DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION AND LEGAL SYSTEM OF TURKMENISTAN

Ashyrgeldi DJUMAYEV,

Associate Professor of the Department

of Civil Law of the Turkmen State University

named after Magtymguly, PhD in Law,

Dilber SHAILYEVA,

postgraduate student of

the Constitutional Law Department

Under the leadership of the Esteemed President, our country is confidently moving forward along the path of positive change. In the Era of the Revival of a New Epoch of the Powerful State, a set of events is being held in the country to educate the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism, respect and observance of the Constitution of Turkmenistan and laws, and the development of their creative activity.

The legal system of Turkmenistan is being improved taking into account the historical heritage of the Turkmen people and generally recognized norms of international law. Along with the activation of civil society, the legal culture of citizens is developing.

The speech of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov at an expanded Cabinet of Ministers session (December 11, 2023) emphasized that “Turkmenistan is making the necessary efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. Partnership in such areas as energy security, sustainable transport system, climate change, etc. is of special importance. The measures implemented by our Fatherland are widely supported by the countries of the world and authoritative international organizations” [1].

The socio-economic development of the country and the improvement of the legal system are harmoniously combined. The social and living standards of the population are steadily increasing. It should be especially noted that each area of the progressive socio-economic development of our state addresses the SDGs goals for the period up to 2030, adopted by the world community.

As the Scientist-Arkadag notes in his book “The Spiritual World of the Turkmens”: “At the very beginning of the XXI century, having built a powerful state, we firmly believe that we further elevate the authority of our people and form in the minds of people indestructible faith in tomorrow. Because the wise principles of humanity, bequeathed to future generations, live in our achievements” [ 2, p.9].

The formation of the legal framework of the independent and permanently neutral Turkmenistan is inextricably linked with the improvement of Turkmen statehood. During the years of independence, the national legislative system has been consistently developing. The efforts aimed at improving the effectiveness of legal regulation of public relations to protect the rights and freedoms of an individual, state sovereignty, and ensuring the national interests of Turkmenistan in the development and adoption of regulatory legal acts were the basis for the development of the national legislative framework.

The Declaration “On State Sovereignty” that was adopted on 22 August, 1990, proclaimed Turkmenistan a sovereign national state exercising full authority over its entire territory, and in this regard, laid the foundation for the formation of qualitatively new beginnings in the life of the state and society [3].

This document, being of fundamental importance in the formation of independent Turkmenistan, created the necessary political and legal conditions for the adoption on 27 October, 1991 of the Constitutional Law of Turkmenistan "On the Independence of Turkmenistan and the foundations of the state structure" [4]. This Constitutional Law proclaimed Turkmenistan, within the borders of its territory, an independent democratic state in the name of the highest goals - the acquisition of genuine national statehood by the Turkmen people, ensuring to every person, regardless of differences in national, racial, social origin and religion, the rights and freedoms provided for by the Constitution of Turkmenistan, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other norms of international law, building a humane democratic society in which the rule of law prevails.

It is important to note the enormous historical and socio-political significance of the adoption of this Constitutional Law. Thus, the Turkmen people, relying on the inalienable right of peoples, universally recognized in international law, to freely determine their fate, gained an independent state.

On 18 May, 1992, in a historical document – the Constitution of independent Turkmenistan – the Turkmen people proclaimed a course towards building a new life, ensuring stability and prosperity of the country [5]. The national principles of State sovereignty are reflected in the content of the Constitution of Turkmenistan. The Constitution had a great impact on the formation of a sovereign young state and the implementation of political, economic and social reforms. Having absorbed the concepts of building a free and democratic state, it became the embodiment of the centuries-old dream of the Turkmen people.

The Constitution of Turkmenistan serves as the fundamental legal basis of our independent State. In recent years, constitutional reforms related to fundamental transformations in the socio-economic and political life of the country have been implemented. This helped to strengthen, on a legislative basis, the cardinal reforms being implemented in all spheres of society and the state and to bring the Basic Law into line with the realities of the time.

As part of the improvement of the Constitution of Turkmenistan, special attention was paid to enriching the content of the norms that establish the foundations of the constitutional structure of the state and improving the structure of the Basic Law.

Each country in the world has its own laws and legal systems that ensure the regulation of social relations. Each state has its own characteristics due to various factors. At the same time, the legal systems of states also have common features. These common characteristics come from international norms.

The legislative sphere, through the legal system, strengthens the value of regulating public relations, including universal human values. On the other hand, the legislative sphere reflects the stage-by-stage development of social relations, features of state policy and other modern reforms in the legal system. A steadly developing society requires constant improvement of the national legal system.

The specifics of the legislation of Turkmenistan consist in defining the main tasks and directions in the relevant programs for the improvement and development of the national legal system.

To address the tasks set since the country’s independence, the President of Turkmenistan adopted a number of legal acts aimed at improving legislative activity.

If we look at the history of the development of the legal system over the years of independence, an important event was the Decree of the President of Turkmenistan on 28 November, 2007 “On issues of improving the legislation of Turkmenistan”. According to this Resolution, the State Commission for Improving the Legislation of Turkmenistan was established in order to strengthen the foundations of the rule of law, further democratize society, improve the legislative framework of political, economic, scientific and cultural reforms carried out in our country, and bring national legislation into line with generally accepted norms of international law.

The State Commission for the Improvement of Legislation was tasked with defining the main directions for the modernization of the legislative base of Turkmenistan, coordinating the activities of ministries and sectoral departments to prepare proposals for improving the legislation of Turkmenistan, summarizing and analyzing proposals for improving the legislation of Turkmenistan, preparing projects for updating and improving the legislation of Turkmenistan, ensuring that Turkmenistan fulfills its obligations under international conventions, agreements and treaties. These tasks have been successfully completed.

The Law of Turkmenistan "On Legal Acts", adopted on 26 August, 2017, contributed to the completion of the process of forming legislation in the field of lawmaking and raising the level of legal culture in the state and society [6]. At the legislative level, the basic principles of legislative activity were fixed, the types and hierarchy of normative legal acts were defined, and uniform requirements for the preparation of all types of draft legal acts as well as rules for the development of normative legal acts were established.

In our country, the issues of improving the legal system are in the center of constant attention. The legislative mechanism is consistently developing. The practice of lawmaking and law enforcement is systematically studied, which is an important condition for effective improvement of legislation. In the system of legal knowledge, legislative mechanism is very important as it characterizes the meaning and functional purpose of the law system as a mechanism for regulation of public relations.

In recent years, as a result of legislative activity, a number of important codes and laws as well as additions and amendments to existing laws were adopted. For example, the Administrative Procedure Code of Turkmenistan (24.10.2020), the Arbitration Procedure Code of Turkmenistan (new edition) (13.03.2021), the laws of Turkmenistan “On the Prevention of Offenses” (22.08.2020), “On Education” (05.06.2021), “On State Youth Policy” (01.09.2022) and a number of others were adopted.

The laws adopted during the years of independence prove the significant improvement of the national legislative framework, modernization of its content, and harmonization with the norms of international law. The modern development of the legal sphere is also vivid evidence of the development of the legal culture of the Turkmen people. Since the legislative system and its modernization is a key tool in ensuring partnership and harmony, well-being and unity in public relations.

The transformation policy pursued by the Head of State is aimed at developing the national economy and further improving the standard of living of the people. The main function of national legislation and the legal system is to ensure the protection of human rights and responsibilities, discipline and order in the country. The legal norms reflect the legal and democratic character of the State of Turkmenistan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Выступление Президента Туркменистана Сердара Бердымухамедова на расширенном заседании Кабинета Министров (11 декабря 2023 года) газета «Нейтральный Туркменистан» от 12.12.2023

2. Гурбангулы Бердымухамедов. Духовный мир туркмен. – Ашхабад: ТГИС, 2020

3. Декларация «О государственном суверенитете Туркменистана» // Ведомости Меджлиса Туркменистана, 1990 г., № 15-16.

4. Конституционный закон Туркменистана «О независимости Туркменистана и основах государственного устройства» // Ведомости Меджлиса Туркменистана, 1991 г., №15.

5. Конституция Туркменистана. – Ашхабад: ТГИС, 2023

6. Закон Туркменистана «О правовых актах» // Ведомости Меджлиса Туркменистана, 2017 г., №3