A/HRC/23/52 B. Presidential decrees 36. The structural character of the fact that widespread human rights violations remain unaddressed is underlined by the centralization of the legislative and executive powers in the office of the President. 37. Presidential decrees are used as the main, and in fact, supreme legislative mechanism in the country. Article 85 of the Constitution provides for presidential decrees to have force of law in instances outlined by the Constitution. Article 101 defines such instances in two ways. Parliament may permanently delegate powers to the President, limited only to the subject and the term of the power in question.23 Additionally, article 101 (3) empowers the President to issue decrees defined as temporary. These decrees retain force unless they are abolished by a majority of two-thirds of each House of Parliament (the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic). 38. Even temporary decrees de facto become permanent given that a two-thirds majority is needed to overturn them. Moreover, not even laws adopted by Parliament will provide the necessary guarantees for the rule of law as long as the political parties represented in Parliament are seen to support the head of the executive exclusively. This concern is amplified by the fact that draft laws in Belarus are in general prepared by the Presidential Administration. C. National legislation 39. Belarus has a civil law system based on the Constitution, the supreme law of the State. Article 21, paragraph 3 of the Constitution provides for the States “to guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens of Belarus … enshrined in the Constitution and laws, and specified by the State‟s international obligations”. 24 Article 8 recognizes the supremacy of the universally acknowledged principles of international law and ensures that the laws of Belarus comply with them. 40. During the period under review, various legislative developments may influence the full enjoyment of human rights: • The adoption of amendments to law No. 390-З on State security bodies of Belarus, providing for, inter alia, broad powers for State security bodies and creating conditions for the restriction to the rights of the individual to liberty, security and dignity • The adoption of an amnesty law that excludes articles 342 (the organization of actions grossly violating public order, or participation in such actions) and 367 (defamation of the President) of the Criminal Code • The promulgation of law 435-З on the introduction of amendments and additions to certain laws of Belarus “on the issues of combating terrorism and countering extremism”, which further broadened the definition of extremism 23 24 Article 101 (2) further states that there is to be no delegation of powers to the President to issue decrees providing for changes and additions to the Constitution and its interpretation; changes and additions to programme laws; approval of the republican budget and the report on its implementation; changing the procedure of elections of the President and the Parliament; or restrictions of constitutional rights and freedoms of the citizens. The law on delegating legislative powers to the President does not permit him to change the said law, nor does it empower him to adopt retroactive norms. See http://president.gov.by/en/press19330.html#doc. 9