The new version of the draft law “On freedom of conscience and religious organizations”, which proposes to simplify the registration process of religious organizations, has been offered for public discussion.
The draft law has been prepared by the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with other related ministries and departments. The document ensures the right to freedom of conscience and religion, guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Constitution of Uzbekistan.
The main changes introduced are:
• Unification of the relations previously regulated through the by-laws into a single law of direct effect;
• Establishment of the basic guidelines and principles of government policy on freedom of conscience;
• Defining the limits of the tasks and functions of the competent government bodies in this area;
• Simplification of the procedure for State registration of religious organizations, in particular by reducing the number of documents to be submitted, abolishing the requirements for their notarial and other forms of certification, and introducing fully electronic public services; Defining the reasons for refusal of registration.
The Ministry has studied, analyzed and used the norms of international law and the experience of developed foreign countries before drafting the law, taking into account the opinions of international experts. Experts, specialists and all citizens can participate in the discussion of the draft law with their proposals.
