It is well known from history that every nation that has gained independence seeks its own path of development and tries to develop its own standard of building a new society. In this sense, the Constitution is the supreme expression of the will of the people, which serves as a «Roadmap» for the nation-specific strategic program leading to socio-political, socio-economic, spiritual perfection and development.
It is not an exaggeration to say that our constitution is an important source of harmonization and consolidation of our people’s will. Generally, many constitutions are developed by prominent experts, deputies and then adopted by parliament. While such documents are highly valued by the expert, there is a lack of nationalism, public opinion. Some states even boast of their Basic Laws adopted by the people in a referendum. Of course, this is the highest level decision. However, in this process, it is possible for the public to answer only one of the two questions: to approve or deny the text of the constitution. The peculiarity of the Constitution of Uzbekistan is that it has been enriched with the will of our people for 2 times in the nation-wide discussion. During the nationwide discussion, more than 6,000 proposals and comments on the draft constitution were voiced. Only one thousand letters were sent to the Constitutional Court. Proposal and remarks relate to all articles of the draft constitution and nearly half of the text, from the 127th article of the draft, to 60 corrections and clarifications. Four items were removed from the original version and several new articles were included in the text.
The experts who participated in this process emphasized that most of the proposals and comments contained the constitutional bases of law and order and the rights and freedoms of citizens, the role and place of religion in society, economic rights, including property rights, market relations and entrepreneurship, the articles, sections and divisions to strengthen.
It should be noted that in the history of independent Uzbekistan there is no law, which is broadly discussed as our Constitution. Our main law was discussed not only in each province, but also in the city of Tashkent, in the ministries and departments, and in each district, organization, institution and organization, and its outcome was submitted to the Consular Commission by proposals on the basis of the relevant table.
As you know, there are some things in the life of the state and society that will be as one of our homeland: our flag is one, our anthem is one, our constitution is one. Each of them reflects the paramount goals of our motherland, its nature and our people. In this sense, our constitution is valuable for every citizen as our flag, emblem, and anthem.
Taking into consideration the goals and objectives of the adoption of the Constitution, it is noted that the draft recommendation was adopted with the aim of ensuring the well-being of the citizens of the Republic, building a democratic state of law, ensuring peace and national accord. That is, the essence of our Constitution is to create worthy living conditions for the human being and to make him happy. The constitution provides for the society and its members the goal of building a humane democratic rule of law. It was emphasized that such a state can guarantee the worthy life, rights and freedoms of our people, and ensure the spiritual and moral wellbeing of the people.
Another proof of democracy is that our Constitution begins with the «people of Uzbekistan». We do not see such sentences in any other law. This is a clear sign of the people’s power.
Another important feature of our constitution is its recognition of the people’s sovereignty. According to Article 7 of the Basic Law, the people are the only source of state power. In the Basic Law, the words «democracy» and «democratic» are used 7 times and «people» 24 times.
The fundamental law of our people, which is an important expression of the authority of the people, is of paramount importance for the most developed countries in the world, even with the status of the legislature. In his book The National Guidelines for National Legislation: Global Research, published in Cambridge University in 2009, Stephen Fish and Met Kroenig, 32 subjects of parliaments have been evaluated. By this method, the competence of the parliaments of 190 constitutions was analyzed by western scientists, while the authority of the Oliy Majlis of the country was equal to the level of authority of the parliament of Norway with 0.33 and the parliaments of Norway, Switzerland, Hungary and Slovakia. It should be noted that the Netherlands, the German parliament has the power of 0.29, the French, the Italian and the Greeks – 0.24, which has shown a slight outcome from our country of competence under the parliament titled titles.
The constitution is also a clear program of community development. What we have done over the last 25 years is to ensure a decent standard of living for the citizens of the constitution, to build a democratic state of law, to express the will of the people and to serve their interests, to strengthen the people’s power, enhancing the role of parliament in the domestic and foreign policy, the rule of law, and human rights and freedoms and to further strengthen the role of constitutional and judicial systems in defense.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the most exemplary of our Constitution, which every citizen should know in his life, and if it is his support and support.
First of all, the basic law according to the preamble, we aim to strike a humane state. In human terms, dictionaries contain love, attention, care and respect for human beings. Thus, the state, its organs, and officials must arise from the humanistic criteria that are the constitutional objective of dealing with citizens.
The basic law defines the state as serving the human interests and protecting its rights as a priority. According to the basic principles of the Constitution, human rights, its life, freedom, honor, dignity and other inalienable rights are the highest values. The government carries out its activities for the well-being of the people and the society. As the Siseron states, «Salus populi – suprema lex», that is, the well-being of the people and society is the supreme law.
The state expresses the will of the people and serves its interests. State bodies and officials are accountable to the society and to citizens, that is, the advantage of citizens is legally secured and guaranteed. Civil servants should work in their work on the basis of the idea that I am a public servant.
The state, its bodies, officials, public associations, citizens shall act in accordance with the Charter and the laws. Laws are not adopted by one person or body, but are adopted by parliament or referendum with participation of representatives of the people. It is a very logical and straightforward decision that everyone can make in the way of law, and prevents everyone from creating a suitable rule. This rule is an invaluable treasure of the world of law and is a fundamental principle of many constitutions. Ancient Roman lawyers have said, «Nulla potentia supra leges debet esse» that is, no power beyond the law. According to the fundamental law, no law or other normative-legal act may contravene the constitutional norms and rules.
All citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan have the same rights and freedoms and are equal before the law irrespective of gender, race, nationality, language, religion, social origin, convictions, personality and social status.
Citizens and States are bound by mutual rights and responsibilities. As ancient Roman lawmakers say, «Obligation est iuris vinclum» is a crucial part of the right to duty. Obligation of a citizen is the state’s obligation. At the same time, it is within the competence of a public body to require the citizen to fulfill his or her obligations under the Constitution and laws.
Citizens’ rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws are inalienable, and no one has the right to deprive or curtail them without a court order. Everyone is guaranteed the right to judicial protection of his / her rights and freedoms, the right to appeal against unlawful actions of state bodies, officials and public associations. These principles are also the most important guarantee of human rights and freedoms, and they constitute the priceless peculiarities of world constitution. Ancient Roman lawyers claim that «Justitia is a negligence of the est» that is, no one should be denied the right to a fair trial, and that «Ab omni iudicio provocari licet» can be appealed.
Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. Ancient Roman lawyers have said «Libertas est potestas faciendi id, quod iure licet», that is, the freedom to do everything that is not prohibited by law.
No one may be detained or imprisoned without a law. Everyone charged with a criminal offense shall not be regarded as guilty until a court order has been publicly disclosed. The above rules are also one of the treasures of world constitutionalism. Ancient Roman lawgivers «Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege», that is, no liability can be imposed if penalties are not imposed by law. «Nihil fit sine ratione yet enough», that is, no action should be taken without sufficient ground. There must be sufficient grounds for each exercise.
No one shall be subjected to torture, any form of violence, cruelty or other forms of discrimination on the ground of human dignity.
The Republic of Uzbekistan guarantees legal protection and protection of its citizens both on its territory and abroad. The state provides citizens with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws.
All of this is the basis of the requirement of a common demand of civilians in relations with the public in the enlightened world, especially in the experience of advanced democracies, as a protective shield.
It is important to note that one of the aspects of the development and adoption of the constitution that can defeat the constitution of the most developed countries in the world. Another important aspect of the matter is that we need to apply the adopted document to our lives and to follow it. This is the most important precondition of our constitution. Sometimes we hear complaints from some citizens. If we do not use it ourselves and if we do not use it in our lives, the laws and constitution of the Constitution and laws will not bring us back to work from outside. Thus, from the earliest times in the law, «Lex vigilantibus, non dormientibus (subvenit)», «law is written for people who are awake, alert, zealous, not for the deceased. Whoever does not exercise his rights is guilty of the harm he has suffered».
In summary, the Constitution is a key source of cohesion, the basis of our national legislation, a specific strategic program of our development, a «Roadmap» that consolidates the will of our people.
August 9, 2024
