American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 42 | P a g e THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD (MAHALLA) INSTITUTE IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN UZBEKISTAN Dilshodbek Tursunboy ugli Komilov Basic-Doctorate of Andizhan State University, Republic of Uzbekistan ABSTRACT: In the article, the role and importance of the neighborhood institute in the construction of civil society in Uzbekistan is revealed with the help of scientific literature and articles in periodicals. In addition, the issues of increasing the role of citizens' self-government bodies in the effective resolution of issues of local importance, as well as the realization of the right of citizens to join an association representing the common interests of citizens' gatherings were also analyzed. Keywords: Uzbekistan, civil society, neighborhood institute, self-governing bodies, citizen assemblies. Introduction It is recorded in historical sources that for centuries the peoples of the East lived in neighborhoods, following certain rules and regulations. Today, the term neighborhood is developing and functioning as a self-governing body of citizens from a legal point of view. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On measures to further improve neighborhood institutions", increasing the role of citizens' self-government bodies in effectively solving issues of local importance, as well as joint meetings of citizens determined the organizational and legal measures aimed at further development of mutual cooperation with state bodies and civil society institutions on the basis of exercising the right to join an association representing their interests and strengthening their material and technical base [1]. RESEARCH METHODS The fact that the neighborhood has a historical existence and a long past, as well as the national values, the way of life of the people as a community, fully embodies it. Today, it is impossible to create its legal basis without researching the actual process of neighborhood activity. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS However, during the former regime, on April 17, 1932, "Regulations on Neighborhood Committees in the Cities of Uzbekistan", on August 30, 1961, "Republic of Neighborhood Committees in Cities, Villages, Settlements and Villages" "Regulations" were adopted, but American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 43 | P a g e both documents did not grant legal personality rights to the neighborhood, while in the first one, rural settlements were completely forgotten, and in the second regulation, neighborhood committees were officially prohibited from opening ordinary kitchens and teahouses. And teahouses have always been the most crowded places of the neighborhood, and all the news in the neighborhood have served as the most cultural and educational place for people [2]. The First President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, I.A. Karimov, in his speech at the 18th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Central Committee of the former Communist Party held on November 24, 1989, before independence, said: "Neighborhood as an important link of self-government in residential areas the rights and powers of the committees were expanded" [3], and the rights of self-government bodies were further strengthened by the state. A system of solving local issues independent of the state was created. In Uzbekistan, it was necessary to form and develop the activity of neighborhoods as self- governing bodies. At the II-session of the Supreme Soviet held in 1990, the Special Commission on the creation of a draft of the new Constitution drew attention for the first time as a self-governing structure. The local self-governance structure was included in the local self-governance system in the decisions made at the 11th session of the Supreme Soviet held on December 8, 1992. In it, it is established that "Neighborhood Committees" will be established instead of the former "Selskie sovet" (Village Councils) [4]. Scientific research on neighborhood activities showed that it was not possible to give them broad powers before they create legal and financial foundations in order to solve existing social and political issues in our country through self-governing bodies. Based on this, on October 8, 1992, the "Mahalla" charity fund was established in Uzbekistan. They were assigned the task of regularly providing material, financial and practical support. The following were defined as the main tasks of the neighborhood charity fund: -Continuously helping to preserve and enrich the traditions and customs of the people of Uzbekistan; - to promote the ideas of being humane and compassionate towards low-income families, disabled people, orphans and lonely elderly people, to provide them with material and spiritual support; - to support the social, economic and cultural development of neighborhoods in the conditions of the market economy [5]. The regular system of local authorities cannot be imagined without local self-government bodies of citizens. The basis of these agans is the gatherings of citizens - neighborhoods. They were created based on the historical traditions and mentality of the people. In turn, the importance of the neighborhood, which is an important social body of self-government, has always been very high. In the new conditions, the local bodies of state power transfer part of their powers and tasks to the local self-government of citizens. they should determine the possibilities of strengthening their role and strengthening their reputation by handing them over to management bodies. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 44 | P a g e It is worth noting that during the past period in our country, the neighborhood institution, which is a unique form of self-management institution, which fulfills and guarantees the unique traditions and values of our people to the society, has contributed to the development of civil society and serving to form. Due to independence, the term "neighbourhood" was included in the Constitution for the first time in the history of our country. It was expressed in the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Self-Governing Bodies of Citizens" adopted by the Supreme Council on September 2, 1993. In the law, the activities of self-governing agencies and neighborhoods in the formation of civil society are based on the interests of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan, based on the historical features of development, national and spiritual values, local traditions and it is necessary to understand the independent activity in solving the issues of local importance, taking into account the traditions. Citizen self- governance areas consist of the entire territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and cities, villages, hamlets are territorial units of citizen self-governance. Recognition of generally recognized democratic principles is of great importance in the formation of citizens' self-governance bodies, in the election of their officials, and in the control of their activities. In Articles 3, 8, 20 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Self-Governing Bodies of Citizens", citizens have the right to self-governance in towns, villages, villages and neighborhoods on the basis of elections. on the basis of which it is determined. In a word, the legal position of the neighborhood was established in the law based on the historical features of the development of our society, national and spiritual values, local customs and traditions, as well as universally recognized democratic principles. Today, on the basis of the assistance and support of authorities, law enforcement agencies, enterprises, organizations, institutions and officials in organizing the work of citizens' self-government bodies, Citizens' Self-Government support of relevant state bodies and public organizations is very necessary to organize and activate the work of the bodies and to mobilize the population for this work. In Uzbekistan, self-government bodies occupy an important place in the life of the state and society. Therefore, the issues of formation and development of self-governing bodies and holding elections are reflected in separate legislation. Based on this, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 15, 2013 "On the Election of the Chairman (Elder) of the Citizens' Assembly and His Advisers" provides that the active role at the initial stage of reforms is at the discretion of the state and, first of all, the executive power. specifies that At the current stage of democratic changes, it is necessary to develop a long-term strategy of political, economic and social development, in which the role of the state should be fundamentally changed based on the ultimate goal of our democratic development - the goal of building a civil society [6]. The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Election of the Chairman of the Citizens' Assembly dated 15.10.2018 was adopted [7]. Pursuant to Article 17 of the Law, American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 45 | P a g e the following requirements are imposed on candidates for the position of chairman (elder) of the citizens' assembly: Candidates for the position of the chairman (elder) of the citizens' meeting must be citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as a rule, have a higher education, have lived in the relevant area for at least five years before the direct election, have organizational skills, work in state bodies or citizens who have work experience in non-governmental non-commercial organizations or in the field of entrepreneurship and other economic activities, as well as life experience and reputation among the population, are elected for a three-year term [8]. Nowadays, based on the activity of the neighborhood structure, by further deepening the reforms in the social spheres, the legal status of the neighborhood institution, which is the spiritual and educational basis of human development, and the improvement of the living conditions of our people, as a self-governing body, has been strengthened. . Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Self-Governing Bodies of Citizens" adopted on March 15, 2013 stipulates the following. The main principles of the activities of citizens' self-government bodies are as follows: The main principles of the activities of citizens' self-governing bodies are legality, the priority of human rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, democracy, transparency, social justice, independence in solving issues of local importance, community-based mutual assistance, social partnership, local tradition. -consists of taking into account customs and traditions [9]. It should be noted that if we compare the life of neighborhoods in the first years before independence with the status of today's neighborhoods, we can see that the difference between them has developed significantly, and while preserving the historical traditions of the neighborhood, it is being strengthened by law, developed Uzbekistan the socio-political functions of citizens' assemblies, such as world countries, are taken into account, and the tasks of local authorities are specially recognized in terms of further libelization of their participation in state and local governance. Within the framework of these powers, citizens' assemblies make proposals to further improve the activities of state and local government bodies and eliminate identified deficiencies on the spot, that is, they participate in the implementation of local governance. Fundamental changes have taken place in the socio-political life of this law. First of all, it is explained by the fact that the management system is implemented on the basis of democratic principles and the role and position of self-government bodies of the population in social life has increased, as well as documents aimed at improving the activities of citizens' self- government bodies The Decree of the First President on April 23, 1998 "On the Support of Citizen Self-Government Bodies" and the December 2002 "Year of Prosperous Neighborhood" Program Development and Implementation on February 7, 2003, the decisions on the "Prosperous Neighborhood Year" program had a positive effect on the development of the system of citizens' self-government bodies. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 46 | P a g e Also, on December 25, 2006, the decision of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the action program for 2007-2008 to improve the activities of citizens' self- governance bodies" is included in the above documents. Important historical changes in the system primarily serve to further develop the activities of self-governing bodies established in areas where service delivery methods are not fully replaceable. In this way, a sufficiently strong legal basis of citizens' self-governance bodies was created in our country, and this basis is regularly enriched and improved, taking into account the requirements of the time. The district has its high status because it is recognized as the brightest manifestation of the self-governing agencies, and at the same time the basis and support of the civil society. Among them, studying the importance and formation of the civil society of the neighborhood institute, which is the most common type of it in our country, is one of the most urgent issues today. Here, we can point out the aspects that characterize the importance of the neighborhood institution in deepening the reforms being carried out in the society. The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Citizen Self-Government Bodies (adopted on April 14, 1999 and dated April 22, 2013 Uzbekistan "On Citizen Self- Government Bodies" It is considered an important historical source of citizens exercising their political, economic, social and personal rights in a practical, democratic way through these bodies. Ensuring the rule of law in society is the main guarantee of achieving the effectiveness of all the reforms being implemented, further raising the standard of living of the population, and ensuring peace, harmony and stable situation in the country. In 2017-2020, 38 laws and regulatory documents related to the neighborhood institution were adopted, and more than 50 of them were improved, and in turn, staff shortages in the neighborhood system have become the norm, and the employees of the neighborhood involvement in extracurricular activities, gatherings, and other activities had increased. Also, by this time, more than 200 tasks were assigned to neighborhood assemblies [10]. Also, the articles specified in the Law on Self-Governing Bodies of Citizens create a democratic environment for the purpose of regulating our society. , in particular, the government and parliament ensure that other state authorities do not illegally interfere with the activities of citizens' self-government bodies. Such activities are strictly defined by laws and other regulatory documents and serve the development of our society. Citizens included in the lists of the "Iron Register", "Women's Register" and "Youth Register" receive state support in the form of vocational training, employment and financial assistance in solving problematic issues in the neighborhoods. new effective mechanisms of neighborhood institute are being developed by the head of state and put into practice. In order to ensure the existence of civil society in Uzbekistan, he defined the strategy of reforms in the following areas as the main conditions for the modernization of state authorities: limiting the powers of state authority, giving civil society institutions as much as is necessary for self-management in society. delegation of powers. In Uzbekistan, the issue of transferring a certain part of the powers of local authorities from the center to local American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 47 | P a g e authorities is the main part of the process of decentralization of local authorities. is also one of the most urgent tasks of today. Starting from April 1, 2018, in each district and city of the republic, first of all, in remote areas with harsh natural climate, 2 per year and 3 villages (neighborhoods) in the coming years, step by step radical improvement of the living conditions, lifestyle and level of the population. In 2018, within the framework of the "Prosperous Village" program aimed at ensuring changes, modernizing the image of these villages (neighbourhoods) and creating jobs for the villagers, measures were taken to comprehensively renew the territories of 368 neighborhood communities in 174 districts of our country. defined as the priority goals of the program. The repair of 127,143 houses, their appearance, and the improvement of their surroundings have a special place in the program. The Presidential Decree "Prosperous Village" and the government program for its implementation show that the state has paid serious attention to self-governing bodies and neighborhoods, and the main goal is to raise their role and place in social life. shows that the rapid changes in the system are particularly gratifying as they effectively solve the problems of the population in the community's activities, In the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of April 2, 2019 on the measures to fundamentally increase the position of the neighborhood institute in working with the problems of the population No.5700 , preserving national traditions and values, ensuring family unity, raising a healthy and well-rounded generation, and solving the daily problems of the population is the closest social structure to our nation [11]. On the Development Strategy of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 28, 2022, which consists of 7 directions and includes 100 goals, in order to further revitalize the activities of self-governing bodies and increase their legal status Decree No. PD-60 was reflected in the decree aimed at further development of our country in 2022-2026. The first direction of the strategy is called the establishment of a people-friendly state through the development of a free civil society, the provision of human dignity and his legitimate interests, and the first goal of this direction is to increase the effectiveness of the activity of the neighborhood institution, to make it the basis of public management and control. turn into In order to solve socio-economic problems in the regions on the spot, it is envisaged to expand the powers of neighborhoods and strengthen their financial independence. Therefore, it serves to ensure the independence of the neighborhood institution as a link in the rhythm of the state and community management system, as well as a guarantee of the well-being of the community and the state. This is to increase the participation of citizens in the neighborhood where they live today, to further strengthen direct communication between state bodies and neighborhoods, and to introduce an effective mechanism for working with residents in neighborhoods, as well as digitalization. further improvement of the processes will provide an opportunity to improve the system of citizens' appeals to all state agencies from the neighborhood, as well as to ease the burden of the people, to provide state and social services directly from the neighborhood institution, which is a lower body [12]. American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 48 | P a g e Today, more than 9,200 non-governmental non-profit organizations operating in Uzbekistan play an important role in protecting the rights and legal interests of individuals and legal entities, democratic values, and achieving social, cultural and educational goals, which contributes to the activity of the neighborhood. has a positive effect on development [13]. Self-management of citizens occupies an important place in the mechanism of society and state management. As mentioned above, citizens' self-government bodies do not belong to the system of state authorities. At the same time, self-government bodies of citizens and state bodies are closely connected with each other, because the people are the only source of these bodies. The state exerts its influence in solving important (territorial, financial, etc.) issues in the activities of self-governing bodies of citizens. According to Article 127 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, citizens' self-government bodies have state powers in the implementation of state functions. State bodies have the right to control the work done by self-government bodies of citizens. The neighborhood plays an important role in fostering good neighborliness, respect and humanity in relations between people. It protects the social interests of citizens and provides specific assistance to the needy sections of the population. The fact is that it is necessary for the neighborhood to be a practical help in realizing economic and democratic changes. The adoption of the Constitution and the legislative activities of the past years make it possible to create solid foundations for the formation of a legal state that guarantees the equality of all citizens before the law and the supremacy of the law. What do ordinary people expect from us today? First of all, it is expected that their appeals to state agencies will be resolved in a timely, impartial and legal manner. However, the lack of accountability, irresponsibility, and excessive formality of some leaders in considering citizens' applications and complaints is disturbing their people[14]. CONCLUSION At the same time, the essence of the state has completely, fundamentally changed. At the initial stage, the state became the most active force of social renewal, the main initiator and leader of reforms, and the main implementer of new ideas in social life. The fulfillment of the tasks of the first stage of the establishment of the new Uzbek statehood was reflected in the increase and strengthening of Uzbekistan's international reputation, the establishment and development of friendship and cooperation relations with many countries of the world community. REFERENCES: 1. SCIENTIFIC-METHODICAL REPORT on the study of the State Program for the implementation of the Strategy of Actions on the five priority directions of the development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the years 2017-2021 "Year of dialogue with the people and human interests" T. 2017 American Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Development ISSN Online: 2771-8948 Website: www.ajird.journalspark.org Volume 21, October, 2023 49 | P a g e 2. 1992 of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. 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