Who can be referred to therapeutic labor prophylactics
By the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 21.07.2023 No. 301-Z, amendments were made to the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 04.01.2010 No. 104-Z "On the Procedure and Conditions for Sending Citizens to Labor-Therapeutic Facilities and Conditions of Their Stay There" (hereinafter referred to as the Law).
The amendments to the Law are related to the simplification of the procedure for sending to labor-therapeutic facilities (hereinafter referred to as LTF) for compulsory isolation and medico-social readaptation of citizens with chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or toxicomania.
According to Part 1 of Article 4 of the Law, the following citizens may be sent to LTF:
- citizens who have been brought to administrative responsibility two or more times within a year for committing administrative offenses while in a state of alcohol intoxication or in a state caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, who have been warned in accordance with this Law about the possibility of being sent to labor-therapeutic facilities and who, within a year after such a warning, committed an administrative offense while in a state of alcohol intoxication or in a state caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, for which they were brought to administrative responsibility, and who, as a result of a medical examination, were found (confirmed) to have chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or toxicomania;
- citizens who have sought medical assistance from healthcare organizations due to poisoning caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, who have been warned in accordance with this Law about the possibility of being sent to labor-therapeutic facilities and who, within a year after such a warning, sought medical assistance again from healthcare organizations due to poisoning caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, and who, as a result of a medical examination, were found (confirmed) to have chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or toxicomania.
Thus, unified grounds for sending to LTF for compulsory isolation and medico-social readaptation of citizens with dependence on alcohol, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances have been established, regardless of whether they are obligated persons, unemployed, or able-bodied citizens leading an antisocial lifestyle.
The main criteria for sending a citizen to LTF are the presence of chronic alcoholism, drug addiction, or toxicomania, systematic violations of public order while in a state caused by the consumption of alcoholic beverages, narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, toxic or other intoxicating substances, as well as repeated poisoning by the specified substances, confirmed by the provision of medical assistance.
According to Part 1 of Article 5 of the Law, the head of the territorial internal affairs body or his deputy shall, within ten days after receiving information that a citizen has been brought to administrative responsibility two or more times within a year for committing administrative offenses while in a state of alcohol intoxication or in a state caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, issue a warning about the possibility of sending him to a labor-therapeutic facility if he commits an administrative offense within a year after this warning while in a state of alcohol intoxication or in a state caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogs, toxic or other intoxicating substances, for which he will be brought to administrative responsibility.
In connection with the definition of a new category of citizens subject to sending to LTF according to paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Law, healthcare organizations are obliged to inform the head of the territorial internal affairs body or his deputy by means of a written notification signed by the head and sealed by the healthcare organization about the fact of seeking medical assistance due to poisoning caused by the consumption of narcotic or other intoxicating substances.
A citizen may be sent by the court to LTF for a period of twelve months. A citizen sent to a labor-therapeutic facility for the third time or more may be sent by the court to LTF for a period of twenty-four months.
For the purpose of delivery to the labor-therapeutic facility, a citizen may be detained by the territorial internal affairs body for a period of up to three days based on a legally binding court decision on his sending to the labor-therapeutic facility with placement in the temporary detention facility of the territorial internal affairs body in the manner and under the conditions established by law for the detention of persons serving administrative arrest.
The Law primarily provides for the isolation and medico-social readaptation of persons with alcohol, drug, or psychotropic substance dependence syndrome.
Medico-social readaptation is a set of restrictive measures aimed at overcoming alcohol, drug, or toxic dependence, and forming readiness for adaptation in society.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor
Braslav District E.S.Isakova