DUSHANBE, December 4, 2009, Asia-Plus — On Thursday December 3, President Emomali Rahmon singed a new national criminal procedure code and a number of recently adopted laws, including the on participation of citizens in maintaining public order and amendments to some laws, according to presidential press service.
We will recall that the new Criminal Procedure Code adopted by the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) on November 14 gives the courts broader powers. Under the code, the courts are responsible for issuing arrest warrants, search warrants, authorizing the seizure of assets and bank accounts and wiretapping. The prosecutor general currently performs these functions, which has been criticized by experts. Experts say courts, rather than prosecutors, issue arrest warrants elsewhere in the modern world. The new code is expected to come into effect on April 1, 2010.
As far as the law on participation of citizens in maintaining public order is concerned, the law revives the institution of voluntary people’s patrol dedicated to provide assistance to the law enforcement authorities in maintaining public order. The law prohibits creation of the voluntary public order squads by political parties, public associations and religious organizations. The law provides for creation of two types of the voluntary public order maintenance squads: 1) a voluntary-individual public order maintenance patrol based on applications of citizens; and 2) a group public order maintenance patrol, when public order squads are created by employees of the organization. In both cases, the public order maintenance squads are created only by authority of the police departments. The law was adopted on October 14.
