In Kyrgyzstan, COVID-19 exacerbates access to justice

The human rights organization appealed to the Supreme court of the republic. It says that there is no complete information about the work of local courts of Kyrgyzstan in state of emergency and emergency situation.

“The latest information from the Supreme court on the administration of justice was released on April, 14. But it doesn’t contain information about the activities of courts in regions where a state of emergency has been introduced, but only informs about the activities of the Supreme court as a court of supervisory authority. There is no other information on the website of the Supreme court concerning the operation of City and District courts during the introduced regime to this day,” says Indira Sautova, director of the Coalition.

At the same time, it is noted that in accordance with the Presidential Decree on the introduction of the state of emergency on March 24, 2020, the Supreme court was granted the right to change the territorial jurisdiction of civil, criminal, administrative cases, misconduct cases, as well as materials of pre-trial proceedings in the territory of Bishkek, Jalal-Abad, Suzak district of Jalal-Abad region and the city of Osh, Nookat and Kara-Su districts of Osh region of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“Such a special clause in the Presidential Decree is given to ensure the requirements of the article 20 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, which doesn’t allow any restrictions on the right to judicial protection. The absence in the procedural legislation of the regulation of the courts’ work in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the state of emergency doesn’t suspend, much less cancel the constitutional right to judicial protection,” said Indira Sautova, executive director of the Coalition against Torture.

The lawyers of the Coalition against Torture also indicate in their appeal that, in accordance with paragraph 14 of article 20 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On the Supreme court of the Kyrgyz Republic and local courts”, the chairman of the Supreme court issues orders on the organization of work of judges and local courts of the Kyrgyz Republic. This circumstance is extremely important in connection with the complete absence of their own websites of courts of the first and second instances.

“But until today, the Supreme court hasn’t provided the public with information about measures taken in connection with the situation, as well as the operating hours of the courts of Osh and Jalal-Abad regions, as well as the court of the city of Bishkek, the Regional and Inter-district courts of the Chui region and the courts of Naryn region,” they emphasize.

The Coalition against Torture notes that the decision of the Supreme court, which was determined by the Supreme judge at the meeting on March 27, 2020 to suspend the work of the courts of Osh, Jalal-Abad regions, the city of Bishkek, as well as the Regional and Inter-district courts of Chui region, was adopted in violation of the procedures of the Law “On the Supreme court of the Kyrgyz Republic and local courts”. It doesn’t take into account the legal consequences for participants in the process, for persons whose terms of detention have expired or persons subject to release from punishment on various grounds.

This decision also contradicts the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and part 8 of the Presidential Decree dated March 24, 2020 on the introduction of a state of emergency in certain regions of the country.

“We think that in a state of emergency, the judicial system as an obligatory element of democratic society and justice, as the public activity of one of the branches of government, cannot be suspended. Moreover, in a state of emergency, the court must more carefully respond to the observance of procedural guarantees and prevent violations of laws, i.e. not turn into emergency justice,” human rights activists summarize.

In addition, the Coalition against Torture told ACCA that today in Kyrgyzstan, there is generally no synchronization of state bodies that regulate criminal proceedings.

“We see that today the State Penitentiary Service prohibits attorneys from visiting their clients, and it isn’t clear how the lawyers should fulfill their professional duties. Are such restrictions appropriate and legal? The development of the pandemic has demonstrated that the effectiveness of legal regulation in crisis situations, to put it mildly, isn’t up-to the mark. The regulatory environment, in which lawyers are going through a pandemic, is evidence of problems that go far beyond the functional role of the legal profession. The regulatory body [the Ministry of Justice] was limited to only issuing 16 passes for cars of lawyers providing services under the guaranteed state legal support (GSLS). It is unknown what the Ministry has done to ensure the work of the entire advocacy community, for unhindered access for clients and defendants to lawyers, to everyone and not just through the GSLS. Although this is precisely the role of the Ministry of Justice: the function of implementing the state’s policy in the field of advocacy,” said Indira Sautova.

Another strangeness, according to the executive director of the Coalition against Torture, is that the republic’s main supervisory body [the Prosecutor General’s office] takes a mild view of all this arbitrariness.

“During the state of emergency, we didn’t hear a single word from the Attorney General. Although, according to the Presidential Decree, it is the Prosecutor General’s office that should carefully monitor the legality of the decisions taken by the commandant’s office to comply with the state of emergency, as well as everything that happens in the supervised departments,” says the human rights activist.