The draft Criminal Code, published for public input on the regulation.gov.uz portal, provides for the decriminalization of a number of crimes and introduces criminal liability for some actions.

The draft proposed to decriminalize the following crimes (exclusion from the number of crimes):

• Sham business (Article 179);
• Violation of the legislation on competition and natural monopolies (Article 183);
• Violation of the rules of trade or service (Article 189);
• Illicit collection, disclosure or use of information (Article 191);
• Undermining the reputation of competitors (Article 192);
• Violation of legislation on religious organizations (Article 216-2);
• Failure to comply with the legal requirements of the administration of the institution for serving the sentence (Article 221);
• Evasion of military or alternative service (Article 225);
• Violation of the order of religious instruction (Article 229-2);
• Illicit production, storage, import or distribution of materials of religious content (Article 244-3).

The draft code proposed to criminalize for a number of actions.

Conducting illicit experiments on humans. Liability is provided for the illicit involvement of a person as an object without his written consent (the consent of his legal representative), or otherwise, for medical trials of medicines, experiments or research entailing the infliction of serious harm to health by biological, medical, psychological or other means.

Illicit placement in a psychiatric institution.

Vigilantism. The use of violence, threats to use violence, the provision of moral, psychological, physical or other pressure through beatings, torture or other illicit actions, for the purpose of unauthorized punishment of a person who has committed a certain act or is suspected of committing it.

Illicit obstruction of the organization, holding of rallies, meetings or demonstrations, or participation in them. This crime implies unlawful obstruction or participation in organizing, holding rallies, gatherings or demonstrations, as well as coercion to participate in them by using official position, or using violence, deception, intimidation and other illicit methods.

Blackmailing. The use of violence, causing damage to property, its destruction, intimidation by disclosing data confidential for the victim, in relation to the victim or his relatives, in order to compel a person to commit or refrain from committing an action of a non-property nature, is regarded as blackmail.

Carrying out illicit actions based on insider information. The draft proposes to recognize as a crime an act in the form of deliberate provision of insider data to third parties when entering into a securities agreement, or providing an opportunity for illicit acquaintance with insider data, as well as deliberate provision of recommendations to third parties on entering into a securities agreement, if such actions caused damage to a citizen, organization or state on a large scale.

Fake positions of an official of a non-governmental commercial organization or other non-governmental organization. The above crimes are defined as deliberately making false information and entries in official documents in the mercenary or other interests of an official of a non-governmental commercial organization or other non-governmental organization, falsifying documents, knowingly drawing up and providing forged documents, as well as entering false data into electronic documents, providing a copy false documents using electronic systems.

Sale by a father or mother of their baby. It provides for the application of responsibility for the sale of his child in material interests by a father or mother, when it is not related to human trafficking (buying and selling people or hiring, transporting, transferring, hiding or receiving a person for the purpose of his exploitation).

Obstruction of the lawful activity of a journalist. The use of violence or intimidation with the use of violence against a journalist or his close relative, taking advantage of his official position, in order to coerce a journalist to disseminate or non-disseminate information, is defined as obstruction of a journalist's legal activities.

Illicit enrichment. It is proposed to prosecute under this article, in case of illicit seizure of funds or property in excess of the amount provided for in the declaration of income and property of civil servants, or if the acquisition of such property is made in a significant amount.