In modern conditions of aggravation of geopolitical contradictions and the complexity of the system of international relations, the prevention of offenses, crime and the fight against undesirable phenomena such as corruption, radicalism, separatism, extremism and terrorism are of unprecedented importance for ensuring the sustainable development of any independent country. Sustainable development, reduction of crime and crime rates and the stability of the state’s justice system embody its reliability on the International stage, as well as create favorable conditions for economic development and attracting international investments.
Taking into account the above, the Founder of Peace and National Unity, the Leader of the Nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, putting the issue of raising the level of legal education and legal parenting of citizens at the center of state policy, stated that: «…the issue of legal education of residents plays a key role in the process of building a progressive and just society».
In this regard, at the initiative of the Leader of the nation, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, in the Addrress to the Majlisi Oli of the country dated December 28, 2023, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the fateful National Act — the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, 2024 was declared the «Year of Legal Education».
In this connection, Decree No. 668 of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan dated December 30, 2023 «On declaring 2024 the Year of Legal Education» was approved. In accordance with paragraph 2 of this Decree, with the involvement of responsible persons, an action plan was developed to declare 2024 the «Year of Legal Education», approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan dated March 18, 2024 No. AP-533. This action plan consists of 25 items and provides for a set of organizational measures, campaign events, organization and holding of scientific and mass events as well as other practical events. On the relevance and current role of legal education, Candidate of Law sciences I.H. Saidzoda remarkably noted that: «Today, taking into account globalization and the emergence of new social relations, the topic of legal education is not only relevant, but also acquires a new content, and it can act as a contributing factor for the development of Tajikistan as a rule of law state».
History shows that the civilization of the Tajik people reflects a high legal culture. Although modern legal achievements of the world community, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, were adopted only on December 10, 1948 and the world’s first constitution, adopted in the United States of America on September 17, 1787, but the Declaration or Charter of Cyrus the Great, recognized as the first declaration and historical act on human rights, are the eternal legacy of the Tajik people. In addition, during the modern history of statehood, it was the will and eternal wisdom of the people of Tajikistan that made the choice in favor of creating a rule of law state and strengthened this criterion in the Constitution to build a just society characteristic of national values.
It is worth noting that over the 33 years of state independence, thanks to effective law-making activities, the country’s legal system has been established and improved on the basis of the supremacy of the norms of the Constitution, currently more than 400 legislative acts are in force in the Republic of Tajikistan.
In addition to all these unique measures and achievements, it is natural that sometimes the manifestation of neglect on the part of some citizens and ignorance of their rights, freedoms and duties leads to the commission of offenses, violation of the rights and freedoms of others, which creates obstacles to solving the legitimate interests of the individual, society and the state. In this regard, the announcement of the «Year of Legal Education» is considered not only as a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, but also as a process of expanding and attracting more public attention to obtaining legal knowledge and information, as well as realizing the interests of the parties to public relations in accordance with the procedure provided for by law.
Indeed, the formation of legal awareness and education in the country is a reliable basis for building a peaceful life, lasting peace and guaranteeing equality of all people before the law. Moreover, it can be stated that the goals of improving the legal literacy of the population are not limited only to the level of national legislation, the development of knowledge of international legal norms among the population simplifies the mechanism for protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens abroad.
It is known that more than 70 percent of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan are young people. With this in mind, the President of the country, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, in his Addrress to the Majlisi Oli dated December 22, 2016, emphasized that «In response to this care, our youth need to make all possible efforts to gain knowledge, choose contemporary occupations, and contribute in development and prosperity of their homeland, their motherland defense, development of science and technology and creativity». Indeed, it is the youth in any socio-economic situation that is perceived as a real force for the development of society, a driving force, a reliable support. Legal education of young people is the basis for the sustainable development of a just society and a State governed by the rule of law.
Today, due to globalization and the emergence of various factors that negatively affect national culture, especially the peak of superstitions and imitations of foreign culture, society is alarmed by the decline in morality among adolescents and young people. The decline of moral values under the guise of liberal ideas in the West or their torpor under the pretext of protecting traditional and religious «values» in Afghanistan is one of the factors influencing the current situation. The adoption of normative legal acts that block all the inalienable values of the rights and freedoms of women and girls to education and knowledge, choice of professions and crafts, employment and equal participation in public life, and, moreover, the condemnation of the female voice is a legal “innovation”, which is a sign of stagnation in development.
Unlike similar processes, the legal system of the Republic of Tajikistan was built on the basis of ancestral values and reflects the highest cultural and legal civilization, in harmony with the highest universal values. Among such national legal values, it is expressed that, in accordance with the provisions of article 17 of the Constitution, Tajikistan guarantees human rights and freedoms regardless of nationality, race, gender, language, religion, political beliefs, education, social status and property status. Currently, women make up 25% of the total number of civil servants, including almost 20% of senior staff. Girls and women also account for 73% in education, 71% in healthcare, 47% in culture, 39% in banking, 25% in communications, including almost 40% in information services. In addition, the entire legislative system and practical measures are aimed at creating optimal conditions and protecting the interests of citizens, especially young people and women.
However, it is precisely the factor of low education that leads to a decrease in the perception of moral values by adolescents and young people, their attachment to superstitions and alienation, and an increase in misconduct and offenses in society. In particular, in the first six months of 2024, the registered number of crimes among minors amounted to 332, which is 74 more than in the same period of 2023 (258 cases). Moreover, according to statistics, over the past five and a half years, that is, for 2019-2023 and the first half of 2024, almost 28,000 crimes were committed nationwide by minors and young people with their participation. That is, on average, more than 5,000 crimes are committed per year. Of these, 4,018 are minors and 23,814 are young people.
The analysis shows that one of the reasons for the emergence and spread of the phenomena of offenses, crime and extremism among adolescents and youth is a low level of legal literacy and self-awareness, insufficient education and upbringing, improper and inappropriate use of Internet networks and leaving the process of their development unchecked. On this issue, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan E.S. Nasriddinzoda notes that «In the modern world, the transition to the use of information technology is, on the one hand, a requirement of the time, ensuring the development of the technological and information potential of the country, on the other hand, the use of information technology for selfish purposes, the dissemination of undesirable materials, the exchange of information about the activities of terrorist organizations, the involvement of young people in these organizations has a negative affects on the ideology and the future life of the younge generation».
According to the statistical analysis, the composition of persons who committed crimes for the period from 2018 to 2022, the number of crimes of persons with secondary education (full and incomplete) is 72,864, and the number of crimes of persons with higher and secondary specialized education is 8,904, the cumulative figure for the latter category is 12.22%. In other words, education does lead to greater awareness of a person’s rights and responsibilities, which is a factor in reducing crime and delinquency.
To this end, the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan «About the responsibility for the education and upbringing of a child» is a timely and effective measure to review and expand the regulatory framework. The priority of this normative legal act is that it contributes to the implementation of the provisions of other normative legal acts, including the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan «About the Patriotic Education of Citizens» and legislation in the field of education, health, social security, family, labor, etc., and regulates the responsibilities of the family, educational institutions and society in this direction.
The competence of State institutions, society and the family in improving the education and upbringing of young people in order to strengthen the foundations of a sovereign, democratic, legal, secular and unified state is considered a vital issue. According to Kofi Annan: «no one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth». It follows from this that it is impossible to raise the legal education of any person and society immediately and in an extremely short period of time. This process once again confirms that, although all categories of citizens are considered the object of legal education, youth comes first, and it is this social stratum that is the future of the country.
According to Doctor of Law sciences Nematov A.R.: «Legal education acts as a purposeful and systematic activity of the state and society to form and enhance legal consciousness and legal culture of a person in order to combat legal nihilism and ensure the process of its moral and legal formation and the implementation of ideas of building a rule of law».
In general, the ancient Tajik people had a historical basis for the formation of a high legal culture, and the measures taken by the Government of the country during the period of State independence laid a new foundation for the rise and strengthening of this legal culture. Therefore, legal education will be carried out not only as an initiative of 2024, but also as a permanent measure of the state, society and every patriot to protect the bright future of Tajikistan on the way to strengthening the rule of law. There is a confidence that legal education will play a worthy role in building a just society, socio-economic development and sustainable development of the state and the international prestige of the Tajik nation.
Fattoev M.S.
Deputy Head of the Department of analysis and
forecasting of internal policy of the Center for
Strategic Research under the President of the
Republic of Tajikistan
