CONSTITUTION OF UZBEKISTAN: THE PRINCIPLES OF PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS MUST BE IMPLEMENTED

 The realities of the modern world and the current rapidly changing time require us to act in harmony. This fully applies to the norms of law as a regulator of socio-political processes in society and the state.

 The Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan was adopted in the first years of our country's independence. Over the past period, we have carried out and continue to carry out large-scale reforms taking into account the positive achievements of world civilization, international legal criteria and requirements. 
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at a meeting with members of the Constitutional Commission on June 20 this year noted: "The updated Constitution is designed to serve as a solid legal basis and a reliable guarantor of the implementation of long-term development strategies of our state, the prosperous life of the country and the people. In a word, the essence and content of the Constitution should be filled with the idea of "In the name of human honor and dignity" and be based on the main principle of our current reforms "Man - society - State", which are designed to become a fundamental value in our daily life. That is, the honor and dignity of a person should now be at the forefront of transformations in all spheres." 
As world practice shows, in many states constitutional reforms were carried out precisely during the period of cardinal changes. 
The implementation of the tasks reflected in the Development Strategy of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 and which are important in building a just, truly people's state requires a constitutional framework and an even stronger legislative framework. In this sense, the priority is the harmonization of the Basic Law with the modern realities of our society, the essence of the consistent reforms carried out under the leadership of the President. 
The protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens is the mission of the State, which is based on an appropriate system of norms, principles, mechanisms and procedural and legal rules. Proclaiming the authority of a person, his rights and freedoms in relation to other social values, focusing on them in government activities is one of the most important principles. 
The recognition of human rights and freedoms as the highest value directly follows from the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Thus, article 13 defines: "Democracy in the Republic of Uzbekistan is based on universal principles, according to which the highest value is a person, his life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights. Democratic rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution and laws." 
The assertion of human rights and freedoms as the highest value is impossible without the participation of the state not only to recognize them, but also to strictly observe and protect them. At the same time, there are special requirements for regulatory legal acts. 
The status of a citizen is based on the inviolability of his rights and freedoms. In this, the constitutional norm is of great importance. At the same time, any normative acts affecting the rights, freedoms and duties of a person and a citizen cannot be applied if they are not officially published for public information.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights established: "Everyone has the right to an effective restoration of his rights by the competent national courts in cases of violation of his fundamental rights granted to him by the Constitution or the law." This provision is enshrined in article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Thus, the right to judicial protection belongs to every individual (including the incapacitated), who can defend his rights through a lawyer, parent or other legal representative. 
"Everyone accused of committing a crime is considered innocent until his guilt is established by law, through a public trial, in which he is provided with all opportunities for protection," is enshrined in article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The right of a citizen to provide him with qualified legal assistance is also enshrined in the sectoral legislation. In criminal proceedings, the right to use the services of a defender belongs to the suspect, the accused, the defendant, the convicted, the witness; services of a representative - to the victim, civil plaintiff, civil defendant. 
In addition, the universally recognized principle of the presumption of innocence is proclaimed in article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly, as well as in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
The rules of presumption of innocence as norms of direct action contain a prohibition and recognition of unlawful treatment of someone as guilty of committing a crime, if there is no court verdict that has entered into force. In the absence of an appropriate sentence, a person should not be subjected to criminal punishment or restrictions on labor, family and other rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, due to the recognition of his guilty of a crime. 
In accordance with the principle of the presumption of innocence, an acquittal that has entered into legal force means the recognition and proclamation of the accused as innocent. 
Similar consequences (as well as an acquittal) entail the termination of criminal prosecution of the accused (suspect) for the absence of a crime event, as well as the corpus delicti against a person who has not reached the age at which criminal liability is possible. 
At the same time, the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan does not reflect the norm that exempts the accused from the obligation to prove his innocence. Although adequate wording is available in the sectoral legislation, in particular, in part two of Article 23 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan states: "The suspect, the accused or the defendant is not obliged to prove his innocence." 
The social significance of the rules on the inadmissibility of shifting the burden of proof to the accused is that in this way the dependence of the investigator and the court on the subjective factor - the desire and ability of the accused to prove his innocence, the presence or absence of evidentiary facts is eliminated. 
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights imposes obligations on the participating countries to provide any person with effective remedies for economic, social, cultural, as well as civil and political rights and freedoms in cases of their violation; the right to protection for any person in need of it; the use of remedies by the competent authorities when they provided. 
In accordance with the third part of article 13 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which states: "A law establishing the criminality of an act, increasing punishment or otherwise worsening the situation of a person has no retroactive effect," when adopting a law establishing or aggravating liability, it does not apply to previously committed acts, that is, it has no retroactive effect. This means that no one can be held responsible for an act that was not recognized as an offense at the time of its commission. At the same time, if after the commission of an offense the responsibility for it is eliminated or mitigated, the new law applies. 
The Constitution, codes and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan list the basic human and civil rights and freedoms enshrined in international documents. However, this list is not identical. International agreements specify only those fundamental rights and freedoms that are acceptable to most States of the world and must be respected by the States parties to these agreements. In cases where international documents record a higher level of human rights and freedoms, priority should be given to generally recognized norms of international law on the territory of our country. It is not allowed to restrict or detract from the generally recognized principles and norms of international law concerning human rights, under the pretext that they are not listed in the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 
Human rights and freedoms cannot be regarded as absolute: after all, a person lives in society and acts in a system of social relationships. For the normal functioning of a democratic society, a certain order is needed. Therefore, it is impossible to imagine a civilized society without its members observing their duties both to the state in whose territory they live and to other people. If everyone had unlimited rights and freedoms, then any society would be plunged into chaos. 
The free development of the individual is achievable if the rights enshrined in the Constitution and laws are based on the recognition of human dignity, if conditions are created in the State for everyone to enjoy civil and political freedoms, as well as economic, social and cultural rights. 
Guarantees of human rights are important only in the aggregate, because they cannot be provided only by economic or only by legal means. Only in a complex they form the solid foundation on which the system of implementation of basic constitutional human rights and freedoms is built. 
Thus, in order to establish constitutional guarantees of reliable protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens in the New Uzbekistan, where human dignity is a priority, it seems appropriate to make amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, providing for the following norms: