Uzbekistan

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Background

Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Within the western third of the country lies the autonomous Republic of Qoraqalpoghiston. The Republic holds a veto power with Uzbekistan over decisions concerning its affairs.

The Soviet Union established the Uzbek soviet in 1924, with Uzbekistan declaring its independence on 31 August 1991. In 1992 Uzbekistan ratified a new constitution, replacing the 1978 soviet era constitution. It established Uzbekistan as a Republic, setting out the legislature (Oliy Majlis), executive and judicial branches of government. General protection of personal liberties is guaranteed, but subject to restriction under certain circumstances.

The Constitution of Uzbekistan was substantially revised from the 1991 version and adopted by a nationwide vote on the 30th of April 2023.

The Constitution has supreme legal force and direct effect.

There are 3 levels of Courts in Uzbekistan: Supreme Court, Regional Courts, and District Courts (People’s Court).

The Constitutional Court exists to determine whether acts of the legislature and the executive comply with the constitution.

The higher courts are the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and Higher Economic Court for Commercial cases. There are also two high courts for the autonomous Republic. Judges are elected by the senate (upper house of the legislature) from candidates picked by the President.

The Legal system

The legal system is within the civil law family.

Before the Russian conquest, Uzbek law was a combination of Islamic Shari’a and adat (customary) law. Imperial Russia aimed to move it towards a more European system but with limited success.

The Communist regime sought to remove the Shari’a system, which took over a decade to do so. Now in the post-independence era, it retains its secular ideology from the soviet era and is in what the then government called the “Phased” approach, reforming legislation to match the international standard.

Legal Aid

State Sponsored legal aid: Legal aid in Uzbekistan has been the subject of recent development. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as the United Nations Development Programme, have formed proposals and created working groups to enhance legal aid provision.
Legal aid in the country was subject to criticism due to inadequately defined eligibility criteria and insufficient legal framework to support NGO’s who supply legal aid. State-funded legal aid is available in criminal cases. Besides that, the NGO, Madad, aims to promote the development of legal awareness and legal culture and provide free legal assistance.

Number of lawyers (criminal/civil) if known: The Chamber of Lawyers was created in 2008 and represents the interests of advocates at a national level. According to the Speaker of the Chamber of Lawyers, there are roughly 4,000 lawyers for a population of 33 million in 2021. This means that there is roughly one lawyer per 8,500 people in Uzbekistan, showing a crisis of legal representation in the country. By contrast, the UK has over 150,000 practicing solicitors (without including the population of barristers) for a population of just under 70 million. In May of 2019, out of 42 countries analysed, the only ones with less lawyers than Uzbekistan were Turkmenistan and Tajikistan with only one lawyer for every 12-14,000. inhabitants.

Source of Defendants Rights

National Sources of Defendant’s rights:
The constitution is the highest source of law in Uzbekistan, subject to Article 14, Law on Regulatory Legal Acts. Thus, the Constitution is the greatest source of legal rights in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the Constitution was recently reformed in 2023 (from its previous iteration in 1992) it illustrates any progress made in human rights and the rule of law. These rights are outlined mainly in Part 2 of the Constitution, “Basic human and civil rights, freedoms and duties”, though not exclusively.

International Sources of defendant’s rights:

CCPR-OP1 - Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, accepted, 28 Sep 1995

CRC - Convention on the Rights of the Child, acceded, 29 Jun 1994 (a)

CRC-OP-AC - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, acceded, 23 Dec 2008 (a)

CRC-OP-SC - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, acceded, 23 Dec 2008 (a)

CRPD - Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified, 28 Jun 2021 Other international treaties signed by Uzbekistan are available in the University of Minnesota Library on ratification of treaties (Uzbekistan).They deal with human rights issues more generally.

Rights of the Accused

Right Against Unlawful Arrests, Searches and Seizures: No arrest, detainment, imprisonment, put into custody or otherwise restricted in freedom “except on lawful grounds”. Arrest, commitment, confinement only permissible through a court decision. Without which, detainment is impermissible for more than 48 hours.

Right Against Unlawful Detention: Constitution of Uzbekistan, Article 27

Right Not to be Tortured or Ill-Treated: Human honour and dignity are inviolable. “Nothing may be a basis for their derogation”. No one shall be subjected to “torture, violence or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” Nobody shall be subjected to “medical and scientific experiments without his or her consent”.

Right to Medical Care: Everyone has the right to health and qualified medical care. Extensive medical care for citizens in a manner prescribed by law, for citizens, is at the expense of the state.

Right to be Informed of Charges: The person detained must be informed about their rights and reasons for detention in a language they understand.

Right to Presumption of Innocence: Presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a public trial in accordance with procedure prescribed by law established by a court verdict that has entered into legal force. A suspect, accused, or convicted person is not obliged to prove their innocence. Right to remain silent at any time.

Right Against Self-Incrimination: Constitution of Uzbekistan, Article 28, right to remain silent, also no obligation to testify against themself or “close relatives”

Rights to Counsel and Effective Assistance: Right to receive qualified legal assistance. Shall be expensed by the state where stipulated by law. Right to legal counsel of their choice at any stage of criminal proceedings. Also applies where the person is detained, as soon as their right to freedom of movement is restricted. Suspect, accused, or defendant, has right to be informed of the essence and grounds of accusation, and demand interrogation of persons giving evidence against them, in their favour, and to the use of an interpreter.

Right to Present a Defence: The accused person shall be given “every opportunity” to present his or her defence.

Right to Due Process: In the constitution of Uzbekistan, no single Article expressly provides a right to due process, but it can be implied from Articles 55, and 28, which take certain measures to do so.

Right to Equal Protection of the Laws: “Guarantee human rights and freedoms in accordance with generally recognized norms of international law and in accordance with this Constitution: “…from birth” all citizens… have equal rights and freedoms, and shall be equal before the law without discrimination by sex, race, nationality, language, religion, social origin, convictions and social status.” “Privileges granted shall be solely by law and must conform to the principles of social justice”.

Right to Bail: A “Right” to bail is not specifically addressed, however, procedure for bail is set out in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Article 249. Defendants may be released without bail on condition of a promise of “Proper behavior” and to show up to court hearings. An investigator, magistrate, or judge may release a detainee on order of bail with a minimum of 5.4 million soums, (roughly $500) with no maximum cap.

Right Against Double Jeopardy: An individual cannot be tried twice for the same offence.

Right to a Fair Trial: No reference specifically to a fair trial in the Constitution of Uzbekistan, though reference to a trial prescribed by law is referenced in Article 28.

Right to a Trial by Jury: There are no jury trials. The criminal code stipulates criminal cases shall be considered by a panel of judges, unless Article 15 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Criminal Code apply, then a case can be considered by a single judge.

Right to a Speedy Trial: Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, General Part, Section 1, Chapter 1, Article 2. Criminal procedure legislation shall pursue as its objectives a speedy and full ascertaining fact of the crimes, targeting guilty 2 persons and securing of proper application of law with the view that each person, who committed a crime, be imposed to a fair punishment and no innocent person be brought to liability and convicted.

Right to an Impartial Judge: The right to a competent and impartial court within time limits established by law in order to have their rights and freedoms restored. Judges shall be independent and subject to the Constitution and law alone. Interference in the work of a judge in administering law is inadmissible and punishable by law

Right to Language Interpretation: A Person detained must be informed about their rights and reasons for detention in a language they understand

Right to Habeas Corpus: January 1st, 2008, the Right to Habeas Corpus was introduced, but Human Rights Watch has noted it has been an improvement, on paper only.

Capital Punishment: The death penalty was abolished. Since January 1, 2008, the death penalty was replaced by prison sentences from 20 years to life.

Right to Appeal: If convicted, the right to appeal sentence to a higher court in accordance with procedure established by law, as well as the right to request a pardon or reduced sentence. Right to appeal unlawful decisions, acts, omissions of state bodies and other organizations and their officials.

Rights of Counsel

Contained within Article 6 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, On Advocacy. It contains a myriad of rights outside of the ones mentioned below

Right to Provide Representation: Article 6 of the aforementioned legislation provides this “to represent the interests and protect the rights of physical and legal persons on their behalf at their request in all the bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations in the jurisdiction of which includes the resolution of relevant issues”.

Right of Access to the Client: Article 6 of the aforementioned legislation provides this. “to freely meet with your principal (client) alone, in the circumstances, to ensure confidentiality (in fact including in the period of detention of his/her under custody), with no restrictions number of visits, their duration and without the permission of government authorities and officials of the persons responsible for the production of the case”. Under Article 142 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, advocates are ensured “unimpeded and confidential meetings and consultations with their client.”

Right to Information: Article 6 of the aforementioned legislation provides for the following. “to interrogation of persons familiar with business information and obtaining written explanations with their consent; to submit the collected materials to the courts and other state bodies that carry out the proceedings in the case of his/her principal (client); to record essential data in the materials and documents or take copies from the materials and documents with the help of technical means or to fix in a different form of information contained in the case at his/her expense, not disclose the information contains of state secrets, commercial or other secret”. Under Article 142 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, advocates are ensured “unimpeded and confidential meetings and consultations with their client.

Pre-Trial Procedure

Police procedures

Arrest, Search and Seizure Laws:

• Arrests: Article 48 of Uzbek criminal code provides that ‘Arrest shall be holding a person in a strict isolation from one to six months.’ The US State Department elaborates on the conditions of arrest, as ‘by law a judge must review any decision to arrest accused individuals or suspects. Judges granted arrest warrants in most cases. Detention without formal charges is limited to 48 hours, although a prosecutor may request that a judge extend detention an additional 48 hours, after which the person must be charged or released.
• Pre-trial detention: Article 62 of the Uzbek criminal code states: ‘When inflicting a penalty, a court shall credit one day of pretrial detention for: one day of apprehension or committing to a disciplinary unit; three days of correctional labor or suspension from office.
• Enforcing the Rules (Exclusionary Rule, Nullity and other procedures to protect against illegal police procedures): Torture, and the use of evidence obtained by torture in court proceedings, are forbidden. Article 29 of the Uzbek constitution states that ‘No evidence obtained in violation of the law may be admitted in the administration of justice.’ However, the 2020 UN committee against torture concluded that torture was routinely used in extracting confessions and information in criminal proceedings.

Court Procedures

Pre-Trial:

• Initial Court Appearance: ‘Once authorities file charges, suspects may be held in pretrial detention for up to three months while investigations proceed.’ Pretrial detention can also include house arrest.
• Preliminary Hearing: In the final report on the United Nation’s ‘Support to Criminal Justice Reform in Uzbekistan’ project, which ran from 2018-20, key results included the introduction of a preliminary hearing.

Appeals: Article 29 of Uzbek constitution states that ‘a person convicted of a crime shall have the right to appeal the sentence to a higher court in accordance with the procedure established by law, as well as the right to request a pardon or a reduced sentence.

Right to Counsel: Article 29 of the Uzbek constitution states that ‘Everyone shall be guaranteed the right to receive qualified legal assistance. In cases stipulated by law, legal assistance shall be provided at the expense of the state. Each person shall have the right to legal counsel of his or her choice at any stage of the criminal proceedings, and where the person concerned is detained, as soon as his or her right to freedom of movement is restricted.

Rights in Prison

Right to Humane Conditions of Confinement: Article 28 of Uzbek Constitution provides that ‘The persons deprived of their liberty shall be entitled to humane treatment and respect for the honor and dignity inherent in the human person.’ According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, prisoners are entitled to outdoor exercise during nonworking hours. Prison officials typically allowed family members to visit prisoners for up to four hours, two to four times per year. Officials also permitted longer one-to-three-day visits two to four times per year, depending on the type of prison facility, as well as overnight stays

Right to Medical Care in Prison: US state government report claims that ‘Inmates should undergo a medical examination upon request and at intervals of not more than six months.

Rights of Special Populations:

• LGBT Prisoners: Intercourse between men is punishable with up to 3 years in prison. There are no provisions for the rights of GLBT prisoners.
• Mentally Ill Prisoners: Articles 91-96 of the Uzbek Criminal Code licences the court to apply compulsory medical measures to a mentally ill prisoner. This could involve compulsory treatment in a psychiatric institution.
• Juveniles: Article 81 of the Uzbek Criminal code states that ‘the following primary penalties may be imposed on persons who committed crimes under eighteen years of age: a. fine; b. correctional labour; c. arrest; d. imprisonment. Persons who committed crimes under eighteen years of age may not be imposed with an additional punishment.’ Imprisonment for juveniles is limited to 10 years, or up to 15 years for a joinder of crimes. Juveniles may also be punished through correctional labour, or a fine of up to 20 minimum monthly wages.

Resources

- https://www.britannica.com/place/Uzbekistan

- Constitution of Uzbekistan

- https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Uzbekistan1.html#_Legal_System_of.

- https://journals.openedition.org/asiecentrale/1293?file=1.

- https://www.undp.org/uzbekistan/press-releases/policy-practice-collaborative-journey-strengthening-legal-aid-mechanisms-uzbekistan.

- https://www.unodc.org/centralasia/en/news/expert-commentary-on-the-draft-law-of-uzbekistan-on-free-legal-aid.html.

- https://advice.uz/en/page/about.

- https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/international/doing-legal-business-in-uzbekistan.

- http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/4797-there-are-4-000-advocates-in-uzbekistan-with-its-population-of-33-million.

- http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/ratification-uzbekistan.html.

- https://www.vertic.org/media/National%20Legislation/Uzbekistan/UZ_Criminal_Procedure_Code.pdf

- https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/uzbekistan/.

- https://www.unodc.org/centralasia/en/news/unodc-roca-and-the-supreme-court-of-uzbekistan-signed-memorandum-of-understanding.html.

- https://legislationline.org/sites/default/files/documents/fd/UZB_on%20bar%20association.pdf#:~:text=Attorneys%20can%20form%20public%20associations,in%20accordance%20with%20their%20legislation.

- Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan On Advocacy

- The Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, from vertic.org

- US 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Uzbekistan