On September 30, the President of Uzbekistan signed amendments to certain laws on the powers of prosecutors when considering cases in court.
The recitals to the amendments underscored that ensuring the principle of adversarial proceedings required specifying the procedural rules regarding the participation of a prosecutor in civil, economic and administrative court proceedings.
Amendments are being made to the Civil Procedure Code, providing for the right of a prosecutor to participate in court proceedings related to:
- land relations;
- state property;
- compensation for damage caused to the state and collections from the state budget, in order to protect the interests of the state.
While, a prosecutor shall be entitled to file a claim in court to protect the interests of the state.
Amendments are being made to the Economic Procedure Code, providing for the participation of a prosecutor in court proceedings related to:
- land relations;
- state property;
- violation of environmental protection legislation;
- collections from the state budget;
- recognition of ownership of an unauthorized building;
- determination of the fact of ownership and use as private property;
- collection of customs duties.
Meanwhile, the Civil Procedure Code, the Economic Procedure Code and the Administrative Court Procedure Code establish the right of a prosecutor to request cases from the relevant courts to resolve the issue of filing a cassation protest, a protest in the revision procedure for cases considered without proper notification of a prosecutor about the time and place of the trial, in which the law provides for his participation, and also clarify the procedure for appealing judicial acts issued following the consideration of this category of cases.
Amendments are expected to serve to increase the effectiveness of a prosecutor's office in the full judicial protection of human rights and freedoms, the legally protected interests of society and the state, as well as to strengthen the rule of law in court proceedings.
