Kim Chi Hwan Name: The introduction of the jury system in Uzbekistan

Kurbonov Sharofjon

Student Name Sharofjon Kurbonov
Professor Kim Chi Hwan
Name: The introduction of the jury system in Uzbekistan
Course Law of evidence
Date 19/05/2022
The Supreme Council of Judges is an important guarantee of judicial independence

The law "On amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan" published in the press on April 7,2017 year, the relevant amendments to Articles 80,81,93,111 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan related to the Supreme Council of Judges and additions were made.

Article 111 of the Constitution states, “The Supreme Council of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan is a body of the judicial community that promotes the observance of the constitutional principle of the independence of the judiciary in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The establishment and procedure of the Supreme Council of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be determined by law. ” The granting of constitutional status to the Supreme Council of Judges is an important constitutional guarantee of the independent and effective implementation of the tasks assigned to it. It should be noted that in international standards, the status of a body performing such a function is highly recognized in the constitutional order. That is why the constitutions of many developed democracies contain norms governing the activities of the bodies that carry out this task. Another important point here is that the establishment and operation of this body is determined by law, and not by the charter approved by the order of the head of state. We know that the laws regulate the most important and stable social relations, are adopted by the supreme state representative body after several and continuous discussions with deputies and senators, various examinations, and come into force only after they are signed by the President and published in the press.
As before, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Judges is not appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from among the members of the Senate, but by the Senate on the recommendation of the President, as well as the heads of a number of other independent constitutional bodies. This rule is reflected in Article 80, paragraph 4 of our Constitution. In addition, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Judges is constitutionally eligible to participate in the sessions of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate, as well as in the meetings of their bodies. It should be noted that so far such persons are included in Article 81 of the Constitution only in the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Economic Court, the Prosecutor General, The chairman of the board of the central bank was included. All this testifies to the high prestige and prestige of the post of Chairman of the Supreme Council of Judges and serves to ensure its independence and inviolability.
Necessity. The need to further improve the procedure for selection and appointment of candidates for judges, the lack of a clear legal status of the High Qualifications Commission for the Selection and Recommendation of Judges, the fact that it operates on a public basis and limited powers, required the establishment of a Supreme Council of Judges.
So how is this body different from its predecessor? It should be noted that the previous body operated under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and was responsible only for the selection and appointment of judges in its own name. Its charter was approved by presidential decree. If the legal basis of the previous Commission is the Constitution and laws, resolutions of the Oliy Majlis, decrees, resolutions and orders of the President, the new Council and its members must comply with the requirements of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is stipulated that the Council shall carry out its activities only in accordance with the law, independently of state bodies and other organizations, as well as officials.
The new body has, first of all, constitutional status, is independent, is not part of or in the presence of any state body, and its functions and powers, even its name, differ from the previous Commission. The commission in the literature is usually not an independent body, but has a supporting role, and this or that body, which operates under the auspices of the institution, is organized to perform certain, narrow tasks, rather than as a whole. As a rule, it is understood as periodic, community-based structures, often limited to the functions of inspection, study. Such structures usually do not plan their activities, but specialize in the specific tasks and responsibilities of the structures that organize them.
In the political and legal literature, the Council, on its own behalf, is committed to democracy and collegiality, reasonableness, representation, and the full rights and freedom of expression of its members, usually independent and independent. as a rule, a decisive decision is made on the issue at hand.
In this sense, the name of the body is called the Council.
About the special law regulating the activity. On April 7, 2017, the Law "On the Supreme Council of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan" was published in the press.
Here are some of the key points:
The first important aspect is the appointment of judges of military courts, regional and Tashkent city courts, chairmen and judges of inter-district, district and city courts by the Council in agreement with the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and their dismissal by agreement with the President. is of paramount importance in raising its prestige and prestige. It should be noted that in the past, the appointment and dismissal of these positions were the exclusive prerogative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The role of the commission was limited to nominating candidates for these positions, as well as submitting proposals to the President for early termination of their powers. In the history of the world, the practice of transferring authority to another body on one's own initiative is rare. Of course, the appointment of judges of military courts, regional and Tashkent city courts, chairmen and judges of inter-district, district and city courts is a huge responsibility, as well as for any possible shortcomings that may be tolerated by these judges. it also means moral responsibility. In this sense, this is not only a power, but also a great responsibility to the Supreme Council of Judges.

The second important aspect is the procedure for forming the Council. The law stipulates that the Council, consisting of a chairman, deputy chairman, its members and secretary - a total of twenty-one members - from judges, law enforcement agencies, representatives of civil society institutions and highly qualified legal experts. Eleven members of the Council shall be approved by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from among the judges upon nomination by the Chairman of the Council. One of these members of the Council shall be approved from among the judges of the courts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Eleven members of the Board, approved from among the Chairman, Secretary and Judges, shall serve on a permanent basis, while the remaining eight members of the Council, including the Deputy Chairman of the Council, shall serve on a voluntary basis. The above norms stipulate that at least half of the members of the Council for the Selection of Judges, nominated by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, must be judges themselves, that the procedure for the selection of judges must be clearly stated in the law; This is in line with his recommendation that half of its members should work full-time so that they do not become dependent on the staff of the secretariat. Earlier, the commission was formed by representatives of the Senate and the Legislative Chamber, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Economic Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office and highly qualified legal experts, as well as members of the public. Approval of the seventeen members for a term of five years, the Chairman and four members of the Commission (heads of the Secretariat and the Judicial Inspectorate and their deputies) on a permanent basis, and twelve members it was determined to carry out its activities on a community basis.

The third important aspect is reflected in the main tasks of the Council, which includes the selection of candidates for judicial positions, the appointment of judges from among the most qualified and responsible specialists, the organization of professional training and retraining of judges, evaluation of judges, the media. cooperation with the population, communication with the population, consideration of the issue of disciplinary proceedings against judges, as well as the issuance of a conclusion to bring them to criminal and administrative responsibility.

The fourth important point is that the Council pays special attention to research. We can also see this when the Research Center for Democratization and Liberalization of the Judiciary and the Independence of the Judiciary under the Supreme Court was transformed into a Research Center for the Study of Judicial Issues under the Supreme Council of Judges. Of course, the Center will work with the Council to further improve the legislation in the field of justice, to ensure the independence of the judiciary and a unified judicial practice, to prepare proposals for improving the level of access to justice and the quality of its implementation. The fifth important aspect is embodied in a number of powers of the Council. We would like to emphasize the most important of them by the above. (previously made recommendations to the chairmen of the relevant courts on the application of disciplinary measures against judges), to give an opinion on criminal or administrative prosecution of judges, to provide general guidance to the qualification commissions of judges, judges of individuals and legal entities to consider appeals on violations of the code of ethics, to approve the criteria for studying and evaluating the activities of judges, to approve a program for the organization of professional training and retraining of judges (previous training and internship programs) to be approved by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Supreme Economic Court and the Ministry of Justice, respectively).

In addition to the above, the law clearly defines the rights and obligations of the members of the Council (the previous Regulations did not specify the rights and obligations of the members of the Commission). in the presence of at least two-thirds of the members of the Council; rules were introduced, the equality of rights of candidates for judicial positions was recognized in the formation of the judiciary, and it was noted that, unlike before, those with diseases or physical disabilities that impeded the administration of justice could not be included in the reserve.

In addition to the existing grounds for exclusion of a candidate for the position of a judge from the reserve (in practice, only in the case of unsatisfactory assessment of the results of training and internship, as well as in the case of defamatory acts) in case of failure to pass the competition for admission to special courses for candidates for judicial positions, loss of citizenship of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the occurrence of diseases or physical defects that impede the administration of justice, incapacity or limited legal capacity when he was found to have died, or when he was declared dead by a court decision, when a crime was committed, when a conclusion was drawn that he was unfit for judicial office. It is also stated that a candidate for the position of a judge will be removed from the reserve even if he has not been nominated for the position of a judge for more than three years.

Another important aspect of this important document is that it specifies the main criteria for the selection of judges for the first time, the main criteria for the selection of judges for new terms and other judicial positions. Approval of the list of obstructive diseases and physical disabilities by a joint decision of the Council and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, requirements for measures to improve the skills of judges and based on the results of the assessment, it can be stated that the organization of justice is organized taking into account the identified structural shortcomings.
These constitutional norms and laws serve to ensure reliable judicial protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, true independence of the judiciary, increase the efficiency and prestige of the judiciary, and increase access to justice.