Unique legal documents on the formation of Belarusian statehood are presented at an exhibition in Vitebsk
It is symbolic that the exhibition is held in the halls of the Vitebsk Town Hall, which is a symbol of self-government. As is known, the first town hall building was erected in 1597, when the city was granted Magdeburg Law – a set of laws by which our ancestors lived. The exposition presents the corresponding privilege signed by the Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund III Vasa.
The materials presented on the stands tell about the origins of law during the formation of the first states on the territory of Belarus, the main legal norms of the Russkaya Pravda, trade agreements with Riga, and the development of legislation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the period of the Russian Empire.
Original documents of the 16th-17th centuries are displayed in the showcases, in particular, charters of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Great attention is paid to materials reflecting the development of constitutional law in Belarus during the existence of the BSSR from the proclamation of the republic, the adoption of the first Constitution, which was in effect from February 3, 1919, and subsequent ones – in 1927, 1938, and 1978.
As noted by Nadezhda Varlamova, Head of the Scientific and Exhibition Department of the Regional Museum of Local Lore, the current year is particularly significant. 2019 marks the 490th anniversary of the first Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which consolidated various branches of law, the 100th anniversary of the first Constitution of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Belarus, and the 25th anniversary of the Basic Law of the sovereign country.
The exhibits tell about the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the republic in 1990 and the subsequent period of development and changes in the state's fundamental legislative acts. One of the key dates in the history of sovereign Belarus is March 15, 1994.
On this day, the Constitution was adopted, which for the first time in the history of Belarusian statehood enshrined the status of the republic as a unitary democratic social rule-of-law state. This document laid a solid legal foundation for independence and realized the aspiration of the Belarusian people to be the full masters of their native land.
– A quarter of a century is a short period for a state, but it was preceded by centuries of our country's history. Belarus has a rich legal experience, and this can be traced at the exhibition, which presents unique exhibits. It is important for representatives of the younger generation to familiarize themselves with them, – emphasized Vladimir Penin, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, at the opening of the exhibition.
The illustrative material of the exposition is supplemented by publications and editions of legislative acts of the 19th – early 21st centuries.