It is known that property is the economic basis of society. Also, the socio-economic structure of society is determined by property and who owns the property. Without property, it is impossible to develop social relations and implement measures aimed at ensuring the well-being of the people in the country.

Over the past five years, a number of laws have been adopted in our country to ensure the priority of private property and strengthen its legal protection.

Most importantly, based on the principle of “From Action Strategy to Development Strategy” there was adopted the “Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026”, as a logical continuation of Action Strategy. In the document, turning the principles of justice and the rule of law into the most basic and necessary condition for development in the country was defined as one of the most important directions. Several necessary objectives were envisaged for this.

In particular, the goal of reliable protection of the inviolability of property rights and the restriction of illegal interference of state bodies in property relations has been established, and strengthening the guarantees of private property and protection, unconditional provision of property rights, including land plot, establishing the priority of private property as the main principle, introduction of a system of protection of the rights of the person who bought property relying on official information of the state office are from among them.

In this regard, an important political document for Uzbekistan, which is currently in full swing, that is, in the draft Constitution, states that no one can be deprived of his home without a court decision and in contrary to the law, it is guaranteed that the owner who has been deprived of his home will be compensated for the value of the home and the damages he has suffered in the cases and procedures stipulated by the law in advance and at an equal value (market value).

Of course, the introduction of such a norm in the future will be a great catalyst in increasing the well-being of the population, to further support entrepreneurship in our country, legally guarantee ownership relations, and strengthen the inviolability of private property. Therefore, in the course of constitutional reforms, it is considered necessary to legally strengthen relations in the area of citizens’ property, to strengthen the norms related to guaranteeing the rights of the population to housing through the constitution.

It should be noted that in the preparation of the draft Constitution, along with the opinions and suggestions of our people, international legal documents and the experience of more than 190 countries were studied. For example, the first document of constitutional importance in history that defined the guarantees of private property was the French Declaration of the Rights and Liberties of Man and Citizen in 1789, which stated that private property is a natural and inalienable, sacred and inviolable right of a man. In the section “Human and civil rights” on property issues in the declaration, it is said: “The purpose of any political association is to ensure the natural and inalienable rights of a person. These rights include liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.”

Chapter I, Article 14 of the German constitution stipulates that property and inheritance rights are guaranteed, and their content and limits are determined by law. Chapter VIII, Article 73 of the Basic Law of Denmark stipulates that private property is inviolable, that no one can be forced to give up his property, except in cases where it is required for the public good.

The constitution of Indonesia stipulates that everyone has the right to own private property and that such property cannot be unjustly taken away by any party, the prohibition of abrogation of the common right to private property is recognized in the constitution of Georgia.

It can be concluded from the above that ensuring the inviolability of private property, protecting it from various aggressions, creating all the necessary conditions for maintaining and increasing private property, and supporting owners – is the most important criterion of a legal democratic state and civil society.

Avazbek KHOLBEKOV,

Expert of the Development Strategy Center, Uzbekistan