Uzbekistan is considering implementing new administrative penalties for civil servants and officials at government agencies and other organizations who are required to report offenses but fail to do so. A draft law has been developed that would amend the Code of Administrative Liability to this effect.

According to the draft, current legislation does not provide for a specific administrative penalty when officials or employees of state bodies or other organizations fail to report offenses.

The bill's authors argue that this gap has, in some cases, allowed violations to go undisclosed or has delayed the necessary response to them.

To address this, the draft proposes adding a new Article 188-5 to the Code of Administrative Liability, titled "Violation of legislation on reporting offenses."

Under the proposed article, an employee or official of a state body or other organization who is obligated to report an offense but fails to notify the relevant internal affairs authorities or "Inson" social services centers through the established procedure could face an administrative fine.

Specifically, the draft proposes the following fines:

— for individuals and rank-and-file employees: from 3 to 5 basic reference values;
— for officials: from 5 to 10 basic reference values.

If the same violation is repeated within one year of an administrative penalty being imposed, the punishment would be more severe.

In that case, the fine would rise to between 5 and 10 basic reference values for individuals and employees, and between 10 and 15 basic reference values for officials.

The draft states that these changes are aimed at improving the timely detection and prevention of offenses, as well as strengthening the accountability of employees at state bodies and organizations.

The new rules are also expected to help reinforce a more reliable system for protecting individuals' rights — particularly those of women and minors.

If adopted, the bill would take effect on the date of its official publication.