Anti-corruption

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Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Combating Corruption”

Corruption is the deliberate use by a public official or a person equivalent to him … of his official position and related opportunities in order to illegally obtain property or other benefits in the form of work, services, patronage, promises
advantages for oneself or for third parties, as well as bribing a public official or a person equivalent to him … by providing them with property or other benefits in the form of work, services, patronage, promising advantages for them or for third parties in order to
a state official or a person equivalent to him committed actions or refrained from doing them in the performance of his official (labor) duties, as well as the performance of these actions on behalf of or in the interests of a legal entity, including a foreign one;

(Law of the Republic of Belarus dated June 15, 2015 No. 305-З “On Combating Corruption”, art. 1).

Offences that create conditions for corruption:

• intervention by an official using his official powers in the activities of other organizations, if this is not within the scope of his powers and is not based on a legislative act;
• providing by an official, in the preparation and adoption of decisions, an undue preference for the interests of individuals or legal entities, or providing them with unreasonable benefits and privileges or assisting in their provision;
• use of one’s official position in resolving issues affecting personal, group and other non-official interests, if this is not related to official (labor) activities;
• participation of an official as a representative of third parties in the affairs of the organization of which he is an employee;
• use for off-duty interests of information, the distribution and (or) provision of which is limited, obtained in the performance of his official (labor) duties;
• refusal to provide information to individuals or legal entities, the provision of which to these persons is provided for by acts of legislation, deliberate untimely provision of it or provision of incomplete or inaccurate information;
• requiring information from individuals or legal entities, including documents, the provision of which is not provided for by legislative acts;
• violation in personal, group and other non-official interests of the established procedure for considering applications from citizens, including individual entrepreneurs, and legal entities and making decisions on issues within the competence;
• creating obstacles to individuals or legal entities in exercising their rights and legitimate interests;
• violation of the procedure for holding tenders, auctions, procurement procedures established by legislative acts;
• the requirement to provide gratuitous (sponsored) assistance, as well as violation of the procedure for its provision, receipt and use, established by legislative acts.

Corruption offenses and liability for them:

Bribery is the most dangerous manifestation of corruption. The subject of a bribe can be material values (money, securities, things, etc.) or benefits of a property nature, regardless of their value, provided solely in connection with the position held.
position (various types of services provided free of charge or on preferential terms, but subject to payment, construction, repair, other work, etc.). Liability for bribery occurs regardless of the time of transfer of the bribe: before or after the act
(inaction).

Receiving a bribe – acceptance by an official for himself or for close material assets or the acquisition of property benefits provided solely in connection with his official position, for patronage or connivance in the service,
favorable resolution of issues within his competence, or for the performance or failure to perform in the interests of the bribe giver or the persons he represents, any action that this person should have or could have performed using his official powers:

is punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of 3 to 5 years with a fine and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, or imprisonment for up to 7 years with a fine and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities (Part 1 of Article 430 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Repeating a bribe, either by extortion, or by a group of persons by prior agreement, or on a large scale:

is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 10 years with a fine and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities (Part 2 of Article 430 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Bribing:

is punishable by a fine, or correctional labor for up to 2 years, or arrest, or restraint of liberty for a term up to 2 years, with or without a fine, or imprisonment for a term up to 5 years, with or without a fine (h 1 article 431 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Giving a bribe again, either on a large scale or using one’s official powers:

is punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to 5 years with or without a fine, or imprisonment for a term of 2 to 7 years with or without a fine (Part 2 of Article 431 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Bribery mediation is the direct transfer of a bribe on behalf of the bribe giver or bribe taker:

is punishable by a fine, or arrest, or restriction of liberty for up to 2 years, or imprisonment for up to 4 years (Part 1, Article 432 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Repeated mediation of bribery, either using one’s official authority or receiving a large bribe:

is punishable by arrest, or restriction of liberty for up to 5 years, or imprisonment for up to 6 years (Part 2, Article 432 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

The criterion for distinguishing between a gift and a bribe is the presence or absence of the conditionality of the gift by the performance by an official of actions in the service in the interests of the giver. The real donor does not expect to receive any benefit in return. Thus, accepting souvenirs and gifts by an official during protocol and other official events is not a bribe, but exactly gifts on the occasion of birthdays and holidays, if they were presented without any condition of remuneration by relevant actions in the service. In all other cases, the offering will be a bribe, regardless of its size.

Acceptance of illegal remuneration – acceptance by an employee of … a state organization that is not an official of property or other benefit of a property nature provided to him for an action (inaction) performed within his job duties in favor of a person providing such property or other benefit of property nature, or for the work performed, which is part of his official duties, in addition to the remuneration provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus:

is punishable by a fine, or deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities, or correctional labor for up to 2 years, or arrest, or restriction of liberty for a term up to 3 years, or imprisonment for a term up to 3 years (h 1 article 433 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Acceptance of illegal remuneration repeatedly either by a group of persons by prior agreement or on a large scale, as well as acceptance of illegal remuneration committed by extortion:

is punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to 5 years, with or without a fine, and with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or imprisonment for a term of up to 5 years.

Petty theft by … abuse of power, embezzlement or embezzlement …:

fine from 2 to 30 basic units, or community service, or administrative arrest (Article 11.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Belarus).

Abuse of power or official authority – intentional, contrary to the interests of the service, the commission by an official, out of mercenary or other personal interest, of actions using his official powers, resulting in large-scale damage or significant harm to the rights and legitimate interests of citizens or state or public interest:

is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2 to 6 years with or without a fine and with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities (Article 424 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Inaction of an official – intentional, contrary to the interests of the service, failure by an official, out of selfish or other personal interest, to perform actions that he should have and could have performed by virtue of his official duties, associated with
condoning a crime, … or causing damage on a large scale or significant harm to the rights and legitimate interests of citizens or state or public interests:

is punishable by a fine, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, or imprisonment for up to 5 years (Article 425 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Abuse of power or authority committed out of selfish or other personal interest:

is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2 to 6 years with or without a fine and with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities (Article 426 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Official forgery – the introduction by an official or other authorized person of knowingly false information and entries in official documents, or the forgery of documents, or the preparation and issuance of knowingly false documents, committed out of mercenary or other personal interest, in the absence of signs of a more serious crimes:

is punishable by a fine, or deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities, or correctional labor for up to 2 years, or restraint of liberty for the same term, or imprisonment for up to 2 years (Article 427 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus).

1. This regulation determines the procedure for the creation and operation of the anti-corruption commission (hereinafter referred to as the commission) in the Health Care Institution “Brest City Polyclinic No. 2” (hereinafter referred to as the polyclinic).

2. The commission is created by the chief physician of the Health Care Institution “Brest City Polyclinic No. 2” (hereinafter – the chief physician) in the amount of at least five members.

The chairman of the commission is the chief physician, and in his absence – the person acting as his duties. The secretary of the commission is elected at the meeting of the commission from among its members.

The composition of the commission is formed from among the employees of the polyclinic, including those in charge (carrying out) financial, economic and production activities, accounting, disposal of budgetary funds, the safety of property and the efficient use of property, personnel and legal work.

3. The Commission is guided in its activities by:

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated July 15, 2015 No. 305-Z “On the fight against corruption”, other acts of legislation, as well as the regulation on the commission approved by the head physician, which takes into account the specifics of the polyclinic.

4. The main tasks of the commission are:

• accumulation of information on violations of anti-corruption legislation committed by employees of the polyclinic;
• generalization and analysis of information received, including from state bodies engaged in the fight against corruption, about violations of anti-corruption legislation by polyclinic employees;
• timely identification of corruption risks and measures to neutralize them;
• development and organization of anti-corruption measures in the clinic, structural divisions, analysis of the effectiveness of the measures taken;
• coordination of the activities of structural units for the implementation of anti-corruption measures;
• interaction with state bodies engaged in the fight against corruption, public associations and other organizations on anti-corruption issues;
• consideration of issues of preventing and resolving conflicts of interest, as well as making appropriate proposals to the head physician of the polyclinic;
• consideration of issues of compliance with the rules of medical ethics and deontology;
• Take measures to eliminate the consequences of corruption offenses, offenses that create conditions for corruption, and other violations of anti-corruption legislation.

5. In order to solve the tasks entrusted to it, the Commission performs the following main functions:

• participates within its competence in the execution of instructions from higher state bodies to prevent offenses that create conditions for corruption and corruption offenses;
• keeps records of information received from law enforcement and regulatory authorities, other state bodies and organizations and contained in the appeals of citizens and legal entities about violations of anti-corruption legislation by employees of the polyclinic and analyzes such information;
• hear at its meetings the heads of structural divisions on the ongoing work to prevent corruption;
• interacts with state bodies engaged in the fight against corruption, public associations and other organizations on anti-corruption issues;
• takes, within the limits of its competence, decisions binding on structural subdivisions, and also exercises control over the execution of these decisions;
• develops measures to prevent or resolve situations in which the personal interests of a polyclinic employee, his spouse, close relatives or in-laws affect or may affect the proper performance of his official (labor) duties by this employee;
• develops and takes measures to combat corruption;
• makes proposals to the heads of structural subdivisions to bring to disciplinary responsibility employees subordinate to them who have committed offenses that create conditions for corruption and corruption offenses;
• considers proposals of members of the commission on improving the methodological and organizational work to combat corruption;
• works out proposals on measures to respond to information contained in the appeals of citizens and legal entities on issues of manifestations of corruption;
• consider proposals of members of the commission on encouraging employees who assist in the prevention of manifestations of corruption and their detection, the identification of offenses that create conditions for corruption, and corruption offenses;
• performs other functions provided for by the regulation on the commission.

6. The activities of the commission are carried out in accordance with the work plans for the calendar year, approved at its meetings.

The work plan of the commission for a calendar year with a list of issues to be considered at the meetings of the commission must be posted on the website in the global computer network Internet no later than 15 days from the date of its approval.

Information about the date, time and place of the commission meetings shall be posted on the website of the polyclinic in the global computer network Internet no later than 5 working days before the day of the commission meeting.

7. Persons who are married or in a relationship of close kinship or property cannot be members of the commission at the same time.

8. Committee Chairman:

• is personally responsible for the activities of the commission;
• organizes the work of the commission;
• determines the place and time of the commission meetings;
• approves the agenda of the commission’s meetings and the procedure for considering issues at its meetings, and, if necessary, makes changes to them;
• gives instructions to members of the commission on its activities, monitors their implementation;
• immediately takes measures to prevent or resolve a conflict of interest upon receipt of the information specified in paragraph seven of part one of clause 10 of this provision.

In the absence of the required number of members of the commission at its meeting, the chairman of the commission sets the date for a new meeting, but not later than one month from the date of the failed meeting.

In the absence of the chairman of the commission, his duties are performed by the deputy chairman of the commission.

9. A committee member has the right to:

• make proposals on issues within the competence of the commission;
• speak at committee meetings and initiate voting on submitted proposals;
• to ask questions to the participants of the commission meeting in accordance with the agenda and receive substantive answers to them;
• get acquainted with the minutes of the commission’s meetings and other materials related to its activities;
• in case of disagreement with the decision of the commission, express in writing a dissenting opinion on the issue under consideration, subject to mandatory attachment to the minutes of the commission’s meeting;
• exercise other powers in order to fulfill the tasks and functions assigned to the commission.

10. A committee member must:

• take part in the preparation of commission meetings, including the formation of the agenda of the commission meeting;
• participate in the meetings of the commission, and if it is impossible to participate in them, inform the chairman of the commission about it;
• according to the decision of the commission (instruction of its chairman), to take part in ongoing activities to identify the facts of committing offenses that create conditions for corruption and corruption offenses, as well as non-compliance with anti-corruption legislation;
• not to take actions that discredit the commission;
• implement the decisions of the commission (orders of its chairman);
• immediately notify the chairman of the commission in writing about the occurrence of a conflict of interest or the possibility of its occurrence in connection with the performance of the duties of a member of the commission;
• conscientiously and properly perform the duties assigned to him.

A member of the commission is responsible for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the duties assigned to him.

11. Commission Secretary:

• summarizes the materials received for consideration at the meetings of the commission;
• maintains committee documentation;
• notifies members of the commission and invited persons about the place, time and agenda of the meeting of the commission;
• ensures the preparation of committee meetings;
• ensures that the members of the commission are familiarized with the minutes of the meetings of the commissions;
• keeps records and stores the minutes of the commission meetings and materials for them.

12. Obstructing members of the commission in exercising their powers is not allowed and entails the application of liability measures in accordance with legislative acts.

13. Citizens and legal entities have the right to send to the commission proposals on anti-corruption measures that fall within the competence of the commission.

Proposals of citizens and legal entities on anti-corruption measures that fall within the competence of the commission are considered at a meeting of the commission and attached to the materials of this meeting.

Proposals of citizens and legal entities on measures to combat corruption and the procedure for their consideration are subject to the requirements provided for by the legislation on appeals from citizens and legal entities.

In case of disagreement with the results of consideration of the proposal on anti-corruption measures, a citizen, a legal entity has the right to send an appropriate proposal on anti-corruption measures to a higher state body (organization) and (or) another state body in accordance with the competence established by the anti-corruption legislation .

14. Commission meetings are held as necessary, including to consider specific violations of anti-corruption legislation identified by the commission in the course of its activities, including offenses that create conditions for corruption and corruption offences, but at least once every six months.

The decision to convene the commission is made by the chairman of the commission or at the suggestion of at least one third of its members.

The meeting of the commission is attended by representatives of legal entities and citizens in respect of which the chairman of the commission has decided to invite them to this meeting.

During the meeting, issues related to:

• with established violations by the employees of the clinic of anti-corruption legislation, the application of liability measures to them, the elimination of violations, their consequences, as well as the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of these violations;
• with observance in the polyclinic of the procedure for the procurement of goods (works, services);
• with the state of receivables, the validity of spending budget funds in the clinic;
• with the legitimacy of using property, allocating borrowed funds to employees of the polyclinic;
• with the validity of the conclusion of contracts on the terms of deferred payment;
• with the settlement or prevention of conflicts of interest.

In addition to the issues specified in part three of this paragraph, the meeting considers proposals from citizens and legal entities on measures to combat corruption and other issues within the competence of the commission.

15. The Commission is authorized to make decisions provided that more than half of its members are present at the meeting.

The decision of the commission is binding on the employees of the clinic. Non-fulfillment (improper fulfillment) of the decision of the commission entails liability in accordance with legislative acts.

16. Commission members have equal rights when discussing draft decisions.

Decisions are taken by a simple majority of votes from the total number of commission members present at its meeting. In case of equality of votes, the vote of the chairman of the commission is decisive. The decisions of the commission are documented in minutes.

17. The protocol specifies:

• place and time of the commission meeting;
• name and composition of the commission;
• information about the participants of the meeting of the commission who are not its members;
• the agenda of the commission meeting, the content of the issues and materials under consideration;
• decisions made by the commission;
• information about the materials attached to the minutes of the meeting of the commission.

18. The minutes of the commission meeting are prepared within 10 days from the date of its holding, signed by the chairman and secretary of the commission, after which the secretary of the commission communicates to its members and other interested parties within 5 days.

19. Members of the commission and experts involved in its work cannot provide persons who are not members of the commission with information that became known at a meeting of the commission, unless otherwise provided by the legislation of the Republic Belarus.