The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus directly sets forth the right of everyone to the freedom of associations (Art.36). The Constitution includes a number of other provisions related to implementation of the constitutional right to the freedom of associations.

Art.4 of the Constitution provides that ideology of political parties, religious or other public associations, social groups shall not be set as mandatory for citizens.
 
Art.5 of the Constitution states that political parties and other public associations shall act in frameworks of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Belarus and shall contribute into expression of political will of citizens, political parties and other public associations may also participate in elections. Political parties and other public associations shall have the right to use state media in accordance with the procedure determined by law. Establishment and activity of political parties and other public associations that aim to change the constitutional system by force, or conduct propaganda of war, social, ethnic, religious and racial hatred, shall be prohibited.

Art.33 of the Constitution guarantees everyone the freedom of thoughts and opinions and their free expression. No one shall be forced to express one's opinions or deny them. No monopolization of media by the State, public associations or individual citizens and no censorship shall be permitted.

According to Art.34 para.2 of the Constitution, public associations shall afford citizens of the Republic of Belarus an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the material that affects their rights and legitimate interests.

Art.35 of the Constitution provides the freedom to organise assemblies, rallies, street marches, demonstrations and picketing that do not violate law and order or rights of other citizens of the Republic of Belarus. However, legislation sets forth quite a lengthy procedure of co-ordination of any event planned, and after this procedure either the topicality of a rally or demonstration weakens or authorities demand a vital change of a format, place, date and/or time of the event.

Art.69 of the Constitution provides that public associations, labor groups and citizens have the right to nominate candidate to deputies. However, special legislation on elections excludes public associations from subjects of electoral process, they only have the right to nominate representatives into electoral commissions. According to Art.60 para.3 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus, political parties (registered by the Ministry of Justice no later than 6 months before the date of announcing the Elections Day), labor groups, and citizens (by means of collecting signatures) are entitled to nominate candidates to deputies. In other words, the Electoral Code limits the right of public associations to nominate candidates.

Hence, implementation of many Constitutional provisions regulating freedom of associations is baselessly limited by either special legislation or legal practice. We need to note that courts of the Republic of Belarus do not apply provisions of the Constitution as rules of direct application, courts are not guided by the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
 
Constitutional restrictions of the freedom of associations
The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus sets forth general restrictions of rights and freedoms of an individual, it also provides a list of permissible cases when rights and freedoms (including the freedom of associations) may be violated or suspended.
Constitutional restrictions include:

• Art.23 of the Constitution. In accordance with this provision, restriction of rights and freedoms of an individual shall be possible only in cases provided by law, in the interests of national security, public order, protection of morality, public health, rights and freedoms of others;
• Art.63 of the Constitution provides that constitutional rights and freedoms may be restricted only in the state of emergency and/or military situation under the procedure and in limits defined by the Constitution and by law. This article provides a list of rights, which cannot be restricted under any circumstances, but the freedom of associations was not included into this list.

Moreover, the Constitution includes a restriction, which directly concerns the freedom of associations. Art.36 para.2 provides that state officials (judges, members of offices of public prosecution, members of agencies of internal, Committee of State Control, security agencies, military personnel) cannot be members of political parties and other non-governmental public associations pursuing political goals.
The subject-matter of these provisions complies with the recognized standards in international human rights such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art.20) and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art.22) that declare the right to freedom of peaceful gatherings and associations as a fundamental and unalienable right, and no restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others (Art.22 para.2 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
Hence, there shall be no restrictions for establishment or affiliation with non-governmental organizations and other associations of citizens, except for the restrictions mentioned above.

Restrictions in legal practice
Summary of legal practice in Belarus shows that restrictions of the freedom of associations are baselessly extended in comparison with the Constitution and international standards. Moreover, after 1999 there has been a tendency towards systematic deterioration of legal regulations related to establishment and activity of non-governmental non-profit organizations. For example, there are restrictions in purposes of creation, activities, membership and conditions for registration of public associations. Some of these restrictions are enacted in laws and normative acts, some were created by state authorities and administrative agencies in the process of legal practice.
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