Thirty-five-year-old Khurshid Sodikov is a judge with four years’ experience in administrative and criminal courts. “Judges are generally held in very high regard in any society. At the same time, the fact that they can often irreversibly decide people’s future carries a heavy moral responsibility,” he says.
Khurshid knows the challenges judges face: “It is only on the surface that judges look cool and confident. Even professionalism and good knowledge of the issues and laws involved do not save a judge from constantly questioning whether he or she is making the right decision, especially in criminal cases, where the decisions, no matter how well we have researched and weighed the issues, may continue to haunt us. Such self-inquiry can be exhausting and may last around the clock.”
According to Khurshid, often people come to court with anger, shouting at each other and not willing to listen to anybody. In those cases, the judge’s ability to keep calm and maintain the appropriate distance and a professional attitude is crucial. “Only then will the court’s ruling be accepted by the parties and help to reduce bitterness and resentment, and the “treatment” will have the desired effect. Lack of trust in judges’ ability to serve justice causes discontent in society and court rulings will not be respected,” he adds.
Uzbekistan is undergoing sweeping legal and judicial reforms, which has prompted key institutions in the judicial sector – the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the Supreme Court, and different state bodies – to focus efforts on maintaining and improving trust in the judiciary.
To support these efforts, USAID’s Legal Reform Program has promoted the idea of a judicial ethics body. The program developed recommendations based on international best practices, which the SJC subsequently reviewed, accepted, and submitted to the office of the President of Uzbekistan. On December 7, 2020, the President signed a decree on “Measures to Ensure the Genuine Independence of Judges and Increase the Effectiveness of Preventing Corruption in the Judicial System.” The decree introduced a “Club of Judges” under the SJC, composed of acting and retired judges, which will issue general advisory opinions on the correct application of existing rules of substantive and procedural law, and also may give clarifications on the application of ethical rules in certain situations, at the request of individual judges. This is the first and only such institution in Uzbekistan.
The “Club of Judges” currently operates an online platform, in which all acting judges in Uzbekistan (over 1,250) have automatic membership. Whenever a judge is in doubt, be it about the application of a certain rule or a professional ethics issue, he or she can anonymously submit questions to the online community. The anonymity enables them to ask any question without embarrassment or fear of looking incompetent. The community of judges offered by the platform has accumulated vast experience in virtually every area, and many judges are happy to respond to such inquiries with advice and information.
Khurshid is a member of the SJC and, as the administrator of the “Club of Judges”, he also runs the online platform. “Now a lot of issues which earlier might have taken someone days or weeks to resolve, find their solution within minutes. The online community has become a great resource that judges rely on.”
Empowering judges and other legal professionals by employing international best practices and improving trust in the judiciary are important steps towards ensuring respect for the rule of law. USAID is proud to support the efforts of the Government of Uzbekistan and national partners in the ongoing legal reforms.
