In Uzbekistan, individuals who cause harm to human life or health as a result of violating fire safety rules may be required to pay compensation up to 1.3 billion soums. In addition, owners of markets, shopping complexes, and trade and entertainment centers will be required to compulsorily insure their facilities against fires.
This was stipulated by the law "On introducing additions and amendments to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan" adopted on November 2.
According to the new procedure, if a fire occurs as a result of a violation of fire safety rules and causes harm to human life or health, the court may impose an obligation on the guilty person to pay separate compensation in addition to covering the damage caused.
The amount of compensation is determined based on the condition of the victim. In particular, compensation can be recovered up to 1 billion 320 million soums in the event of the victim's death, up to 660 million soums when group I disability is established, and up to 264 million soums when other types of damage to health are caused.
In this case, the damage caused to human life and health is compensated before fines and financial sanctions recovered in favor of the state.
The law imposed an obligation on the owners of markets, shopping complexes, and trade and entertainment centers to insure civil liability for causing harm to the life and health of third parties as a result of a fire, as well as to compulsorily insure facilities against fire.
Officials who fail to fulfill these requirements will be fined from 22 million soums to 33 million soums. If the offense is repeated within a year, the fine will reach up to 44 million soums.
Responsibility has also been tightened in the field of urban planning. Administrative and criminal liability has been established for illegal interference with permitting procedures during the design, construction, or commissioning of objects, as well as for exerting pressure on authorized bodies and conclusion-giving persons.
Administrative arrest for up to 15 days or a fine ranging from 100 to 150 times the base calculation amount can be applied for such actions. If the offense is committed repeatedly after the application of an administrative penalty, the culprit can be deprived of liberty for up to 2 years.
At the same time, the procedure for conducting a fire audit at facilities is being introduced. The audit is carried out by independently accredited organizations. State fire supervision bodies will not conduct scheduled inspections for one year at facilities that have received a positive conclusion.
These amendments were introduced to the Criminal, Criminal-Procedural, and Administrative Responsibility Codes, as well as to the laws "On fire safety" and "On insurance activities".
