Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan was the unicameral legislature and highest representative institution of state power in Uzbekistan during the transition from the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic to an independent republic. Its deputies were elected in the 1990 elections held under the late Soviet system, and the body became the legislature of independent Uzbekistan after the republic declared independence on 31 August 1991. It is commonly associated with the final, twelfth convocation of the former Supreme Soviet structure and with the constitutional and institutional work of Uzbekistan’s first years as a sovereign state. The council consisted of 500 people’s deputies elected from districts and regions across the republic. It inherited a broad formal mandate typical of Soviet-era representative institutions but operated in a rapidly changing political environment after independence. Its responsibilities included adopting and initiating legislation, considering questions submitted to the president and cabinet, approving the composition of the government, establishing or dissolving ministries and state committees on governmental proposals, ratifying international treaties, approving national development plans and the state budget, and determining major measures relating to national security, mobilization, and war. It also had powers relating to presidential accountability, including impeachment procedures and the ability to override a presidential veto by a two-thirds majority under the arrangements described for the period. A permanent Presidium supported the council between plenary sessions. The Presidium promulgated decrees, represented the legislature in relations with foreign parliaments, supervised implementation of council decisions, prepared draft laws, oversaw local councils, handled certain citizenship matters, and performed other continuity-of-government functions. The consolidation of the presidency and the adoption of the 1992 Constitution shifted many of these responsibilities toward the presidential and constitutional institutions. Other parliamentary bodies included the Credentials Committee, which examined deputies’ mandates and helped prepare legislative business, and committees concerned with constitutional supervision and other areas of state administration. The council’s period was brief. Following the end of its term, Uzbekistan held its first parliamentary elections as an independent state and established the Oliy Majlis, initially as a unicameral national parliament. The Oliy Majlis later became bicameral after a constitutional referendum in 2002. The Supreme Council and its Presidium therefore belong to the institutional history of Uzbekistan’s independence transition rather than to the country’s current governmental structure. The Presidium was dissolved by 1995, while constitutional-supervision functions associated with the earlier parliamentary committee were transferred to the Constitutional Court under the constitutional order adopted on 8 December 1992.

The Supreme Council emerged from the late Soviet legislative structure of Uzbekistan. Its deputies were elected on 18 February 1990, when the republic was still the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Like the preceding Supreme Soviet, it was a unicameral body with 500 deputies representing electoral districts and the republic’s different regions and nationalities. The institution acquired a new constitutional and political significance in 1991. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the republic’s declaration of independence, the Supreme Council became the highest legislative and representative body of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan. On 31 August 1991, it declared Uzbekistan independent, making the final, twelfth convocation a key institutional actor in the transition to sovereignty. During this period the council was responsible not only for legislation but also for constructing the legal framework of the new state, approving governmental arrangements, and providing parliamentary authorization for international and national policies. Its formal powers were extensive. The council could pass and initiate laws, question the president and cabinet, schedule elections, conduct confirmation hearings for ministers and senior state officials, approve or change the composition of the cabinet, and create or dissolve ministries and state committees on government proposals. It also considered long-term social and economic plans, the national budget and reports on their implementation, international treaties, foreign aid and loans, and matters of national security. The arrangements of the period gave it powers connected with presidential impeachment and the possibility of overriding a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote. The council’s work was supported by a Presidium, a permanent body that operated between sessions. The Presidium could promulgate decrees, represent the republic’s legislature abroad, prepare draft laws, supervise local councils, address citizenship questions, establish sessions and plenary work, and take certain interim decisions concerning senior officials subject to later approval. As the office of the president became the central executive institution and the Constitution adopted on 8 December 1992 established a new constitutional order, many of the Presidium’s earlier functions were reduced or transferred. Parliamentary committees formed another part of the institutional structure. The Credentials Committee, also described as the Mandate Commission, verified deputies’ authority, reviewed election documentation, prepared legislative questions, reported to the Presidium, and worked with electoral and local representative bodies. The Supreme Council also retained a committee responsible for constitutional supervision. This body reviewed legislation and normative acts for conformity with constitutional requirements and could recommend amendments or rejection of measures considered unconstitutional. Its constitutional-review role was eventually transferred to the Constitutional Court under the post-independence constitutional system. The Supreme Council was a transitional institution rather than a permanent feature of Uzbekistan’s current political system. After its term ended, Uzbekistan conducted its first parliamentary elections as an independent country and established the Oliy Majlis, initially a unicameral parliament. The later constitutional referendum of 2002 produced a bicameral parliamentary structure. By 1995 the Supreme Council’s Presidium had been dissolved, completing the replacement of the earlier Soviet-derived legislative framework with the institutions of independent Uzbekistan.

• 1995

  Presidium dissolved

  [1]Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org

  The Presidium ceased to exist as the transitional legislative system was replaced by the Oliy Majlis and other constitutional institutions.

• 1994

  Oliy Majlis established

  [1]Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org

  Following the end of the Supreme Council’s term, independent Uzbekistan held parliamentary elections and created the Oliy Majlis as its national parliament.

• 1992

  New Constitution changes the institutional framework

  [1]Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org

  The Constitution adopted on 8 December 1992 formalized the post-independence state structure and shifted constitutional and executive functions away from the former Soviet-derived parliamentary bodies.

• 1991

  Independence declared

  [1]Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org

  On 31 August 1991, the Supreme Council declared the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

• 1990

  Deputies elected in the final Soviet-era parliamentary election

  [1]Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org

  Elections held on 18 February 1990 selected the 500 deputies who formed the final convocation of the republic’s Supreme Council structure.

A transitional national legislature and representative state institution of newly independent Uzbekistan.

• 1994

  Replacement by the Oliy MajlisOther

  Background

  The Supreme Council’s term ended as Uzbekistan moved from a transitional legislature to a new national parliamentary institution.

  Action taken

  Parliamentary elections were held and the Oliy Majlis was established as a unicameral parliament.

  Aftermath

  The Supreme Council ceased to be Uzbekistan’s national legislature; the Oliy Majlis later became bicameral after the 2002 constitutional referendum.

  Source

• 1992

  Transfer of constitutional-supervision functionsStrategy

  Background

  The adoption of a new Constitution required the redistribution of constitutional-review responsibilities within the independent state’s institutions.

  Action taken

  Functions associated with the Supreme Council’s constitutional-supervision committee were transferred to the Constitutional Court of Uzbekistan.

  Aftermath

  Constitutional review was separated from the former parliamentary committee structure and incorporated into the post-independence constitutional system.

  Source

• 1991

  Adoption of the independence declarationStrategy

  Background

  The collapse of the Soviet political order required the republic’s legislature to establish a legal and political basis for sovereign statehood.

  Action taken

  The Supreme Council declared the independence of Uzbekistan on 31 August 1991.

  Aftermath

  The council became the principal legislature of the independent republic and supervised the initial institutional transition toward a new constitutional order.

  Source

1. 1Supreme Council of Uzbekistanen.wikipedia.org