Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Tajikistan (English translation)

The English-language translation of the “Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Tajikistan” is an official legislative text governing criminal procedure, originally adopted in 2009 (News of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Tajikistan, p. 2009, No. 12, art. 815–816) and amended numerous times through 2022, most recently by Laws No. 1926 and 1927 of 24 December 2022. The document states in Article 1 that the Criminal Procedure Code originates from the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan and determines the procedure for conducting criminal cases, and that the procedure it establishes is mandatory for the court, prosecutor’s office, preliminary investigation and investigation, as well as for participants in the criminal trial; international legal acts recognised by Tajikistan are stated to be an integral part of the legal norms and to prevail where they provide a different order. The Code states in Article 2 that duties of criminal court proceedings include establishing the procedure for proceeding with criminal cases, protection of human and citizen rights and freedoms, protection of society and state interests, timely and complete detection of crime, criminal prosecution of offenders, fair resolution of issues in court, compliance with procedural norms, and guarantee of protection of legal interests of participants. The document states that criminal proceedings are aimed at strengthening legality and legal order, respecting the law and implementing judicial justice, and that the procedure protects persons from unjustified accusations and convictions, requiring acquittal without delay when an innocent person is found guilty. The text sets out definitions of basic concepts in Article 6 — including state and private prosecutors, participants in criminal proceedings, decision, criminal law, the moment of real support, investigator, legal representatives, prosecutor, presiding judge, court of first instance, cassation and supervisory courts — and lays out legal principles including implementation of justice only by the court (Article 7), judicial protection (Article 8), legality during criminal proceedings (Article 9), respect for the dignity of a person (Article 10) with a prohibition on violence, torture or cruel treatment, inviolability of personality (Article 11), protection of rights and freedoms during proceedings (Article 12), inaccessibility of housing (Article 13), confidentiality of correspondence and communications (Article 14), and presumption of innocence (Article 15). Sources cited: News of the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Tajikistan; Laws of the Republic of Tajikistan Nos. 618, 692, 755, 809, 864, 28, 927, 932, 982, 1067, 1134, 1229, 1275, 1306, 1332, 1381, 1516, 1556, 6, 1702, 1755, 1777, 1810, 1811, 1853, 1926, 1927; Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 21.07.2010.