GENERAL PART

SECTION ONE. BASIC PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 1. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW

Article 6. Granting Request of Foreign Agencies for Criminal Procedure

The courts and investigating agencies of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall grant the requests of foreign agencies for conducting judicial or investigating procedures, such as interrogation of a witness, accused, forensic examiner, and other persons, as well as view, examination, search, seizure, and transfer of physical evidence, preparation and sending of documents and others. Request of the foreign agencies sent directly to the court or investigating agencies shall be granted only upon the approval of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan or the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan respectively. Requests of foreign agencies on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall be granted in accordance with Article 3 of this Code.

In case of impossibility to grant a request of a foreign agency, it shall be sent back to the requesting agency via the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan or the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan attached with attachment specifying reasons for non-granting.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall enjoy a direct communication with relevant foreign agencies on the above matters .

GENERAL PART

SECTION THREE. EVIDENCE AND CIRCUMSTANCES SUBJECT TO PROOF

CHAPTER 20. SEIZURE AND SEARCH

Article 157. Grounds for Seizure

An inquiry officer, investigator and court may conduct a seizure of certain objects and documents that are of significance for the criminal case, if the location and the holder thereof are known exactly and therefore unnecessary to be hunted out.


Article 158. Grounds for Search

An investigator, inquiry officer may conduct a search, if there is sufficient information to believe, that objects and documents significant for the criminal case, may be located in a dwelling, office, workplace, or other place, or in possession of a person.

A search may be conducted to discover persons or corpse being searched for. Article 159. Resolution or Finding on Seizure or Search

Seizure and search shall be conducted on a resolution of an inquiry officer or investigator, or finding of a court, which may authorize the inquiry agency or the investigator to conduct thereof.

A resolution or finding on conducting a seizure or search shall indicate a venue and a person subject to search and seizure, as well as objects and documents to be searched and seized.


Article 160. Persons Participating in Seizure or Search

A seizure and search shall be participated by attesting witnesses and, if required, a specialist and interpreter/translator.

A seizure and search shall be conducted in the presence of a person whose dwelling to be seized or searched, or at least one of his adult family members. In case of impossibility of their presence, a representative of the local khokimiyat* or self-government body shall be engaged.

Seizure and search in the premises of enterprises, institutions, organizations, and military units shall be participated by representatives thereof.

Before conducting search and seizure, a person to be searched, attesting witness, forensic examiner, representative of enterprises, institutions, organizations, and military units shall be expounded with their right to participate at all actions of the investigator or inquiry officer and make statements thereon. Such statements shall be entered in the record.


Article 161. Procedure of Seizure or Search

Search shall be conducted pursuant to a well-founded resolution of investigator or inquiry officer with a sanction of a prosecutor. In the instances that brook no delay, a search may be conducted without a prosecutor’s sanction; however, a prosecutor shall be notified on the search within twenty-four hours.

The instances that brook no delay shall be founded therein by the investigator or inquiry officer. A copy of notification shall be attached to the case file.

An investigator or inquiry officer may enter a dwelling or other premise for conducting a search of objects and documents related to the case on the basis of a resolution or a finding thereof.

Before conducting seizure or search, the inquiry officer or investigator shall familiarize the person, whose dwelling is to be searched or seized, with the resolution or finding and get his signature thereupon.

The investigator may prohibit persons present at the site of the search and seizure to leave that location, as well as to communicate with each other and other persons until the completion of the search and seizure.

Upon reading out the resolution or finding and prior to seizure, the investigator shall suggest that objects and documents, subject to seizure, shall be surrendered voluntarily, and in case of refusal shall seize them forcibly. In case such documents or objects have not been found at the place indicated in the resolution or finding, a search shall be conducted.

Upon reading out the resolution or finding and prior to search, the investigator shall suggest that objects and documents, subject to seizure, shall be surrendered voluntarily. If they are surrendered voluntarily, an official record of seizure shall be drawn. In case the sought objects and documents have not been surrendered or have been surrendered partially, a search shall be conducted. During the search only the objects and documents listed in the respective resolution or finding shall be seized.

Other discovered objects and documents that may be of significance for the criminal case, as well as those of prohibited storage shall be subject to seizure as well. The investigator or inquiry officer shall specify the reasons to seize thereof in the official record of the search.

The sized objects and documents shall be demonstrated to the attesting witnesses and other participants, described in detail in the record, and, in case of necessity, be packed and sealed.

Removal of the packing and the seal shall be permitted only in the presence of attesting witnesses.

While conducting the search any premises may be forcibly opened if the owner refuses to open them voluntarily. Unnecessary damage of locks, doors and other objects of property should be thereby avoided.


Article 162. Body Seizure and Search

Under the grounds envisaged in Articles 157 and 158 of this Code, the inquiry officer and investigator may seize the objects and documents, that may be of significance for the criminal case, discovered in clothes of a person, on his body or in his belongings.

Body search and seizure shall be conducted in accordance with Articles 157-161 of this Code. They may be conducted without a specific resolution or finding in the instances of:

1. arrest of a suspect by a militiaman* on duty, if there are sufficient grounds to believe, that the suspect bears a weapon or intends to get rid of an evidence of commitment of a crime (Article 224 of this Code);

2. making a record of arrest upon delivery of a suspect to militia** or other law-enforcement unit in accordance with Article 225 of this Code;

3. taking the accused person into custody – if there are sufficient grounds to believe that he bears a weapon and other objects of prohibited storage, as well as other objects that may be of significance for the case;

4. sufficient grounds to believe that the person, who is in the premise or other places under sought or seizure, conceals by him the objects and documents, that are subject to seizure on the resolution or finding on conducting the search or seizure.

Body search and seizure of objects and documents may be conducted by the inquiry officer or investigator with participation of a forensic examiner and witnesses of the same sex with the person being searched.


Article 163. Official Record of Seizure or Search

The inquiry officer or investigator shall draw an official record on the conducted search or seizure in accordance with the rules of Articles 90-92 of this Code. The results of seizure of objects and documents conducted by the court shall be entered in the official record of court session.

The official record must refer to the place and circumstances the objects and documents were discovered, whether they were surrendered voluntarily or seized forcibly. All objects seized must be listed with specific reference to their amount, size, weight, individual characteristics, and, in case of necessity, shall be packed and sealed.

If, during the search, attempts were made to destroy or conceal objects or documents subject to seizure, an entry to that effect shall be made in the official record with a reference to the measures
taken by the inquiry officer or investigator.


Article 164. Obligation to Present a Copy of Official Record of Seizure or Search

A copy of the official record of a search or seizure shall be handed over to the person, in whose premises the search was conducted, or to an adult member of his family, and in case of his the absence – to a representative of the local khokimiyat or self-government body. If necessary, the above persons may be issued copies of the seized documents.


Article 165. Conduct of Seizure or Search in Premises of Diplomatic Mission and Diplomatic
Representatives

Seizure or search in the premises of diplomatic missions or representatives thereof enjoying diplomatic immunity, and their respective families, shall be conducted only upon request or consent of the head of a diplomatic mission – when searching or seizing on the territory of a diplomatic mission, or by approval of diplomatic representatives or their adult family members – when conducting a search or seizure in their dwellings or other premises residing by them. The above rules shall also apply to foreign nationals non-accredited in the Republic of Uzbekistan, who enjoy diplomatic immunity and their family members.

Under the rules envisaged in Paragraph 1 of this Article, body search and seizure may be conducted in regard to a person with diplomatic immunity and his family members.

Consent of a diplomatic representative and his family members for a search or seizure shall be sought via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Search or seizure at the premises of diplomatic missions, the representatives enjoying diplomatic immunity, and their family members, shall be mandatory conducted in the presence of a prosecutor and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.


Articles 166. Impounding of Postal and Telegraph Correspondence

If there are sufficient reasons to believe that postal and telegraph correspondence from or to a suspect, accused, or defendant, may contain information on the committed crime, or the documents and objects important to the case, the inquiry officer, investigator, or court may impound them in full
or in part.

The following postal and telegraph correspondence may be impounded: letters of all types, cables, radiograms, printed matters, packages, parcels, and post containers.

Impounding of postal and telegraph correspondence shall be conducted in accordance with a resolution of the inquiry officer or the investigator or a finding of the court.

A resolution or finding on the impounding of postal and telegraph correspondence shall refer to: last name, first name, patronymic, and address of the person, whose post and telegraph correspondence must be held; types of postal and telegraph correspondence to be impounded; the time limit of impounding; the name of the communications office obliged to hold appropriate postal and telegraph correspondence and inform the inquiry officer and investigator thereof.

A finding by the court shall oblige a communication office to deliver the above-mentioned postal and telegraph correspondence to the court.

A resolution or finding on impounding postal and telegraph correspondence shall be addressed to the head of the respective communication office and be binding on him. Non-execution or disclosure of the resolution or finding shall entail liability.

The head of a communication office shall hold postal and other correspondence stated in the resolution of the inquiry officer, investigator, or finding of the court and immediately inform thereon.


Articles 167. Examination and Seizure of Post and Telegraph Communications

Upon arrival to a communication office, an inquiry officer or investigator shall open and examine the postal and telegraph correspondence in the presence of attesting witnesses, and if necessary, of a forensic examiner. In case of discovery of information, documents, objects related to the case, the investigator or the inquiry officer shall seize or copy the impounded correspondence. If no information, documents, objects related to the case are available, the investigator or the inquiry officer shall instruct to deliver the examined correspondence to the addressee or to hold it for the term established thereby.

In each instance of a view of postal and telegraph correspondence an official record shall be drawn up referring to: who conducted the view of, copying of, forwarding to an addressee of, or held post and telegraph correspondence, and what post and telegraph correspondence was viewed, copied,
forwarded to an addressee, or held. The record shall be made in accordance with Articles 90-92 of this Code.


Article 168. Lifting of Impounding Postal and Telegraph Correspondence

Impounding of postal or telegraph correspondence shall be lifted by the inquiry officer, investigator, or court, who previously imposed it, when it is no longer necessary to apply this measure. The impounding shall be lifted at the pretrial investigation upon the dismissal of the criminal case, and at the court of first instance – upon rendering a finding on dismissal of the case or on coming into effect of the sentence.