Constitution of the Republic of Belarus

Section 8. The application of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus and the procedure for amending the constitution

Article 137. The Constitution shall have the supreme legal force. Laws, decrees, edicts and other instruments of state bodies shall be promulgated on the basis of, and in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus.

Where there is a discrepancy between a law, decree or edict and the Constitution, the Constitution shall apply.

Where there is a discrepancy between a decree or edict and a law, the law shall apply when the powers for the promulgation of the decree or edict were provided by the law.

Article 138. The issue of amending and supplementing the Constitution shall be considered by the chambers of the Parliament on the initiative of the President or of no fewer than 150,000 citizens of the Republic of Belarus who are eligible to vote.

Article 139. A law on amending and supplementing the Constitution may be adopted after it has been debated and approved twice by both chambers of the Parliament with at least a three months' interval.

The Constitution shall not be amended or supplemented by the Parliament during a state of emergency or the last six months of the term of the House of Representatives.

Article 140. The Constitution, laws on amendments and addenda thereto, on the entry into force of the said laws and instruments on the interpretation of the Constitution shall be deemed to have been adopted where no less than two-thirds of the elected deputies of both chambers of the Parliament have voted in favour of them.

The Constitution may be amended or supplemented via a referendum. A decision to amend or supplement the Constitution by means of a referendum shall be deemed adopted where a majority of citizens on the electoral roll have voted in favour of it.

Sections 1, 2, 4, 8 of the Constitution may be reconsidered only by means of a referendum.