Adopted by the House of Representatives, May 30, 2001
Approved by the Council of the Republic, June 8, 2001

This Code establishes the general legal conditions for engaging in investment activity in the Republic of Belarus. It aims to encourage and to offer government support to investment activity, and to protect the rights of investors in the Republic of Belarus.

GENERAL PART

SECTION I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter 1

General concepts applicable to investment activity

Article 1. Investments

Investments are deemed to refer to any property, including monetary resources, securities, equipment and results of intellectual activity held to investors under ownership or other material rights, as well as other property rights, invested by investors in investment objects for the purpose of generating profit (income) and/or achieving other measurable objectives.

Article 2. Investment activity

Investment activity is deemed to refer to actions carried out by a legal entity and/or physical person and/or State (administrative or territorial unit of a State) involving investments in the production of goods (work and services), or any other use thereof, for the purpose of generating profit (income) and/or achieving other measurable objectives.

Article 3. Investors

Investors are deemed to be entities (legal entities or physical persons, the State as represented by its authorized bodies, and administrative and territorial units thereof, as represented by their authorized bodies) which are engaged in the forms of investment activity established by Article 5 hereof.

Investors shall enjoy rights and bear responsibilities and risks arising from the placement of investments.

Investors shall be classified as either domestic or foreign for the purposes of determining the appropriate regulation regime.

The following are classified as foreign investors in the Republic of Belarus:

• foreign States and the administrative and territorial units thereof, as represented by their authorized bodies;
• international organizations;
• foreign legal entities;
• foreign citizens;
• physical persons (citizens of the Republic of Belarus and stateless persons) with permanent residency outside the borders of the Republic of Belarus.

Specific regulation of the activity of foreign investors shall be established by this Code and by other legislation of the Republic of Belarus, including the international treaties to which the Republic of Belarus is party.

Article 4. Object of investment activity

The following are deemed objects of investment activity:

• real–estate property, including enterprises as property complexes;
• securities;
• intellectual property.

The legislation of the Republic of Belarus shall identify assets held in the exclusive ownership of the Republic of Belarus. Exclusive ownership of assets by the Republic of Belarus shall not preclude the possibility of investment activity with regard to the said assets.

The legislation of the Republic of Belarus shall establish the list of assets with regard to which investment activity by all investors with the exception of the Republic of Belarus shall be prohibited.

Article 5. Forms of investment activity

The following forms of investment activity may be carried out in the Republic of Belarus:

• the creation of legal entities;
• the acquisition of property rights, and namely:
• interests in the share capital of legal entities;
• real estate property;
• securities;
• rights to intellectual property assets;
• concessions;
• equipment;
• other fixed assets.

Article 6. The legal regulation of investment activity

Relations arising from investment activity in the Republic of Belarus shall be regulated by this Code, other legislative instruments of the Republic of Belarus, including the international agreements to which the Republic of Belarus is signatory, and investment agreements signed with the Republic of Belarus.

Investment activity by legal entities and physical persons of the Republic of Belarus in foreign states shall be regulated by this Code, other legislative instruments of the Republic of Belarus, including the international agreements to which the Republic of Belarus is signatory, and the legislation of the country in which the investment activity is performed.

In the event that international agreements currently in force, to which the Republic of Belarus is signatory, establish different regulations to those established by this Code and other legislative instruments of the Republic of Belarus, the terms established by such international agreements shall take precedence.

Chapter 2

Government regulation of investment activity

Article 7. The objectives of government regulation of investment activity

Government regulation of investment activity shall be carried out with the aim of encouraging investor activity, attracting foreign investors into the Republic, and protecting the rights of investors in the Republic of Belarus.

Article 8. The forms and methods of government regulation of investment activity

Government regulation of investment activity shall involve:

1. Direct participation by the government in investment activity by means of:

1.1. the adoption of government investment programs and their financing from the Republic's budget;

1.2. the provision of centralized investment resources from the Republic's budget for the financing of investment projects on the basis of the principles of consideration, fixed term, and recoverability;

1.3. the provision of Belarussian Government guarantees for loans secured for the implementation of investment projects;

1.4. the comprehensive government due diligence of investment projects;

1.5. the provision of concessions to domestic and foreign investors.

2. The creation of favorable conditions for the development of investment activity by means of:

2.1. the provision of government support to investors;

2.2.the protection of investors' rights;

2.3. the establishment of free economic zones in the Republic of Belarus;

2.4. the establishment of terms and conditions for the ownership, use and disposal of land, subsoil, water resources, and forests;

2.5. the establishment of measures to counter monopolies and unfair competition;

2.6. the establishment of conditions for the privatization of government–owned assets;

2.7. the encouragement of the development of a securities market;

2.8. the establishment of effective budgetary, financial, tax, monetary, lending and currency policies;

2.9. the use of other forms and methods of government regulation in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Chapter 3

Guarantees of the rights of investors and the protection of investments

Article 9. Guarantees of investor rights

The Government guarantees investors' legally acquired ownership and other material rights, as well as property rights, and undertakes to protect those rights.

The Government guarantees equal rights to all investors engaged in investment activity regardless of the form of ownership, as well as equal, discrimination–free protection of the rights and lawful interests of investors.

The Government guarantees the stability of the rights of investors, as established by this Code, to engage in and disengage from investment activity.

Investors shall have the right, at their sole discretion, to decide upon and engage, in compliance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, in all actions arising from the ownership, utilization and disposal of objects and results of investment activity.

Article 10. Guarantees on the utilization of the results of investment activity

Investors shall have the right, at their sole discretion, to dispose of profits (earnings) yielded by their investment activity, including their reinvestment in the Republic of Belarus in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Reinvestment shall be deemed to refer to the investment of profits (earnings) yielded by investment activity into investment objects located in the Republic of Belarus.

Foreign investors are guaranteed the right, following the payment of all taxes and other mandatory charges as established by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus, to repatriate to locations outside the Republic of Belarus any profits (earnings) received in the Republic of Belarus as a result of investment activity, as well as any proceeds from the full or partial sale of invested assets upon the termination of investment activity.

Article 11. Protection of investments

The Government guarantees the protection of investments in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Investments shall be immune from nationalization without consideration, requisition, and measures equivalent to nationalization and requisition in terms of their consequences. Nationalization and requisitioning shall only be possible subject to the timely and full compensation of the cost of the nationalized or requisitioned investment assets and other damages caused as a result of nationalization or requisition. The procedure and conditions for nationalization and requisition and the payment of compensation with regard to nationalized or requisitioned investment assets and other damages caused as a result of nationalization or requisition, shall be established by this Code and the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

Article 12. Compensation of the cost of nationalized or requisitioned investment assets

Compensation payments with regard to nationalized or requisitioned investment assets shall be equivalent to the real value of said assets at the moment immediately preceding the earlier of the nationalization or requisition, or the date of the public announcement on the nationalization or requisition. Moreover, compensation payments to domestic investors shall include interest calculated on the basis of the appropriate currency as quoted by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, and compensation payments to foreign investors shall include interest payments calculated on the basis of the LIBOR rate, with respect to the period between the date of nationalization or requisition or the date of the public announcement to that effect, and the date of remittance of the compensation amount.

Compensation with regard to the cost of nationalized or requisitioned investment assets shall be paid to domestic investors in the currency of the Republic of Belarus and to foreign investors in the currency in which the investment was originally made.

Investors shall enjoy the right to appeal in court against the amount of compensation paid with regard to nationalized or requisitioned assets.

Article 13. Guarantees against unlawful actions (inaction) of government bodies and their officials

Investors shall enjoy the right to appeal in court against actions (inaction) of government bodies or their officials and local self–governance bodies or their officials, as well as regulations issued by the government bodies of the Republic of Belarus or local self–governance bodies, in the event that the said actions or regulations infringe upon the investors' rights or cause them losses or other damages.

Damages, including losses incurred as a result of actions by government bodies or their officials and local self–governance bodies or their officials, or as a result of regulations issued by government bodies of the Republic of Belarus or local self–governance bodies, shall be compensated from the appropriate treasury by court order.

The procedure for the compensation of damages and losses shall be established by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.