THE IMPACT OF CORRUPTION ON LEGAL EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING

Аннотация

This article primarily focuses on the impact of corruption on legal education, as well as on the legal upbringing that is formed on its foundation. Additionally, the article presents information onscientificanalyses regarding thedecline oflegal culture as aresult ofcorruption. Keywords:corruption, legal education, legal upbringing, development, country, program Corruption is undoubtedly a situation that negatively affects the development of a country, nation, and people. Due to this vice, all sectors that need to develop, as well as all sectors formed ontheirbasis, may facedecline. From a moral standpoint, corruption is considered immorality and vice, while from a legal perspective, it is a crime. The term “corruption” originates from the Latin word “corruption”, which literally means “to sway through bribery”. The Legal Encyclopedia states that “Corruption is criminal activity in the sphere of politics or public administration, expressed in the use by officials of their granted rights and powers for personal enrichment”. Thus, corruption, in general, is considered a crime related to the use of official position for personal purposes. In most cases, corruption is understood as government officials accepting bribes from citizens and obtaining illegal monetary income for personal gain, withtheaim of accumulating wealth”[1]. Legal education and legal upbringing may face a crisis due to this vice. If there is corruption in education, know that a crisis is imminent. Knowledge cannot be purchased with money. Education cannot be shaped through monetary transactions or the sale of positions. Education and upbringing always go hand in hand. Legal education and legal upbringing are extremely important for the formation and enhancement of legal culture. As our First President Islam Karimov said: “Education cannot be separated from upbringing, and upbringing cannot be separated from education -this is anEastern perspective, an Eastern philosophy oflife”[2]. Legal culture is formed as a result of legal education and upbringing. Corruption, however, is precisely thecondition thatleads tothe deterioration ofthislegal culture. “Legal culture refers to the level of legality in society, the extent of public awareness of existing laws, the adherence to legal norms by citizens and officials, and the intolerance towards those who fail to comply with them”[3]. Legal culture is an essential condition for the advancement of a democratic society, and developing legal culture in a democratic society is one of the most urgent and significant issues. Indeed, as stated by the Chairman of the National Human Rights Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Academician Akmal Saidov: “In the process of building a legal democratic state and a just civil society, the primary and crucial task is to cultivate the legal consciousness and legal culture ofevery citizen”[4]. 177 Volume 4, issue 4, 2025 “According to Article 81 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Combating Corruption”, the Anti-Corruption Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Agency) is entrusted with the task of developing and implementing statepolicy in thefield ofpreventing and combating corruption. Within thisscope, the Agency coordinates theactivities of ministries and departments inthe field of preventing and combating corruption and ensures the effective functioning of their joint activities. The Agency performs the following tasks in implementing the state policy in the field of combating corruption: First, it develops strategies and state programs to combat corruption and ensures their implementation; Second, it prepares draft normative legal documents aimed at strengthening the legal framework forcombating corruption; Third, it ensures systematic analysis of the state of corruption in the country, and studies the causes and conditions for the occurrence of corruption-related risks and offenses in high-risk sectors; Fourth, it ensures compliance with the requirements of the UN Convention against Corruption, promotes international cooperation in this field, and implements systematic measures to strengthen thecountry’s image and improveitsranking in international indices; Fifth, it prepares the national report on combating corruption in the Republic of Uzbekistan annually; Sixth, it supports the activities of civil society institutions, the mass media, and other non- governmental sector representatives in establishingpublicoversight overanti-corruption efforts. The Agency may also carry out other tasks within its competence related to the implementation ofstatepolicy inthefight against corruption”[5]. Legal upbringing,which contributes to theformation oflegal culture, is defined as follows: “Legal upbringing is the process of continuously instilling legal knowledge into the culture and consciousness of members of society through various means of influence. The tools of legal upbringing include legal advocacy, legal education and practice, and self-discipline. In a broa