Business Ombudsman requests to verify the constitutionality of the norm in the Civil Code

The Business Ombudsman appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request to verify the constitutionality of the norm in the Code of Administrative Responsibility. This was reported by the Business Ombudsman's press service.

The Office of the Ombudsman under the President for the Protection of the Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities examined the appeal of individual entrepreneur Sh.R.

As it turned out, on May 28, 2025, a fire broke out at a furniture manufacturing enterprise owned by the entrepreneur. The initiation of a criminal case in connection with this incident was refused, and the entrepreneur was held liable under Part 3 of Article 211 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility (violation of fire safety rules) and a fine of 750 thousand soums was imposed.

This decision was left unchanged by the cassation and inspection instances of the Supreme Court. According to Article 324-39 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility, the decision in the inspection procedure is final and cannot be reviewed by any other court.

“At the same time, as a result of a separate investigation into the same incident, after the decision of the inspection instance was issued (in June 2026), a forensic examination report and a final investigation decision were adopted. According to it, it was objectively established that the cause of the fire was an accident in the electrical network of the furniture enterprise and that this situation was not due to the fault or intentional actions of the entrepreneur.

Due to the principle of finality of the current norm, this new evidence confirming the entrepreneur’s innocence has not been considered by any court. As a result, the decision on an administrative fine of 750 thousand soums remains in force to this day,” the report says.

The Office of the Ombudsman considers that this situation should be assessed in terms of compliance with the provisions of the Constitution on the presumption of innocence (Article 28), the principle that ensuring human rights and freedoms is the supreme goal of the state (Article 54), and the right of everyone to protection of their rights through an impartial tribunal and the right to redress for violated rights (Article 55).

Accordingly, the Business Ombudsman has sent an official appeal to the Constitutional Court. It was requested to verify the compliance of Article 324-39 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility with Articles 28, 54 and 55 of the Constitution.