In the new version of the Constitution of Uzbekistan, which came into force on May 1, some changes have occurred in the articles on freedom of speech and mass media.
Article 29 of the previous version stated as follows:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, speech and belief. Everyone has the right to seek, receive and disseminate the information they want, with the exception of information directed against the existing constitutional system and other restrictions established by law.
Freedom of thought and expression may be limited by law only if it concerns state secrets and other secrets.
These provisions were reflected in Article 33 of the new constitution as follows:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, speech and belief.
Everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information.
The state creates conditions for ensuring the use of the Internet global information network.
Restricting the right to seek, receive and distribute information is only allowed within the scope of necessity in accordance with the law and for the protection of the constitutional system, public health, social morality, rights and freedoms of other persons, public safety and public order, as well as prevention of disclosure of state secrets or other secrets protected by law.
At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the concept of “social morality”, which is the basis for the restriction of the right to freedom of speech. Until then, there was no such concept in the legislation of Uzbekistan. Norms of restriction of freedom of speech in order to maintain public order are not clearly defined by law. At this point, it is appropriate to mention that under the new constitution, all ambiguities will be resolved in favor of the individual.
Article 67 of the previous version was devoted to mass media and was as follows:
The media is free and operates according to the law. They are responsible for the correctness of the information.
