Prof Shabir Ahmad Khan
Strengthening the contract and relations between State and Society in writing i.e. Constitution is a continuously evolving process in order to adapt to ever changing national and international circumstances. The progressive development of our society necessitate to reform and improve the legal basis of the Country to cater to the present and future needs of our State and Society in changed circumstances, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his views on constitutional reforms.
In his meeting with the Constitutional Commission held on June 22, 2022, it was mentioned that the Commission received almost 50000 proposals from the citizens to make the Constitution more citizen-centric. Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented his vision of the constitutional reforms that focuses on safeguarding the honor and dignity of person through citizen-centric approach. Honor and dignity of human shall be the foremost priority protected by the Constitution. The constitutional reforms shall provide a solid foundation for the progress of society and economic development of the State in the present as well as in future as a permanent guarantee, the Head of the Uzbek State said.
The President of Uzbekistan highlighted four priority areas for constitutional reforms:
Firstly, human dignity and honor shall have constitutional protection. The public office holders should be bound to respect this basic citizen’s right as a basic human right. The President emphasized to prohibit death penalty through constitutional provision because right to life is an inalienable right of every person. The rights of relatives of a person who is involved in proven criminal activity should be protected. The criminal record of a person or its legal consequences should not be used as a base for denying rights to his or her relatives. He also mentioned that the measures of legal influence applied to a person involved n administrative, civil, economic and criminal liability should be sufficient to achieve a legitimate goal and should not be burdensome for the person.
Second area of priority for constitutional reforms; the Head of the State proposed to enhance the idea of “Uzbekistan a Social State” in the constitutional reforms. This concept implies that the State should be bound to create conditions for social well-fare and decent living standards of all segments of society without any discrimination. The State should take care of families, children, youth, elders and disabled people within national borders as well as outside the country.
Third proposal of the President of Uzbekistan has been to make state bodies and public authorities responsive to the needs of Mohallas through enhanced interaction. The Mohallas as independent entities should be able to resolve disputes and address grievances at local level with the support of the State.
The fourth proposal has been to improve public administration and strengthen democracy through citizens’ participatory approach. The aim is promotion of the notion i.e. the Government by the people for the people. It means the public office holders and state institutions work for the well being of the people. The constitutional reforms should further ensure openness, transparency, efficiency and accountability in the affairs of the State and its Organs. The Head of the State proposed to transfer some parts of the powers of the President to Oliy Majlis in formation of the government and ensuring its efficient and transparent functioning. It was emphasized to exclude provision from the constitution that makes Khokim simultaneous head of people’s deputies. An institution should be created that proposes legislative reforms to the constitution and giving also the people right to initiate legislative reforms. A group of 100000 persons will be able to submit legislative proposals to Oliy Majlis.
It was also proposed to expand the powers of the government with clearly defined responsibilities for the Cabinet of Ministers and Khokimiyats on family support, environmental issues, youth, social protection of disabled, transportation development, recreation of people and on support for civil society institutions.
The importance of updating and improving Uzbekistan’s foreign policy concept in the evolving regional and global circumstances also emphasized. The deputies of the Oliy Majlis will submit the proposals summarized by the Constitutional Commission as a legislative initiative to the lower house of the Parliament. These will be discussed in details in the Parliament and the Parliament will finalize a draft of the updated Constitution. Though the current legislation of the Country allows the Parliament to amend the Constitution however Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to go to the people of Uzbekistan to adopt the reforms by referendum. The President of Uzbekistan declared that the will of the citizens of Uzbekistan matters the most and should be the final word.
One can observe that main goals of the proposed amendments have been to ensure a stable society with unity and solidarity where persons are honored and served with dignity. This is also crucial for inclusive development of any society. The aim has been to create conditions for social welfare and guarantee sustainable socio-economic development of the Uzbek State and Society with a solid legal base within the evolving national, regional and global circumstances.
(The author is Director, Area Study Centre (Central Asia) University of Peshawar, Pakistan)
