Gerald Rübsam (2nd from left) and Helmut Leithäuser (4th from left) at the seminar on investigative proceedings Uzbekistan
In order to strengthen operational search and investigation activities, Uzbekistan is introducing a new office of investigating judge on January 1, 2025. Against this backdrop, IRZ and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan held a seminar on the protection of civil rights in investigative proceedings in Tashkent on August 27 and 28, 2024. Over 70 judges from all over Uzbekistan took part in the event.
IRZ experts, former presiding judge Helmut Leithäuser and former senior public prosecutor Gerald Rübsam, explained the legal foundations, framework conditions and special features of this area of law in Germany and, above all, provided practical approaches to safeguarding the rights of the accused.
The Supreme Court has already requested further consultations to share German experience and these are currently being planned.
Protection and enforcement of social rights with a special focus on young people were the focus of a seminar held in Tashkent in May 2024. The focus was on the prevention of juvenile delinquency. IRZ organised the event in close cooperation with the General Prosecutor's Office, a long-standing partner of IRZ, and the newly founded Agency for Social Protection in Tashkent.
The experts presented and discussed proven preventive measures and strategies against juvenile delinquency and introduced various best-practice models for prevention, rehabilitation and resocialisation. Together with the participants, they discussed the important role of education and vocational training. The team of experts discussed the perspectives of the family court and best practices in dealing with juvenile delinquency in a practical manner.
Visits to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the German Embassy in Tashkent rounded off the programme.
The seminar in Tashkent was an important step towards strengthening the protection and enforcement of social rights in Uzbekistan. The discussion and presentation of various prevention strategies and resocialisation programmes provided valuable impetus for combating juvenile delinquency in the country.
Visit by the Uzbek delegation to the prison Berlin Tegel. Uzbekistan
Against the background of the upcoming modernisation of the penitentiary system in Uzbekistan, a study tour on the reform of the penitentiary system, including international standards, took place in Berlin from 16 to 18 April 2024 in cooperation with the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which was represented by Bekzod Karimov, Chief Prosecutor of the Department for Supervision of the Application of Legislation on the Execution of Judicial Decisions and Decisions of Other Bodies. The Head of the Probation Service of the Department for Ensuring Public Security and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Sharof Uralov, represented the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan.
Klaus Meyer-Cabri, Head of Department D of the Federal Ministry of Justice, welcomed the delegation at the beginning of the working visit. Jochen Goerdeler, Head of Division IV A5, gave a presentation on penitentiary law in Germany.
The Uzbek participants visited the Berlin Prison Training Academy, whose director, Dr Marcel Tietz, described the selection process for applicants, the content of the training and the opportunities for further training. Of particular interest to the delegation was the pilot project ‘VR Detention Room Revision’, in which various scenarios can be played out in a virtual detention room with the help of mobile VR glasses.
Over the next two days, the delegation visited three different types of prisons in Berlin: the open and the closed prison Tegel and the remand prison Moabit. The specialist presentations were rounded off with visits to the specially secured detention room, the nursery, the vehicle workshop and the training kitchen.
The delegation was impressed by the very informative technical discussions and the guided tours, which gave them a direct insight into the practical side of penitentiary system in Germany. They emphasised that they took away many valuable ideas for the national reforms in Uzbekistan.
