Constitutional Court chairman meets with Hans Dietrich Genscher

1996-10-23 12:05

Minsk, 23 October. Valery Tsikhinya, chairman of the Constitutional Court, met with Hans Dietrich Genscher, the former German vice chancellor and a member of the Bundestag, on October 22.
According Mr. Tsikhinya, Dr. Genscher took a keen interest in the whole range of problems concerning the forthcoming referendum. Mr. Tsikhinya said that under the present conditions, the best solution to all the problems would be the withdrawal of the draft constitutions proposed by both the president and Parliament. He listed a number of the advantages of the constitution currently in force which, in his opinion, reflects all the basic principles of a democratic state. "There is no specific necessity to change this constitution, though it is not perfect from a legal viewpoint," Mr. Tsikhinya said. In his opinion, in view of the present circumstances, a moratorium on constitutional changes should be imposed.
Answering Dr. Genscher's question as to whether it is possible to hold the referendum now, Mr. Tsikhinya told him about a proposal made by Supreme Soviet Chairman Syamyon Sharetski, who had asked to examine whether the proposed constitutional changes represented constitutional amendments or new constitutions. He informed the interlocutor about the forthcoming examination of the constitutionality of the Supreme Soviet's resolution on the referendum. Mr. Tsikhinya expressed fear that the president's draft constitution may be approved as a result of the referendum, and listed two reasons--the government's full control over the media and people's legal ignorance.
He also mentioned the appeal which was addressed by the Constitutional Court to the delegates to the All-Belarusian People's Assembly to warn them against making unconstitutional decisions.
According to the Constitutional Court chairman, Dr. Genscher, whom Mr. Tsikhinya called a "living legend of world politics," showed good knowledge about the Court's activities and gave it high praise.