Uzbekistan has been actively preparing for an important event for several months. On June 20, 2022, the President of the Republic Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to hold a referendum on the draft of the new Basic Law.

What will follow the amendments to the Constitution and at what stage of renewal is the democratic state now?

“At the initiative of the commission, I propose to submit the draft developed by the Parliament for public discussion and adopt it by referendum,” Mirziyoyev said at a meeting of the Constitutional Commission. Following from his speech, it is obvious that it is planned to make the Constitution truly popular.

The goal is to build a humane, democratic, legal, social, secular state, the formation of an open and fair civil society.

What changes are waiting for the Uzbek people?

The Constitution is the confirmation of sovereignty, the function of statehood and the consolidation of the basic principles of independent development. On December 8, 2022, Uzbekistan celebrated the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. The Basic Law serves as a solid legal foundation for the successes, as well as the milestones achieved during the years of independence.

The current Basic Law of Uzbekistan was adopted on December 8, 1992. From that time to the present day, it has been amended 16 times. Such a number contributed to the development of the country and the improvement of the quality of life in it.

“It should be noted separately that over the past six years, 32 amendments have been made to 21 articles of the Constitution on the independence of the court, the electoral system, strengthening the institution of the mahalla and other areas. During this period, 77 laws, 32 presidential decrees and resolutions, 57 government resolutions and 38 other regulatory documents were adopted and implemented within the framework of the Action Strategy based on the main principle “Not the people should serve State bodies, but state bodies should serve the people”. As a result, in the field of the rule of law, the place of our country in international rankings has risen by several positions, the incomes of the population have doubled,” said the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan Nigmatilla Yildosheva.

Representatives of all sectors of society and professions actively participated in the discussion of the draft of the new Basic Law. This is an indicator that people clearly want to change their lives and the life of the country, to give a new impetus to democratic renewal, allowing them to deepen reforms.

During the national discussion, more than 150,000 proposals were received. The figure is significant! This once again confirms the correctness and timeliness of the decision to extend the term of the national discussion. It is impossible to deny people’s interest. Uzbekistanis living abroad also did not stay away. The initiative was shown from Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and other countries.

It follows from the words of Shavkat Mirziyoyev that the most important questions are about a person’s place in the life of the country and society, his honor and dignity. On the basis of this, political and legal, socio-economic, spiritual and moral principles will already be formed. The Head of State introduced an article on the prohibition of the death penalty into the draft, because everyone has the right to life. He decided to make it clear that a person’s criminal record should not limit the rights of his relatives in any way, only the person who violated the law should be responsible for his actions. At the same time, the issues of treatment of persons deprived of their liberty were raised. They should not be subjected to violent acts while in prison. In addition, the new article 41-2 of the Constitution provides for the introduction of a norm that will serve to increase the authority of teachers and strengthen them in society. According to article 116-1, interference of unauthorized persons will not be allowed to the work of lawyers. The lawyer will be provided with conditions for an unhindered and confidential meeting with his clients. The draft of the new Constitution reveals the norms related to the social protection of the population. Thus, in article 37 of the chapter of the current Constitution “Economic and Social Rights”, the guardianship of the State extends to families in need of social protection and unemployed citizens.

In total, the draft contains 200 amendments affecting 64 articles of the Basic Law.

What’s with the process now?

On September 10, 2022, a regular meeting of the Constitutional Commission on the formation of proposals for amendments to the Constitution and the implementation of organizational measures was held. It was attended by members of the Constitutional Commission, responsible committees of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, representatives of the mass media. Meetings were organized with the authors of proposals that were relevant, they were discussed directly with their participation.

The meeting discussed the draft Constitutional Law “On amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan” and work on its improvement.

As soon as the text of the draft law is ready, it will be submitted for discussion by deputies of the Legislative Chamber. The draft Constitutional Law, subsequently prepared taking into account the opinions of the people’s representatives, will be submitted to a referendum.

Stability is the key to success, but you can’t do without change.

The constitutional reform of Uzbekistan has become a natural stage in solving new problems of the country’s development. “The adoption of amendments to the Constitution is, in fact, the result of bridging the gap between what the main law of the country declares and accepted public practice. If such a gap is ignored, it will inevitably lead to serious consequences,” said Sergey Chirkin, a leading researcher at the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation, PhD in Law. — The Constitution ensures the stability of the legal, political and economic systems and social foundations. But the excessive inflexibility of the country’s Basic Law can provoke stagnation and the impossibility of state development in a constantly changing world.”

The referendum, which is planned to be held in Uzbekistan, has already been held in several other CIS countries. So, in the summer of 2020, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and in 2022 the Republics of Kazakhstan and Belarus underwent changes. Among the innovations: the zeroing of presidential terms, the inviolability of ex-presidents, the protection of historical truth, the amendment on the role of children and others. Russia has passed through this serious stage. She has always been for the development and preservation of peace in Central Asia.
The constitutional reform will be able to consolidate friendly relations between the countries and become the engine of new joint projects.

A referendum was held in the Republic of Belarus in February 2022. According to the changes, the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly will become a new subject of politics, the same person will not be able to hold the post of president for more than two terms, and others.

On June 5, 2022, a referendum on amendments to the Constitution was held in Kazakhstan. In accordance with them, the powers of the head of state are being reduced, the role of parliament and local representative bodies is being significantly strengthened, the human rights sphere is being systematically strengthened, the Constitutional Court is being recreated, the final abolition of the death penalty is being fixed and provisions on the status of the first head of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, are being excluded.

The interest of foreign states.

It is worth noting how closely foreign countries are following the upcoming changes in Uzbekistan. In order to convey to other countries the importance of constitutional reform and to receive constructive proposals from leading foreign experts, in order to ensure a broad national and international discussion of certain provisions and novelties of the draft Constitutional Law, as well as the organization of public discussions, the Constitutional Commission, together with national and foreign, international partners, organized and conducted over 100 national and over 40 international forums. Some took place in Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Washington, New York, Geneva, London, Warsaw, New Delhi, Jeddah, Moscow and other capitals of foreign countries.

If the initiator of the constitutional reform was the people of Uzbekistan, then its main ideological inspirer is President Sh. M. Mirziyoyev.

“Today, the world community considers Shavkat Mirziyoyev not only as the chief architect, whose priority task is the construction of a New Uzbekistan, but also as the initiator of the formation of a New Central Asia, new regional and global relationships. This is also an international recognition of his active domestic and foreign policy pursued within the framework of the Development Strategy of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026,” said Akmal Kholmatovich Saidov, First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Director of the National Center for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, academician, Doctor of Law, Professor.

This has never happened before.

More than 400 conventions, declarations, resolutions and international events adopted within the framework of the UN, OSCE, SCO, CIS countries, OIC, OTG and many others were studied. The article analyzes the international experience of the development of constitutionalism, as well as the experience of more than 193 countries of the world in updating the Constitution and implementing constitutional reforms.

“It should be noted that the updated Constitution will become a solid legal basis and a reliable guarantee for the implementation of the Development Strategy, a prosperous tomorrow’s life of the population. The people of Uzbekistan, understanding the essence of the new norms and provisions proposed for inclusion in the Constitution, actively participates in the planned political processes, expressing their impartial and objective attitude.

The reforms of recent years have clearly demonstrated how vital the idea of the President is, that the people are the author of the law, how much it meets the requirements of the time. An example is that thousands of proposals for amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan have been received and are being received from the general public, in particular, from teachers, entrepreneurs, farmers, representatives of civil society institutions, national cultural centers, political parties, the population of mahallas, law enforcement agencies.

This shows that the people are interested in changing the Constitution and laws,” concluded the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan Nigmatilla Yildosheva.

In the history of independent Uzbekistan, there has never been such a draft Basic Law that would be based on the direct participation and initiative of civil institutions, calling for the protection of society, gender, rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.

The history of a New legal social Uzbekistan is being created before our eyes. The high public activity of the Uzbek people in connection with the changes in the Constitution has become proof of this. The Head of State notes that the most important goal of the mass discussion is that every citizen can proudly say: “This is my Constitution!”.

According to the authorities, the updated Constitution should become “a reliable guarantor of the implementation of long-term development strategies of Uzbekistan.”

Marat Ildusovich Shakirzyanov,
member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, member of the International Association of Journalists

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