Senate Approves Law on Legal Assistance for Low-Income Citizens

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — At the 11th plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, senators reviewed and approved the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Connection with the Further Improvement of the System of Providing Legal Assistance to Low-Income Individuals at the Expense of the State.”

Senators emphasized that in recent years Uzbekistan has been implementing systematic reforms to strengthen the legislative and institutional framework for human rights protection, align national legislation with international standards, fulfill international obligations, enhance public confidence in fair justice, and expand guarantees of the right to qualified legal assistance. The newly adopted law is a logical continuation of these reforms.

Article 55 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan guarantees the right of every individual to defend their rights and freedoms by all means not prohibited by law. However, the previous legislation did not provide for state-funded legal assistance to low-income citizens when appealing to the Constitutional Court.

The new law establishes the procedure for providing qualified legal assistance at the state’s expense to protect citizens’ rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests. In particular, the Constitutional Court, upon receiving a complaint from a citizen, will ensure the participation of an attorney providing legal assistance funded by the state. Low-income citizens are now entitled to such assistance when applying to the Constitutional Court with a claim regarding the constitutionality of a law applied to them in a specific case.

Senators noted that the adoption of this law strengthens the constitutional right of citizens to protect their rights and freedoms by all lawful means and broadens access to the Constitutional Court for restoring violated constitutional rights and freedoms.

The Law was approved by the Senate.