Procedure for switching government agencies to wartime footing perfected in Belarus

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has signed decree On Switching of State Bodies and Other Organisations to Wartime Conditions, the Belarusian leader’s press service reports

The document polishes the procedure for switching state bodies and other organisations from work under peacetime conditions to military footing, ensuring their co-ordinated and effective interaction in the event of threats to national security, taking into account changes in military and political conditions.

The decree outlines the range of state bodies to which it applies, including the Belarusian People's Congress, the National Assembly chambers, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

It also envisages the possibility of assigning military ranks to the heads of certain state bodies and a number of organisations upon the introduction of martial law.

The decree will ensure the systematic and uninterrupted functioning of the state apparatus in the period of increasing military threat and in wartime.