DUSHANBE, March 31, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- A new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) has both virtues and shortcomings.

Ms. Nigina Bahriyeva, the chairperson of the Nota Bene public association, remarked this at a roundtable entitled “Observance of Human Rights in the Criminal Justice” that took place in Dushanbe on March 30.

According to her, Nota Bene conducted a survey from June to November last year for observance of human rights in the administration of criminal justice.

In all, 234 representatives of prosecutor’s officers, police, courts as well as barristers and human rights activists were surveyed.

According to the findings of the survey, 85 percent of those surveyed did not have access to the discussion of the draft Criminal Procedure Code.  The remaining 15 percent failed to analyze it well due to time limitations.

Nota Bene reportedly made a number of recommendations to improve the administration of criminal justice.

We will recall that the new Criminal Procedure Code came into effect in Tajikistan in April 2010.  The new code transfers to courts some powers previously held by prosecutors.  They, in particular, include the power to issue arrest warrants, permission for phone taps, the freezing of assets, property confiscation, another operations if investigators can prove such a necessity.