Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (1994, as amended 2001) (excerpts related to Fair Trial (Right to a)) (English)
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
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CHAPTER 2. PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Article 11. Legality
A judge, prosecutor, investigator, inquiry officer, defense counsel, and other persons participating in criminal proceedings shall strictly observe and enforce the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, this Code, and other laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Any departure from strict observance and enforcement of the laws, regardless of the reasons thereof, shall be considered as a violation of the criminal proceedings and entails liability.
Article 12. Administration of Justice Only by Court
In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, only court shall administer criminal justice.
Article 13. Multiple-Member and Single-Judge Examination of Criminal Cases
Criminal cases shall be examined by a multiple-member court, except those envisaged by Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code, which shall be examined with single-judge proceeding.
The multiple-member examination at court of first instance shall be conducted by a judge and two people’s assessors. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall examine cases at the court of first instance by three judges.
At trial, the people’s assessors shall be entitled to all judicial powers. They enjoy equal resolution power with the chief judge at the hearing and adjudication.
The trial at courts of appeal, review, and supervision shall be conducted by three judges. The petitions for review and appeal on the judgments of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be examined by the respective chambers of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan by five judges. (As amended by Law of 14.12.2000).
The Presidium of the court shall hear cases when a simple majority of its members is available.
The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall hear cases when a two-thirds majority of its members is available.
Article 14. Independence of Judges and Their Accountability to Law Only
Judges and people’s assessors shall be independent and accountable to the law only. Judges and people’s assessors shall examine and adjudicate criminal cases under the rule of law.
Any intervention into obligations of judges and people’s assessors shall be prohibited and entail liability.
Article 15. Mandatory Initiation of Criminal Case
Upon discovery of elements of a crime and within their competence, a court, prosecutor, investigator and inquiry officer shall be obliged to initiate a criminal case and take all necessary legal measures to establish of the event and actors of a crime and to punish guilty.
Article 16. Administration of Justice on Basis of Equality before the Law and Court
Criminal justice shall be administered on the basis of equality of individuals before the law and the court, notwithstanding their age, race, ethnicity, language, religion, social origin, belief, and personal and social status.
Article 17. Respect for Honor and Dignity of Individual
A judge, prosecutor, investigator, and inquiry officer shall respect honor and dignity of individuals participating in case.
Nobody may be subject to violence, torture, or other cruel or degrading treatment.
Acts or decisions, which degrade dignity, violate privacy, endanger health, and cause unjustified physical or moral suffering, shall be strictly prohibited.
Article 18. Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms
All state agencies and officials conducting criminal proceedings shall protect rights and freedoms of the persons participating therein.
No one may be taken into custody except under a court decision or a warrant of a prosecutor.
A court and prosecutor shall release immediately a person, who has been illegally apprehended or deprived of his liberty, or held in custody longer than envisaged by the law or the court’s sentence.
Personal privacy, inviolability of dwellings, confidentiality of correspondence, telephone and other conversations, postal, telegraph, and other communications, shall be protected by law.
Search, seizure, view of dwelling or other premises and territories, which belong to a person, as well as impounding postal or telegraph communications or seizure thereof at a communication office, wiretapping of phones or other communications may be conducted pursuant to the procedure established by this Code only.
Damage caused to a person by interference with his rights and freedoms during criminal proceedings shall be compensated in accordance with the procedure established by this Code.
Article 19. Public Hearing on Criminal Case
A hearing on criminal case shall be public, except for the instances inconsistent with the reasons of protection of state secrets, or connected with hearing on sexual crimes.
In camera hearing shall be permitted on juvenile crimes, as well as on other cases, when it is required to prevent disclosure of private or degrading information, and to ensure security of a victim, witness or other party in the case, as well as their family members or immediate relatives.
Private postal and telephone correspondence can be disclosed during the open court hearing only upon the consent of the sender and receiver. Otherwise they shall be disclosed and examined in the in camera hearing.
In camera hearing shall be conducted with observance of all procedural rules. A court may render a finding may on in camera hearings for the entire case or a part thereof. The finding shall concern the general public only and not be applied to the participants of the proceedings.
A court may allow immediate relatives of a defendant and victim, as well as other persons concerned, to attend in camera sessions, after warning them of the liability for disclosure of the circumstances revealed therein.
The court may prohibit certain persons to attend a public court hearing for keeping order in the courtroom.
Audio, photo, and video recording in the courtroom shall be allowed by the presiding judge only.
Sentences, findings, and rulings of a court shall be read out publicly, both in public and in camera hearings.
For enhancing publicity in administration of justice, the court may, if needed, notify mass media, public organization and groups concerned on hearings to be conducted, as well as conduct the hearings at the premises of enterprises, institutions, and organizations.
Article 20. Language of Criminal Proceedings
Criminal proceedings shall be conducted in the Uzbek or Karakalpak languages, or in the language of majority of the population of the respective area.
Participants in criminal proceedings, who do not have command of the language of the proceedings in the criminal case or whose command of the language is not adequate, may make statements, give explanations and testimony, file motions and complaints, and speak in court in their native language or another language of which they have command. In such cases, as well as to get familiarized with the criminal case file, the participants of the proceedings shall be secured with the assistance of an interpreter/translator in accordance with the procedure set by the law.
Documents of pretrial investigation and court hearing to be delivered to the accused, defendant or other participants of the proceedings, shall be translated into the native language of the participant concerned or into a language he has command of.
Article 21. Participation of Public in Criminal Proceedings
During criminal investigation and trial, an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, and court may, within their jurisdiction, use assistance of the public to establish circumstances of an offense, search and catch an offender, make a fair judgment, as well as to identify the causes and conditions of the crime.
Representatives of public organizations and groups may participate in criminal proceedings as public accusers and public defenders.
Article 22. Establishment of Issue
An inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, and court shall establish the event of crime, the offender, as well as all other relevant issues.
Only the information discovered, checked, and evaluated in accordance with the procedure envisaged by this Code may be used for the establishment of the issue. Obtaining statements from a suspect, accused, defendant, victim, witness, and other participants of the proceedings by means of violence, threats, violation of their rights, and other illegal treatment shall be prohibited.
All circumstances subject to proof shall undergo thorough, comprehensive, full, and impartial examination. During investigation and trial, all issues shall be resolved by establishment and consideration of all the circumstances, both incriminating and justifying, as well as mitigating and aggravating.
Article 23. Presumption of innocence
A suspect, accused, or defendant shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty of a crime in accordance with the procedure envisaged by law and ascertained by a court sentence that has taken legal effect.
It shall not be the obligation of a suspect, accused, or defendant to prove his innocence.
All doubts about the guilt, if possibilities to remove them have been exhausted, shall be resolved in favor of the suspect, accused, or defendant. All doubts arising in the course of law enforcement shall be resolved in favor of a suspect, accused, or defendant as well.
Article 24. Securing Right of Suspect, Accused, or Defendant to Defense
A suspect, accused, and defendant shall have the right to defense.
It shall be the obligation of an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, court to secure a suspect, accused, and defendant the right to defense by expounding him this right and taking measures to ensure that he has a real opportunity to use all means and ways provided by law to defend himself of the charge.
Article 25. Adversarial Proceeding at Court
Proceedings in court of first instance and in higher courts shall be conducted on the basis of parties’ adversarial setting.
A prosecution, defense, and adjudication shall be separated from one another during proceedings, and may not be assigned to the same agency or official.
Proceedings in court of first instance shall be started only upon submission of an indictment or resolution on referring a case to the court for applying compulsory medical measures.
State and public accusers, defendant, legal representative of a juvenile defendant, defense counsel, public defender, as well as a victim, civic plaintiff, civic defendant, and representatives thereof, shall participate in proceedings as parties and enjoy equal rights to produce evidences, participate in their examination, file motions, express their opinion on any matter being significant for the correct resolution.
A court shall not act for the prosecution or the defense, and shall not represent their interests. (As amended by the Law of 14.12.2000).
The court, being objective and impartial, shall provide necessary conditions to the parties to perform their procedural obligations and enjoy their rights. (As amended by the Law of 14.12.2000)
Article 26. Direct and Oral Examination of Evidences
When conducting criminal proceedings, an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, and court shall directly examine the evidences by: questioning suspects, accused, defendants, victims, and witnesses; hearing expert opinions; view of physical evidence; reading out official records and other documents. This rule may be exempted only in special cases envisaged by this Code.
A court shall adjudicate only on the basis of the evidences examined during a court session.
Article 27. Right to Bring Complaint against Procedural Actions and Decisions
Participants of the proceedings and other persons, as well as representatives of the enterprises, institutions, and organizations interested in the proceedings, shall have the right to complain against the procedural actions or decisions of an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, judge, and court, in accordance with this Code.
The convicted or acquitted person, his defense counsel, legal representative, as well as the victim, civic plaintiff, civic defendant, legal representatives thereof, have a right to complain, and the prosecutor have a right to file a protest, on the ruling (or finding) of the court of first instance to courts of appeal or cassation. (As amended by the Law of 14.12.2000).
Filing motions and complaints shall be allowed at any stage of the procedure. (As amended by the Law of 14.12.2000).
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CHAPTER 5. PARTIES TO CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS. DEFENSE COUNSELS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Article 45. Accused
A person shall be recognized as an accused if in his regard, in the order envisaged by this Code, a ruling has been rendered to prosecute him as an accused.
An accused whose criminal case has been set for a trial shall be referred to as a defendant, whereas after the sentence he shall be referred to as a convicted or an acquitted person.
Article 46. Rights and Obligations of Accused
An accused shall have the right: to be informed of charges against him; to give testimony and provide explanations about the charge brought against him or on other circumstances of the case; to use his native language or to use the assistance of an interpreter/translator; to use assistance of a defense counsel and to have meetings with him in private; to enjoy the right to defend himself independently; to file motions and challenges; to introduce evidences; to participate, with the permission of the inquiry officer or investigator, in investigative actions; to get familiarized, upon completion of the pretrial investigation, with the whole criminal case file and to write out required information; to raise objections to dismissal of the criminal case by the investigator or the prosecutor, and demand court hearing; to participate in the hearings at courts of reconciliation, of first instance, and of appeal, and, with the discretion of the court, in the courts of review and of supervision; to bring complaints against actions and decisions of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or the court; to get familiarized with the official records of the court session and to submit comments on them; to be informed of any protests, appeals, and cassation complaints on the case, and challenge them. The accused shall have a right to the last plea. (As amended by the Law of 14.12.2000 and by the Law of 29.08.2001).
An accused shall be obliged: to appear upon summons of an inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor and court; not to evade from participation at the pretrial investigation and court hearing; not to impede establishment of the issue by destruction or forgery of evidences, by persuasion of witnesses and by other illegal acts; to abide and satisfy the enforced restraint; not to impede enforcement of the resolutions of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, and of the findings of the court on examination, obtaining samples for the expert examination, hospitalization for forensic medical examination, and the other procedural rulings envisaged by this Code; to obey to the order during the investigation of the case and the court hearing.
An accused may be imposed to give testimony, as well as to prove his innocence or other circumstance of the case.
Article 47. Suspect
A person shall be recognized a suspect if the evidences that he has committed a crime are not sufficient for prosecution him as a defendant. An inquiry officer, investigator or the prosecutor shall issue a resolution on prosecution the person as a suspect.
Article 48. Rights and Obligations of Suspect
A suspect shall have the right: to be informed what he is suspected of; to demand to be questioned no later than twenty four hours from the moment of the apprehension; to give testimony regarding the suspicion against him or other circumstances of the case; to use his native language or to use the assistance of an interpreter/translator; to have assistance of a defense counsel from the moment of declaring him the resolution on prosecution him as a suspect, or after the apprehension; to have meeting with the counsel confidentially; to enjoy the right to defend independently; to file motions and challenges; to participate in the hearings in court of reconciliation; to bring complaints against actions and decisions of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or court. (As amended by the Law of 15.04.1999 and of 29.08.2001).
A suspect shall be obliged: to appear upon the summons of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, and court; not to evade from participation in pretrial investigation and court hearing; not to impede establishment of the issue by destruction or forgery of evidences, by persuasion of witnesses, and by other illegal acts; not to impede enforcement of the resolution of the inquiry officer, investigator, and prosecutor on examination, obtaining samples for expert examination, hospitalization for forensic medical examination, and the other rulings envisaged by this Code; to obey the order during investigation of the case.
A suspect cannot be imposed to give testimony, as well as to prove his non-implication or any other circumstance of the case.
Article 49. Defense Counsel
A defense counsel shall be a person entitled, in the order envisaged by law, to provide defense of the rights and legitimate interests of a suspect, accused, or defendant, and render legal assistance to them.
The following persons may assist as defense counsels: lawyers, or persons duly authorized to assist as the defense counsels, or representatives of public associations in cases involving their members. Immediate relatives or legal representatives of the suspect, accused, or defendant, as well as other persons concerned may counsel for the defendant with an approval of the investigator or a finding of the court. (As amended by the Law of 30.08.1997 )
Defense counsel may participate in the case from the moment of apprehension of the individual, or announcement of the recognition him as a suspect, or detention. (As amended by Law of 15.04.1999).
Article 50. Engagement of Defense Counsel
A defense counsel shall be retained by a suspect, accused, or defendant, his legal representative and by other persons upon the instructions of or subject to the consent of a suspect, accused, or defendant.
At a request from a suspect, accused, or defendant, the participation of a defense counsel shall be secured by the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or court.
If a defense counsel retained fails to appear within twenty-four hours, the inquiry officer, investigator, public accuser, or the court shall suggest that the suspect, accused, defendant, or their relatives retain another defense counsel, or shall address a bar chamber, board, or law firm with the request to appoint a defense counsel. A defense counsel retained by a suspect, accused, or defendant may be admitted at any time. (As amended by the Law of 30.08.1997).
An inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or the court may relieve a suspect, accused, or defendant, partly or fully, from expenses for defense. In this event, the expenses for the defense counsel are covered by the State in the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Article 51. Mandatory Participation Of Defense Counsel
participation of a defense counsel in criminal proceedings shall be mandatory, if the cases engage, as follows:
(1) juveniles;
(2) dumb, deaf, blind, or persons having other mental or physical defects and therefore incapable to exercise his right to defense on his own;
(3) persons having no command of the language in which the proceedings are conducted;
(4) persons suspected or accused in the capital crime;
(5) persons, who have contradicting interests, if one of them is being assisted by a defense counsel;
(6) participation of a state or public accuser;
(7) participation of a lawyer as a representative of a victim;
(8) compulsory medical measures.
An inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or court may recognize engagement of defense counsel as mandatory in the cases not specified above, if complexity of the case or other circumstances may impede the right of the suspect, accused or defendant to defense.
When, in the cases envisaged by the this Article, a defense counsel has not been retained by the suspect, accused or defendant, or with their request or their consent by other persons, the head a bar chamber, board, or law firm shall, upon the requirement of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or the court, shall appoint the defense counsel to participate in the inquiry, pretrial investigation or in the court hearing of the case. (As amended by the Law of 30.08.1997).
Article 52. Waiver of defense counsel
A suspect or defendant may waive a defense counsel at any moment of proceedings in the criminal case. Such waiver shall be permitted only upon the initiative of the suspect, defendant or accused and only in case of factual availability of the defense counsel provided, through the invitation of a lawyer, by the inquiry officer, investigator, or the court. The waiver shall be entered into special record signed by the suspect, defendant or accused, as well as by the lawyer, inquiry officer, or investigator, or shall be entered into the record of trial.
A waiver of defense counsel shall not be binding upon the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or court in the instances envisaged by Article 51, paragraph 1 subparagraphs 1, 4 and 8, of this Code.
A waiver of defense counsel shall not deprive the suspect or defendant of the right to file a motion later to admit a defense counsel to participate in the proceedings in the criminal case. Such a motion shall be satisfied mandatory. The motion for assistance of defense counsel filed during the court hearing shall be decided by the court by consideration of the circumstances of the case and requirement to ensure the right to defense. Admission of a defense counsel shall not cause repetition of the court hearing.
Article 53. Rights and Obligations of Defense Counsel
A defense counsel shall have the right: to be informed of charge against the defendant; to obtain a written admittance to participate in the case from the inquiry, pretrial investigation agencies and the court; to participate in the questioning of the suspect, to be present during announcement of charges against him and to participate in the interrogations of the defendant, as well as in other investigative actions involving the accused or defendant, and to question the suspect, defendant, witnesses, experts, specialists; to participate, upon the permission of the inquiry officer or the investigator, in other investigative actions; to submit written comments about the conduct of the investigating action wherein he participated; to file motions and challenges; to introduce evidences; to inquire from the state agencies, self-governing bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations and public associations the references, character evidences, and other documents required for defense; to get familiarized with the official record of the procedures conducted with participation of the suspect or the defendant, and, upon completion of the inquiry or the pretrial investigation, to get familiarized with the whole criminal case file and write out required information thereof; to get familiarized, under the legally established procedure, with the state, commercial and other secrets, if it is required for defense; to participate as a party in the court hearing; to bring complaints against actions and decisions of the inquiry officer, investigator, prosecutor, or court; to get familiarized with the official records of court session and to submit comments thereon; to be informed of any protests and complaints on the case, and challenge them; to participate in the hearings at courts of first instance, of appeal, review, and cassation. (As amended by the Law of 15.04.1999 and the Law of 14.12.2000).
If an accused or defendant is kept in custody, the defense counsel has a right to meet him confidentially without limitation of number of meetings and duration thereof.
The defense counsel may not disclose information obtained in connection with the defense.
The defense counsel shall be obliged: to use all legal means and instruments for establishment of the circumstances clearing of suspicion or the charges, or mitigating the liability, and to render required legal assistance to the suspect, accused, and defendant; not to impede establishment of the issue by destruction or forgery of evidences, by persuasion of witnesses and by other illegal acts; to obey the order during the investigation and the court hearing.
The lawyer may not, from the moment of retaining or appointing for participation in the case, refuse to fulfill the obligations of the defense counsel.
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