It is not by chance that our great ancestor Sahibkiran Amir Temur perpetuated the
following saying on the portal of Oksaroy palace: «Justice is the basis of the state and actions
of wise rulers». This idea has not lost its relevance today.
At the Asian Forum on Human Rights held in November in Samarkand, prominent
politicians, foreign scholars and experts gave a decent assessment to the work we have done
in this short period of time.
It should be noted that this event has further enhanced prestige of Uzbekistan in the
world. Most importantly, the Asian Forum introduced the notion of «Samarkand spirit» into
international practice in the field of human rights.
Today, in our country a lot is being done to ensure the protection of human rights and
freedoms. In particular, strict liability has been established for the use of information
obtained by unlawful methods as evidence of the prosecution.
Taking this opportunity, I want to emphasize once again that only one goal – justice
should be in a judge’s mind, truth – in a judge’s mouth and purity in his soul.
In this regard, the following words of our great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi acquire a
particularly deep meaning: «People, do not do evil, build a temple of justice and justice in
your heart and soul of the people».
When does justice prevail? When judicial bodies, judges strictly follow the principles of
legality and fairness, they honestly and conscientiously perform their duties.
In the past two years, important measures have been taken in this area, in particular,
to ensure the independence of the courts.
This year alone, 1 881 criminal cases were discontinued for lack of evidence. Five
hundred and ninety persons have been acquitted, whereas in 2016, pay attention – only 28,
and in 2017 – 263 persons.
In addition, the corpus delicti unreasonably applied during the investigation were
excluded from the charges against 5 462 persons, 2 449 persons were released in the
courtroom.
The practice of reconsideration of cases by courts during many years has been
completely discontinued.
Based on the principles of humanism, a completely new system was introduced. As a
result, 993 people were released from punishment under the guarantee of the Youth Union,
Makhalla and Women’s Committees, including 456 young people and 113 women who have
committed crimes of ignorance and sincerely repented.
Besides, 3 thousand 333 people who are serving their sentences, including 646
convicted for participating in the activities of banned organizations, were granted pardon and
returned to their families.
On the occasion of this grand holiday, today I have signed a special Decree. According
to it, 136 people, who have sincerely repented, returned to path of correction and are now
serving their sentences, were granted pardon.
More than 20 thousand citizens suspected of having links with religious extremist
groups were removed from the register.
The Republican Interdepartmental Commission for the Consideration of Citizens’
Appeals has been established, which is charged with considering the appeals of citizens who
got involved in banned organizations, sincerely repented, took the path of correction.
Public commissions have been established on the ground to study the personal and
professional qualities of candidates for the position of judge.
To ensure fairness, openness and transparency of the consideration of cases in courts,
a system of electronic distribution of cases has been introduced. From now on, it is the
electronic program that determines which judge will consider the case, without human
intervention.
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