Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
53
International Journal Of Law And Criminology
(ISSN
–
2771-2214)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
53-58
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
This article examines the concepts and characteristics of public services in the Republics of Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan, based on scientific doctrine and national legislation. It explores the historical development of the term
“public services,” analyzing not only the public service concepts in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan but also in other
developed countries, with reference to scientific works from the CIS and abroad. The concept of public services is
linked to the idea of the “service state”. The author seeks to define public services as the interactions between state
bodies and private (public) entities aimed at meeting the needs of citizens and organizations in the exercise of their
rights and legitimate interests, grounded in the scientific doctrine of foreign scholars. These services are argued to
encompass a wide range of activities, such as issuing licenses, registering legal entities, providing social benefits, and
other government-provided services. Additionally, the article analyzes the concept of public services in the legal
frameworks of both countries, highlighting their similarities and deficiencies.
KEYWORDS
State services, the concept of public services, public services, service state, state function.
INTRODUCTION
With the development of digital information
technologies, the state-society-individual relationship
is increasingly taking on a new format. As early as 2004,
the legal foundation for “e
-
government” in the
Republic of Kazakhstan was established by Presidential
Decree No. 1471 of November 10, 2004, “On the State
Research Article
SOME ISSUES OF THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC SERVICES IN UZBEKISTAN
AND KAZAKHSTAN: COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS
Submission Date:
November 11, 2024,
Accepted Date:
November 16, 2024,
Published Date:
November 21, 2024
Crossref doi:
https://doi.org/10.37547/ijlc/Volume04Issue11-07
Sadibekova Moldir Seilkhanovna
Senior lecturer of the Department, State legal disciplines, The Faculty of Law of the M.Auezov South
Kazakhstan University, Shymkent, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ijlc
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 04 Issue 11-2024
54
International Journal Of Law And Criminology
(ISSN
–
2771-2214)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
11
P
AGES
:
53-58
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
Progra
m
for
the
Formation
of
“Electronic
Government” in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2005
-
2007”. The digital technology era in Kazakhstan is
further tied to the President of Kazakhstan
N.A.Nazarboev’s Program (May 20, 2015), “Plan of the
Nation
–
100 Concrete Steps to Implement Five
Institutional Reforms” One of these steps was the
establishment of the “Government for Citizens” non
-
profit joint-stock corporation, intended to become a
unified provider of government services by integrating
all population service centers into a single system,
allowing citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan to
access all government services in one location
efficiently .
In recent years, the Republic of Uzbekistan has
adopted significant legislative and regulatory acts,
including the
Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On E
-
Government” N
-395 (dated December 9, 2015), the
Resolution of the President of the Republic of
Uzbekistan “On Measures for the Widespread
Implementation of the Digital Economy and E-
Government” N
-4699 (dated April 28, 2020), and the
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic
of Uzbekistan “On Measures for Organizing the
Activities of Certain Organizations within the Ministry
for the Development of Information Technologies and
Communications of the Republi
c of Uzbekistan” N
-409
(dated June 25, 2020) among others .
Public services play a pivotal role in the functioning of
a modern state, ensuring citizens' access to essential
resources and services. With the shift towards the
concept of a “service state” the
focus moves from
bureaucratic processes to meeting the needs of
citizens.
This
article
explores
the
historical
development of public services and the concept of the
service state, drawing on academic research and
scholarly works in this field.
The history of public services dates back to ancient
times when governmental institutions began providing
basic services to the population. However, significant
advancements in the public service system occurred in
the 19th century, when states began to actively
intervene in the economy and social sphere.
A service state is a model focused on providing high-
quality services to citizens. This model emphasizes the
efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of services.
Scholarly research, such as the work of P. Drucker,
highlights the importance of management in the field
of public services and the need for state structures to
adapt to the needs of society.
Modern approaches to the service state are based on
the principles of the “state as a service” model
,
emphasizing the impact of technology on the provision
of public services and the interaction between the
state and citizens. According to K. Habermas’ research
,
the concept of the "public sphere" emerged during this
period, wherein citizens began to discuss issues
concerning public services. Numerous academic works
connect the notion of a “service state” with public
services.
In recent decades, many countries have adopted the
concept of a service state. For example, Estonia is
renowned for its digital transformation of public
services. T. Tunberg’s research
views this case as an
example of the successful application of technology to
improve citizens' quality of life.
Today, many authors support the service state
concept, under which the state assumes the
responsibility of fulfilling social needs by providing
public services to the population. Generally, the
“service state” concept, developed by German jurist E.
Forsthoff in the early 20th century, suggests that the
state should not merely “provide” but deliver publ
ic
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International Journal Of Law And Criminology
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VOLUME
04
ISSUE
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P
AGES
:
53-58
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
services to members of society. He also asserted that
these services should be primary and optional,
emphasizing that meeting the individual’s needs and
life activity should be the sole purpose of the state.
Turning to the concept of public and state services,
foreign authors point out various characteristics of
state (public) services. According to Léon Duguit,
“persons holding authoritative powers do not have
subjective rights to state power but must use their
powers to organize the provision of public services and
oversee their delivery
”. This perspective is accurate,
though the author overlooks the service recipients, i.e.,
the beneficiaries.
Paul Groute describes public services as a set of
services provided to groups of people with active state
participation in their provision, funding, and
regulation, especially when the market cannot
independently supply such services. The author
believes that as the state and society develop, the
market may fail to provide public services,
necessitating the involvement of private entities.
Some authors associate the concept of public services
with public powers. According to their interpretation,
this activity is inherent, organized, and carried out in
accordance with legislative provisions aimed at
consistently and universally meeting particular needs
connected to public interests for individuals, society
(and its social groups), and organizations. This classic
interpretation of public services equates them with the
functions of public authority.
According to I. Rudenko, state services are activities
performed by executive bodies and state extra-
budgetary funds at the request of applicants to confer
benefits within the framework of established legal
norms. This definition can be seen as standard,
although it im
plies a focus on state transformations’
benefits. The drawback of this definition is that not all
state transformations aim to generate profit through
state services, particularly in light of the development
of states under the “service state” concept.
In conclusion, based on foreign academic doctrine,
state services can be defined as interactions between
state bodies and private (public) entities aimed at
meeting the needs of citizens and organizations in the
exercise of their rights and legitimate interests. These
services may include a wide range of activities, such as
issuing licenses, registering legal entities, social
benefits, and other government-provided services.
In Kazakhstan, the concept of state services is actively
developing within the "state for citizens" framework.
The focus is on accessibility, quality, and transparency,
reflecting the commitment to modernizing public
administration. Uzbekistan is also paying significant
attention to reforming the state service system, with
an emphasis on digitalization and procedural
simplification. A key aspect is creating conditions to
improve citizen service quality and implementing the
principles of openness and accountability in state
bodies.
Thus, in both countries, state services are seen as
crucial t
ools for enhancing citizens’ quality of life and
improving
state-society
interaction.
Since
its
independence in 1991, Kazakhstan has actively worked
on improving state service quality. In a rapidly
changing world, modernization and digitalization of
state processes have become primary government
objectives.
One notable trend in developing state services in
Kazakhstan is digitalization. The "Digital Kazakhstan"
program, launched in 2017, aims to create an effective
and accessible digital infrastructure. Under this
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2771-2214)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
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AGES
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53-58
OCLC
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1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
program, various electronic services have been
developed, such as:
- The eGov.kz portal
–
a unified resource for obtaining
government services electronically.
- The eGov Mobile application, enabling citizens to
receive services via smartphones.
According to the Ministry of Digital Development,
Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan,
the national registry currently includes 1,353 state
services (887 in Uzbekistan), and over 90% (75% in
Uzbekistan, with 672 services available on my.gov.uz)
of these services are now offered in electronic format,
with more than 330 services (37%) accessible through
state service centers.
Article 1 of the Kazakhstan Law “On State Services”
defines “state service” as a form of executing specific
state functions or their combination, conducted with
or without an applicant's request, aimed at fulfilling
their rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests and
providing relevant material or non-material benefits.
This definition underscores that the state, in providing
services, performs its legally mandated functions,
which may be offered directly or through other forms,
. However, the law lacks clear criteria for forms of
service provision, which should be specified in
legislation as certain state functions cannot be
provided in service form.
Another aspect in defining state services under Kazakh
law is that services may be provided “without an
applicant's request” raising questions in certain
contexts. The concept of a service typically implies an
applicant’s request
. Thus, in our view, providing state
services without a request from the recipient is
illogical. It would be more accurate for the law to clarify
that “without an applicant’s request” should be
interpreted as requests made through information
technology.
In Uzbekistan, the legal foundation for electronic state
services was established in 2015 with the adoption of
the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the
Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to further
improve the procedure for the provision of state
services
and
interdepartmental
information
interaction of state bodies and other organizations”
dated May 13, 2015, No. 120, in accordance with the
President's Resolution No. PP-2293 of February 4, 2015,
“On the organization of the activities of the Minis
try
for the Development of Information Technologies and
Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. This
regulatory act first introduced the concept of “state
services”. According to Clause 2, Section 1 of the
Regulation, “state service is a service pro
vided by state
bodies for the implementation of their functions,
conducted upon applicants' requests”.
The above definition of state service does not differ
significantly from many definitions established in the
legislative space of CIS countries. However, this
definition refers to the functions of state bodies,
which, in our opinion, do not fully align with the
essence of service provision, as not all state functions
can be rendered as state services. Additionally, while
the definition omits the concept of public services, it
compensates by allowing other organizations to
provide state services if they are authorized by
legislation.
CONCLUSION
In summary, the issue of defining state services is
regulated by the legislation of both countries. Yet, with
the development of the state and society, the concept
of public services becomes more prominent. Under the
“service state” concept, states increasingly delegate
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Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
certain powers to private entities, transforming them
into public entities. The legislation of both countries
does not define public services, their criteria, or the
legal status of public entities, which significantly
affects the understanding of public services.
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(ISSN
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ISSUE
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AGES
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53-58
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1121105677
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Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
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