These innovations were announced in the annual report of the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Khulmumin Yodgorov, who presented information to the president about the problems hindering the administration of justice, as well as the state of the fight against corruption in the judicial system.
In his address to the parliament and the people in December last year, Mirziyoyev emphasized that corruption is a betrayal of the reforms being carried out in the country, declaring the need for extraordinary measures to combat this phenomenon. He added that courts should become a model for creating a "clean" environment as an independent branch of power.
The Supreme Judicial Council is responsible for ensuring the independence of judges and protecting them from external pressure. In this regard, the Academy of Justice was established to improve the quality of personnel training.
According to Yodgorov, last year, 135 new judges were appointed, 286 judges were reappointed, and a body of 241 investigative judges was formed.
During the reporting period, the powers of 59 judges were terminated early:
- 19 judges were dismissed for violating their oath and the requirements of the Judicial Ethics Code;
- 3 judges were brought to criminal responsibility.
In addition, 58 judges were demoted, 33 were deemed unsuitable for further appointment, and 266 judges faced disciplinary sanctions.
Five submissions regarding interference in the work of the courts were sent to the General Prosecutor's Office. Also, the SJC website has introduced a feature to report violations of judges' immunity.
The Council reviewed more than 6,000 orders issued by the chairpersons of territorial instances, resulting in the identification that in 231 documents, functions exceeding the judges' powers were assigned to 314 judges. Appropriate measures have been taken to address this issue.
The speaker added that to relieve judges from inappropriate functions, international experience in creating the institution of "judicial administration," which will deal with personnel, material and technical, and organizational issues, is being studied.
Furthermore, to ensure the objective application of disciplinary sanctions, it is proposed to create a Disciplinary Board of Judges, which has also received support from the president, as reported by the press service.
The meeting also discussed issues of gender equality in the judicial system, as well as plans for celebrating International Women Judges Day on March 10.
