Although a minister of justice existed as early as 1918, it was not until 1946 that The People's Commissariat of Justice of the BSSR was transformed into the Ministry of Justice of the BSSR. The ministry was abolished in 1960 and would not be reestablished until a decade later in 1970. The ministry has existed in some capacity since then. The ministry was criticized for the double standards to commercial and non-governmental organizations (including political parties). During another attempt to register this branch, the ministry requested the additional documents that are not mentioned in the law. One of the refusals got by the Belarusian Christian Democracy cited lack of home or work phones information for some of the party founders. According to the Centre for Legal Transformation, the ministry is also actively refusing to register
non-governmental organizations. the Council of the European Union stated that he's responsible for the misconduct of the 2020 presidential electoral process. In July and August 2021, the ministry started the procedure of closure of several major NGOs, including
Belarusian Popular Front, the oldest continuously operating organization in Belarus (founded in 1988, registered in 1991),
Belarusian Association of Journalists,
Belarusian PEN centre,
World Association of Belarusians. The ministry is also criticized for expanded intervention in the judicial system. == List of Leaders==