State system of legal information

The formation of the information society in Belarus is one of the main priorities of national development. Belarus has made concrete steps toward introducing information technologies into the legal sphere and thereby, has made public information on the activity of state bodies accessible to a wide group of people.

The year 2018 marked the sixth anniversary of the date of the transition to  electronic official publication. By decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 24 February 2012, No. 3 on certain issues concerning the publication and entry into force of legal acts of the Republic of Belarus, the only source of official publication was National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus, the main state information resource in the field of law and legal information.

The state system of legal information of the Republic of Belarus (SSLI), created by applying modern information technologies to the legal sphere, guarantees everyone the possibility of realizing his or her inalienable right to obtain complete, valid and official legal information.

Responsibility for the operation and development of the SSLI belongs to the National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus (NCLI), which is a state central scientific and practical institution in the sphere of legal informatization. The NCLI is performing its functions in accordance with the edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 338 of June 30, 1997 and the edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus No 524 ofоctober 30 1998 g.)

Affiliates of the NCLI known as  Regional Centers of Legal Information (RCLI), were established in each region’s centers and the city of Minsk in 1999. These centers became transmitters of state policy in the sphere of legal informatization directly at the local level.
Realizing the necessity to develop the state system of legal information, to increase legal culture of the society and provide the citizens with complete and reliable legal information, NCLI initiated the  creation of Public Centers of Legal Information (PCLI) as centers of free access of citizens to official legal information on the base of public libraries in order to develop legal knowledge, law-abiding behaviour, respect for law, assistance in conducting activities on legal education of citizens.

The creation and functioning of the PCLIs is an evidence of the implementation of State policy in the sphere of unhindered access of the citizens to the official, reliable and relevant legal information, and the development of State legal information system in our country.

Useful links:

• National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of  Belarus;
• National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus (NCLI);
• Legal Forum of Belarus;
• Children’s Legal Website.