Litigation & Dispute Resolution: Uzbekistan

Efficiency of process

The judicial system of Uzbekistan belongs to a family of continental legal systems. It consists of specialised courts and is regulated by rules comprehensively codified in written legislative documents, which are easily accessible to citizens and lawyers within and outside of Uzbekistan.

The main legal documents regulating the judicial system are the Constitution, the Law on Courts, the Law on Arbitration Courts and the Law on Enforcement of Judicial Decisions and Decisions of Other Authorities. The main document regulating the judicial process in the business area is the Economic Procedural Code of Uzbekistan. All legal documents are available in Uzbek and Russian languages and are publicly available through official publications and electronic (internet) sources. The official source is www.lex.uz - a national database of Uzbek legislation administered by the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan. The database is available free of charge in Uzbek and Russian languages and is updated on a daily basis.

The court system of Uzbekistan is straightforward and consists of the following specialised courts:

The Supreme Economic Court and its regional economic courts in all administrative regions of Uzbekistan. The Supreme Economic Court and its subordinated economic courts are responsible for hearing cases arising from activities of mainly business entities, and disputes between business entities and state authorities. The Supreme Court and its regional, city and district courts in all regions, cities and districts of Uzbekistan. The Supreme Court and its subordinated courts are responsible for hearing: Civil cases arising from activities of individuals and disputes between individuals and state authorities. Criminal cases. Depending on density of population, some courts are authorised to hear both civil and criminal cases of a certain district. Depending on the location of the district, some courts are authorised to hear cases from several neighbouring districts. Military cases. Special military courts are established in all regions of Uzbekistan and subordinated directly to the Military Judicial Board of the Supreme Court. Military courts hear military cases in respect of crimes committed by military officers, officers of the national security service, officers of internal affairs, as well as crimes related to breach of state secrets cases. The Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court deals exclusively with reviewing laws...