Laws and Government Policies

Upon acquiring independence, the Central Asian counties, that had chosen building a democratic, legal and temporal state, admitted the role and the significance of citizens' institutions of local self -governance (ILSG) as one of the pillars of the democratic society.

Local government means a guaranteed right and real ability of the local communities to manage local affairs through representative and executive authorities and through direct participation of citizens.

Institutions of local self-governance in the Republic of Azerbaijan exist as local municipalities; in Kyrgystan the following territorial levels of local authorities have been established: primary - ayil (rural), settlement and towns (district towns), local keneshes, and the basic is district kenesh and the state administrations; in the Republic of Tajikistan at the first level are - Jamoaty shahrak and dehot (the government of the villages and settlements); second level - Khukumats (governments) of towns and districts; third level - Khukumats of Gorno-Badakhshan automonous province, regions and the city of Dushanbe; in the Republic of Uzbekistan it has a form of meetings of citizens living in settlements and rural area, and districts of towns, settlements, and rural area.

Procedure on ILSG organization and structure is set forth by the Constitutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan and Republic of Uzbekistan and laws, legislative acts and resolutions of the above mentioned republics.

Central Asian countries and Azerbaijan had adopted the laws on ILSG. These laws establish the principles of local government organization, define the role of the local self-governance and local state administration, determine organizational and legal basis of their activity, outline the scope of competence and principles of interrelations between the bodies of the local self- governance and local state administration, state guarantees of the local communities rights for self- governance.