyright rules, with the exception of those instances in which said rights are used by their possessors for purposes of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons.
        If rules others than those contained in the Law at hand have been established by an international agreement of the Republic of Belarus, the rules of the international agreement shall then be applied.
        Article 6. Export Control Laws of the Republic of Belarus
        The export control laws of the Republic of Belarus shall include the Law at hand and other legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 7. Items Which Are Subject to Export Control
        Items which are subject to export control (specific goods) shall be taken to mean:
        goods, technologies, and services specified by international agreements, as well as by the obligations of the Republic of Belarus, which affect international and national security;
        chemical substances (toxins), microorganisms (viruses, bacteria), devices, technologies, and services which may be used to create or produce chemical and bacteriological (biological) weapons;
        goods, technologies, and services related to the nuclear fuel cycle and the production of nuclear materials which may be used to create nuclear weapons and nuclear explosive devices;
        goods, technologies, and services which may be used during the creation of delivery vehicles for weapons of mass destruction;
        weapons of mass destruction and related delivery vehicles;
        goods, technologies, and services with military applications;
        dual-purpose goods, and;
        the results of scientific and technological work, including information, documentation, and soft ware, materialized by any means, which may be used during the creation and production of armaments, military hardware, and ammunitions.

        CHAPTER 2. Procedure for the Exercise of Export Control

        Article 8. Concept of the Export Control System
        The export control system shall be taken to mean the set of rules and expedients aimed at the establishment and utilization of a procedure for engagement in foreign economic operations involving the movement of items which are subject to export control across the customs border of the Republic of Belarus and their use, as well as the set of government agencies ensuring the utilization of this procedure.
        The export control system shall include:
        the establishment of lists of items which are subject to export control with allowance for international approaches in this area;
        the establishment of condition for the exportation of items which are subject to export control to individual countries;
        the licensing of the importation and exportation of items which are subject to export control;
        the granting of state guarantees that dual-purpose goods which have been carried into the customs territory of the Republic of Belarus will be used for their stated purposes and that their reeexportation will only be possible with the permission of the authorized agencies of the country of origin of these goods;
        the performance of pre- and post-licensing inspections in line with engagement in foreign economic operations involving items which are subject to export control, and
        the exchange of information, as well as other cooperation, with international organizations and the export control agencies of foreign nations.
        Article 9. List of Items Which Are Subject to Export Control
        Lists of items which are subject to export control shall be approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
        These lists shall be unclassified and shall be subject to publication following their approval.
        Article 10. Establishment of Special Conditions for the Exportation of Items Which Are Subject to Export Control to Individual Countries
        Items which are subject to export control shall be exported to all countries, with the exception of those nations to which such exportation has been prohibited or restricted in accordance with the international obligations of the Republic of Belarus. A list of nations as well as individual items which are subject to export control that have been prohibited for exportation to these nations, shall be approved by the President of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 11. Licensing
        A standard procedure for the licensing of the importation and exportation of items which are subject to export control, established by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, shall remain in force within the Republic of Belarus.
        The interaction of authorized government agencies in the area of export control, as well as the accounting and control of the execution of the licenses issued, together with the other documents involved in the movement of items which are subject to export control across the customs border of the Republic of Belarus and their use, shall be coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 12. Performance of Pre- and Post-Licensing Inspections of Items Which Are Subject to Export Control
        In line with engagement in foreign economic operations involving items which are subject to export control, pre- and post-licensing inspections shall be performed by the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Republic of Belarus, together with other involved government agencies, in accordance with a procedure established by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 13. Monitoring of the Use of Dual-Purpose Goods
        The Republic of Belarus, in the person of authorized government agencies, shall guarantee that of dual-purpose goods are used for their stated purposes.
        The state monitoring of the fulfillment of obligations by Belarusian importers and consumers under guarantees that imported dual-purpose goods will be used for their stated purposes shall be performed in accordance with a procedure established by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.
        Article 14. Information on Items Which Are Subject to Export Control
        In order to facilitate the performance of the functions with which they have been entrusted, authorized government export control agencies shall have the right to obtain documents and information pertaining to export control issues from government agencies legal entities and physical entities of the Republic of Belarus.
        Documents and information obtained by authorized government export control agencies from government agencies, legal entities, and physical entities of the Republic of Belarus pursuant to the Law at hand shall be used exclusively for export control purpose.
        The officials of authorized government export control agencies shall be prohibited from disclosing and/or transferring the documents (its content) and the information specified in part two of the article at hand to third parties.
        Article 15. Liability for the Violation of the Export Control Law of the Republic of Belarus
        Parties who are guilty of providing inaccurate information in the area of export control, violating the established procedure for the movement of items which are subject to export control across the customs border of the Republic of Belarus, or other export control violations shall be held administratively, criminally, and otherwise liable pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Belarus.

        CHAPTER 3. Final Provisions

        Article 16. Entry Into Force of the Law at Hand
        The Law at hand shall enter into force as of the date of its publication.
        Article 17. Bringing Standard Legal Acts Into Compliance With the Law at Hand
        Until such time as the laws of the Republic of Belarus have been brought into compliance with the Law at hand, the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus shall be applied to the extent that they do not contravene the Law at hand, unless otherwise stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.
        The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus shall, within a period of three months:
        bring the resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Belarus into compliance with the Law at hand;
        ensure that the republican bodies of state administration subordinate to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus review and repeal their standard acts which contravene the Law at hand, and;
        prepare proposals for bringing the legislative acts of the Republic of Belarus into compliance with the Law at hand and submit these proposals to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus in accordance with the established procedure.