Constitutional reforms: All in the name of human honor and dignity
The following article and picture materials have been provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Seoul for publication by The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985.—Ed.
By Saodat Akhmedjanova, Expert of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan
By 2022, these norms created the need for consolidating them as the legal basis of the New Uzbekistan. Moreover, this is not just a necessity, but an important condition for laying the foundations of the third Renaissance, a period of great changes that began in our country.
As an active observer of these reforms, I can say that 20 years ago our citizens did not have active citizenship, did not interfere or did not want to interfere in the activities of the state and society, but now the situation has changed dramatically. People have formed their own opinions and views on the political changes taking place in all spheres of the life of the state.
It is noteworthy that the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev notes the need to enshrine in the Constitution the norms providing for the expansion of the powers of the government, the responsibility of the Cabinet of Ministers and hokimiyats in ecology, support for youth and families, social protection of persons with disabilities, development of public transport, creation of necessary conditions for recreation of the population, support for civil society institutions. The people of Uzbekistan are also confident that the amendments to the Constitution will further strengthen the sovereignty of the country and the social essence of the state. For, many of the amendments submitted for discussion are based on the principles of humanism and serve to improve the quality of life of the people.
According to the draft Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On introducing amendments and addenda to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, it is proposed to introduce more than 200 amendments and additions to 64 articles of the Basic Law, 6 new articles (prim-articles), including 16 norms. The attitude of our people to the proposed norms is planned to be determined by holding a referendum.
Over the past three years, several important reforms have been implemented to democratize and liberalize the judicial and legal sphere, increase the role and importance of the judiciary in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens. In this sense, articles 109, 111, 112, 116 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan have been enriched in all aspects. Thus, Article 109 concerns the activities of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from its first part it is proposed to delete the words “based on the results of generalization of the practice of constitutional proceedings” and leave only the words “annually submits to the chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan information on the state of constitutional legality in the country”. Providing information by the Constitutional Court to the chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the main tasks. The result of the generalization of the practice of legal proceedings or the issues of monitoring activities is the direction of the activity of the Constitutional Court. Complaints of citizens and legal entities regarding compliance with the Constitution of the decisions applied by the court in a particular case are considered. The article is also supplemented by paragraph 8 of the following content: “considers cases within the framework of the powers granted by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. The updated Constitution should create a solid legal basis and a reliable guarantee of long-term strategies for the development of our country, the future prosperous life of our people.
In today’s rapidly changing times, our main task is to create conditions so that every citizen living in Uzbekistan could work and live in conditions that are in no way inferior to those created in the developed countries of the world, by forming a democratic civil society aimed at ensuring the rights and human freedoms. For, understanding and awareness by the people of Uzbekistan of the essence and significance of each new norm and rule proposed for introduction in the Constitution, the expression of their impartial and objective attitude towards them, will serve as the foundation for building our future happy life.