President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko presented state awards to Valentin Sukalo, Chairman of the Supreme Court (1997-2025), and Petr Miklashevich, Chairman of the Constitutional Court (2008-2025). The solemn ceremony took place on January 6 at the Palace of Independence, a BELTA correspondent reports.

The Head of State awarded Valentin Sukalo with the Order of Fatherland II degree and Petr Miklashevich with the Order of Fatherland III degree. They were honored for their many years of fruitful work, high professionalism, and significant personal contribution to improving the judicial system and ensuring constitutional legality.

"We are not saying goodbye to these 'monsters' of jurisprudence (excuse me for this 'good' word)," Alexander Lukashenko said during the ceremony. "I very much hope that the renewed Constitutional Court, and even more so the Supreme Court of the country, will function in exactly the same way - in peace and harmony with other branches of power, state authorities - and will make a worthy contribution to the final formation of the architecture of Belarus that we would like to see in power."

"I am sincerely grateful to you for everything you have done. This concerns all of us. Time passes, young people come. This is good, it is right. We must pass on our experience to them, if they wish, and we will do so in the coming years, no matter what is said or written about us," the President continued. According to him, the state has perhaps not yet done everything for the judicial system, so, as Alexander Lukashenko noted, there will be further meetings to discuss all issues, from personal to state-level. "We will talk about the future again. Please do not stray far from what we have been creating for decades," the President said. "Thank you very much. I think that those who are replacing us will do it better and more worthily than we did."

Valentin Sukalo has dedicated more than 50 years to justice. He headed the Supreme Court of Belarus for 28 years. During this period, several stages of judicial and legal reform were carried out: general and economic courts were merged, military courts were abolished, the Appellate Economic Court was established, and a regulatory framework for the courts' activities was created. Buildings for many courts were constructed, an automated court system was implemented, citizens' access to justice was simplified, and the court's authority in society was enhanced.

Addressing the President, Valentin Sukalo thanked the head of state for the trust placed in him to lead the country's highest judicial body for many years and for the high assessment of his activities in the form of a state award. "But it would be fair to share this award with several generations of colleagues and like-minded people with whom we created our national judicial system together. Today, this system has its own, Belarusian identity, it has a social orientation, and it is fully and organically integrated into the political and legal system of our country," he emphasized.

Special words of gratitude Valentin Sukalo addressed personally to Alexander Lukashenko from the judicial community for what has been done for the country's judicial system. "Believe me, the judicial corps of our country highly values your attention and care for the judges of the country," he said. Separately, Valentin Sukalo congratulated Andrei Shved on taking office as Chairman of the Supreme Court, wishing him professional success and longevity.

Petr Miklashevich headed the Constitutional Court from 2008 to 2025, and before that he served as Prosecutor General and was First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court. He headed the Constitutional Commission for the preparation of amendments to the Basic Law. He is the chairman of the Council for Legal and Judicial Activities under the President of Belarus. During his tenure at the head of the Constitutional Court, the role of this structure was enhanced, constitutional control over the compliance of laws with the Constitution was strengthened, the procedure for constitutional proceedings was established, and citizens were granted the right to file an individual constitutional complaint.

During the ceremony, Petr Miklashevich expressed his sincere gratitude to the President for the high state trust and assessment of his activities as Chairman of the Constitutional Court in strengthening constitutional legality and the rule of law in the country. He addressed special words of appreciation to Alexander Lukashenko for his all-round support of the Constitutional Court's activities in ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution, protecting the constitutional system, and the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as for creating excellent working conditions for the judges of the Constitutional Court. "I wish the renewed composition of the CC and the new chairman successful, effective activities in carrying out the tasks assigned to the CC. All conditions are in place for this," emphasized Petr Miklashevich.

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