On June 20, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the constitutional commission meeting dedicated to reforming the Constitution. In his remarks, the head of state focused on four priority areas of constitutional reform.

As the first area, the president indicated "a person, his life, freedom and dignity, inviolable rights and interests."

“Raising the human dignity, in fact, should be a constitutional obligation and a priority goal for public authorities. These principles should be clearly reflected in our updated Constitution, find their perfect legal solution,” he said.

Emphasizing that the right to life is an inalienable right of every person, the head of state proposed to introduce into the Constitution a provision reading “the death penalty is illegal in Uzbekistan.”

The President proposed to reflect the Miranda Rule and the Habeas Corpus principles in the Constitution. “When a person is detained, his rights and the reason for detention should be explained in simple terms,” he said.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev pointed to the need to add into the Constitution that a person's criminal record and the legal consequences arising from it cannot be a basis for restricting the rights of his relatives.

He also spoke in favor of strengthening the constitutional foundations for the humane treatment of convicts.

When considering cases of administrative, civil, economic, criminal liability and in other areas, the measures of legal influence applied to a person should be sufficient to achieve a legitimate goal and, if possible, not burdensome for a person, the head of state noted.

In the second area, it is proposed to enshrine the idea of ​​“Uzbekistan is a social state” in the Constitution.

Decent living conditions shall be created in a social state for everyone, no one should be left without attention, on their own with their problems, the president noted.

“The care of the state for men and women, families and children, youth and the elderly, persons with disabilities, all people, whether in the country or abroad, should be enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed to reflect in the Constitution the obligations of the state to provide the population with housing, strengthen the economic and spiritual foundations of the family, create all conditions for ensuring the interests and full development of children, support people with disabilities, protect human health and the environment.

The third area is to clearly define in the Constitution the status of mahalla and the duties of state bodies in the process of interaction with it.

At the same time, the president proposed to reflect the principle that the mahalla is not part of the system of state authorities, can independently resolve local issues on the ground and receive support from the state for these purposes.

The fourth area, voiced by the head of state, is the improvement of governance and the strengthening of democracy.

“We are aiming to build a democratic state that lives by the concerns of the people. This means that the state, its bodies and officials serve the people. People's oversight over state power shall be established. I propose to introduce into the Constitution provisions that ensure openness, transparency and accountability in the activities of state bodies, as well as the compactness and efficiency of these bodies,” he said.

The President said that the time was big to remove from the Constitution the rule that mayors are simultaneously in charge of the councils of people's deputies.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev also proposed to transfer to the Senate the powers of the president to approve the decree on the appointment of the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency and the right to appoint and dismiss the chairman of the Accounts Chamber.

The head of state proposed introducing the institution of making legislative proposals into the Constitution. Under this proposal, groups of at least 100,000 citizens will be able to submit their legislative proposals to the Legislative Chamber.

The President noted the need to expand the powers of the government and define in the Constitution the responsibility of the Cabinet of Ministers and mayor’s offices on environmental issues, youth, family support, social protection of persons with disabilities, development of public transport, creation of conditions for recreation of the population and support for civil society institutions.

The head of state also pointed out the importance of updating the conceptual and legal framework of Uzbekistan's foreign policy, taking into account the changes taking place in the world.

“I propose to introduce an article into our Constitution stating that Uzbekistan pursues a peaceful and friendly policy with all countries, primarily with neighbors, its foreign policy is based on respect for human rights and freedoms, principles and norms of territorial integrity,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.