UPDATE: A Guide to Legal Research in Uzbekistan

By Maria Stalbovskaya

Maria Stalbovskaya is a reference librarian at the Open Library for Legal Information, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She was involved in a project called the "Organizational and Methodical Support for Regional Public Law Centers" as the director of the project, lecturer, and author of educational supplies and bulletins for the Law Centers. Maria was the project assistant of "Legal Information Support for Under Judicial Investigation People". (Both projects were funded by the Open Society Institute). She was the director of the IATP Project "Creating the web-site of the Open Library for Legal Information" and also coordinated the 1998-2000 USIS Project "The Development of Electronic Legal Resources of the Open Library for Legal Information".

Published September/ October 2007
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Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Legal system of Uzbekistan

· Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan

· Constitutional laws

· Codes

2. State order of the Republic of Uzbekistan

· Legislative branch of powers: Parliament

· Executive branch of powers: Presidency, Government

· Judicial branch of powers: Constitutional Court, Supreme Court

3. Further Legal Resources

· Online

· Print

Introduction

Positioned on the ancient Great Silk Road between Europe and Asia, the Republic of Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia. Its population now numbers 27.3 million. The total territory of the republic covers 447,400 sq km (172,700 sq miles). The capital of Uzbekistan is the city of Tashkent. For a long time Samarkand, Bukhara, and other Uzbek cities famed as trade and cultural centers.

The predominant religion in Uzbekistan is Islam and the official language is Uzbek. The Russian language is the language of international communication.

Uzbekistan became part of the Russian Empire in the 1860s. The Soviet power was established from 1917, and the Uzbek SSR was formed in October 1927.

In March 1990 Uzbekistan introduced the office of the President and adopted Law of State independence in August 1991. See more

1. Legal System of Uzbekistan

The hierarchy of Uzbekistan law includes: the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, constitutional laws, codes, ordinary laws, decrees of the President, decrees of the Cabinet of Ministers, normative acts and so on. The contemporary law of the Republic of Uzbekistan can be situated in the Romano-Germanic legal family. More information is available on NationMaster.com

The Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the most important element of legislation of the independent Republic of Uzbekistan. The current Constitution (English) was accepted on December 8, 1992 on the eleventh session the Supreme Counsel of Republic of Uzbekistan of the twentieth convocation. The Constitution of the Republic of Karakalpakistan can be viewed in Russian. More information is also available here.

Constitutional Laws of the Republic Uzbekistan

Constitutional laws are a fundamental branch of public legislation and deal with the rules concerning the constitution and the structure of the state and status of the citizen in state. They lie within the Constitutional Court of the Republic Uzbekistan jurisdiction:

· "On the Foundations of State Independence of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1991),

· "On the results of the referendum and the basic principles of organization of state power" (2002)

· "On the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (2002)

· "On the Legislative chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (2002)

· "On the courts" (1993, 2000)

· "On the Constitutional Court" (1995)

· "On the Supreme Economic Court" (1993);

· "On the election to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (1993) (2003)

· "On the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan" (1991)

· "On referendum" (1991)

· "On elections"

· "On the Election of Citizens Suffrage" (1994)

· "On the Election to Provincial, District, City (Town) Kenghashs of People's Deputies" (1993)

Codes of the Republic Uzbekistan

The system of the sources of law is codified and codes are very important elements of the legal system of Uzbekistan. You can find them in Russian as a rule and in English:

· "City-planning Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (2002)

· "Housing Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1998)

· "Family Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1998)

· "Land Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1998)

· "Custom Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1997)

· "Code of Economic Procedure of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1997)

· "Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1997)

· "Criminal Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (2001, English)

· "Criminal - Executor Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1997)

· "Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1994, English)

· "Tax Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1997)

· "Civil Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" Part One (1995) , Part Two, (1996) - Articles 386-727, Articles 728-960, Articles 961-1199

· "Labor Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1995)

· "Code on Administrative Responsibility of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1994)

· "Air Code of the Republic Uzbekistan" (1993)

2. State order of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The system of state power in the Republic of Uzbekistan is based on the principle of separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial.

Legislative Branch of Powers: Parliament

The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The highest representative body of the state is the Oliy Majlis - the Supreme Assembly of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This body exercises legislative powers. In accordance with the results of the Referendum of January 27 2002, the structure of the Oliy Majlis was changed. The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan was enacted on June 1 2004 as a bicameral parliament and consists of a Legislative chamber and a Senate. (This amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan was officially published on May 22, 2003)

The Legislative (lower) chamber of the Republic of Uzbekistan is composed of 120 deputies, elected by territorial constituencies on a multi-Party basis for terms of five years.

The Senate (upper chamber) of the Republic of Uzbekistan consists of territorial representatives (senators) of 6 from: the Republic of Karakalpakstan, each region of Uzbekistan (now there are 12) and Tashkent city, chosen by the Legislature thereof. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan also appoints 16 members of Senate from the most authoritative citizens. All senators are elected for a term of five years.

The Senate and the Legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis adopt and amend the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan, legislatively regulate customs, currency and credit systems, problems of the administrative - territorial structure, and alteration of frontiers of the Republic of Uzbekistan and approve the state's budget. They ratify the decrees of the President on the establishment and abolition of the state institutions of the country.

The Legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis chooses its Speaker and other Officers and may determine of its Proceedings.

The Senate of Oliy Majlis elects its Chairmen and other officers and may determine its Proceedings. The Senate ratifies of the decrees of the President on the appointment and removal of the higher officials of country and elections of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Higher Economic Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and other representative bodies, ratifies the international treaties and agreements and realizes other activities.

The right to initiate legislation in the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan is vested in the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan through the highest body of state authority, the deputies of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Higher Economic Court, and the Procuracy General of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall pass laws, decisions and other acts. Any law shall be adopted when it is passed by a majority of the total voting power of the deputies of the Oliy Majlis.

Promulgation of the laws and other normative acts is a compulsory condition for their enforcement.

There are Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and local representative bodies, too. More parliamentary information in Russian and Uzbek languages can be found at:

Senat of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and

Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Executive Branch of Powers

The Executive branch of powers include: the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Minister Kenesi of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and khokimiyats of regions and cities.

Presidency

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the head of state and the executive authority in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The President simultaneously serves as Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan gets elected for a term of seven years. (This amendment to Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan on changing the constitutional period of the presidency is connected with the results of Referendum on January 27, 2002 and was officially published on May 22, 2003)

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall:

Form the administration and lead it, ensure interaction between the highest bodies of state authority and administration, set up and dissolve ministries, state committees and other bodies of administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister, his First Deputy, the Deputy Prime Ministers, the members of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Procurator General of the Republic of Uzbekistan and his Deputies;
Present to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan his nominees for the posts of Chairman and members of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and the Higher Economic Court, as well as the Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Chairman of the State Committee for the Protection of Nature of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Appoint and dismiss judges of regional, district, city and arbitration courts;
Sign the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Serve as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic, appoint and dismiss the high command of the Armed Forces, and confer top military ranks;
Establish the national security and state control services, appoint and dismiss their heads, and exercise other powers vested in him.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan issues decrees, enactments and ordinances binding on the entire territory of the Republic on the basis of enforcement of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Government

The Cabinet of Ministers is appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and is approved by the Oliy Majlis. The head of the government of the Republic of Karakalpakstan is an ex officio member of the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Cabinet of Ministers issues enactments and ordinances in accordance with the current legislation. This is binding on all bodies of administration, enterprises, institutions, organizations, officials and citizens throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan.

· Ministry of Economy

· Ministry for Foreign Economic Relation, Investiments and Trade (Russian)

· Ministry of Finance (English, Russian, Uzbek)

· Ministry of Water and Agriculture

· Ministry of Labor and Social Protect of Population

· Ministry of Higher and Middle Special Education

· Ministry of Public Education

· Ministry of Public Health (Uzbek, Russian)

· Ministry of Culture and Sports

· Department of Art Expertize (Russian, Uzbek)

· Ministry of Defense

· Ministry of Internal Affairs

· Ministry on Emergency Situation

· Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russian)

· Ministry of Justice

· Tashkent State Law Institute under Ministry of Justice

· Committee for State Property Management - About 120 documents on privatization and denationalization (Russian)

· State Committee on Statistics (English, Russian, Uzbek)

· State Committee on de-monopolization, support of competition and entrepreneurship (Russian)

· State Tax Committee (Russian, Uzbek)

· State Custom Committee

· State Committee for Nature Protection (Russian)

· State Committee on Architecture and Construction

· State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources (Russian, Uzbek)

· State Committee on land resources, geodesy, cartography and state cadastre

· Uzbekistan Agency for Press and Information

· Communications and Information Agency of Uzbekistan

· Standardization, metrology, certification Agency of Uzbekistan (Uzstandart)

· Municipal service Agency of Uzbekistan (Uzkommunhizmat) ()

· River and Motor transport Agency of Uzbekistan

· Uzbek Republican Agency for Copyright

· High attestation commission under Cabinet Ministries of Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek, Russian)

· State Patent Office (English, Russian, Uzbek)

· State Center of Testing under the Cabinet of Ministers (Uzbek, Russian)

· National Information and Analytical Center on Drugs Control under the Cabinet of Ministers (Russian)

· Uzbek State Inspection over Oil and Gas Consumption under the Cabinet of Ministers

· Uzbek Center of certification of cotton fiber "Silfat" at the Cabinet of Ministers (English, Russian, Uzbek)

Judicial branch of powers

The judicial system in the Republic of Uzbekistan consists of: the Constitutional Court of the Republic, the Supreme Court, the Higher Economic Court, the Supreme Court, and the Economic Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. These courts' judges have been elected for terms of five years. The judicial branch also includes regional, district, town, city, Tashkent city courts, and arbitration courts appointed for terms of five years.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan hears cases relating to the Constitutionality of acts passed by the legislative and executive branches.

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan judges the constitutionality of the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other acts passed by the Oliy Majlis, the decrees issued by the President, the enactments of the government, and the ordinances of local authorities, as well as obligations of the Republic of Uzbekistan under inter-state treaties and other documents. It also confirms the constitutionality of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Karakalpakstan to the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan and interprets the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the highest judicial body of civil, criminal, and administrative law. The rulings of the Supreme Court are final and binding throughout the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan has the right to supervise the administration of justice by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, as well as by regional, city, town, and district courts. There are some laws, codes, practice materials, and Bulletins at the website of the Supreme Court (in Russian and Uzbek)

Any economic and management disputes that may arise between entrepreneurs, enterprises, institutions, and organizations based on different forms of ownership are settled by the Higher Arbitration Court and other arbitration courts within their authority.

3. Further Legal Resources

Online

International Resources

· Amnesty International Annual report

· Asian Development Bank

· AGROINTERNET portal

· Asian Development Bank

· BISNIS Online - US Department of Commerce

· CIPR - The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights

· CAWATER - Information Portal for Water and Environmental Issues in Central Asia

· Civil and Economic Law - Project of the Bremen university (Russian, German)

· Comparative Education Policy Portal

· ECOLEX - database of national environmental legislation Environmental Law Gateway (UNEP/ICUN)

· Euromarkpat - Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin

· European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

· FAOLEX - Agreements between Uzbekistan and other countries

· Foreign and International Law at the site Washburn University School of Law Library

· The Freedom of Information Center - Uzbekistan Legislation on the Press and Other Mass Media

· Global Competition Forum - Asian Laws

· Human Rights Watch Reports, Amnesty International Reports, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Documents

· Hieros Gamos - list of law firm

· INTUTE (Former SOSIG - Social Science Information Gateway) Database of Bristol University. Links on laws and articles

· International Journalists Network

· Intellectual Property Laws

· ICNL The International Center for Non-for-Profit Law

· Lexinfosys - English translations or vernacular versions of selected business and commercial laws, not updated after August 2004 (Russian, English)

· Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Leasing

· MIXMARKET: The global information exchange for the microfinance industry development of the local microfinance sector in the Central Asian republics.

· Microfinance Gateway

· Microfinance Legislation Central Asian Gateway - Database of publications

· Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer locator - law firms

· NATLEX - abstracts of information the database of national labor, social security and related human rights legislation.

· New York University School of Law

· NGO: "On guaranties of activities of the non-state non-profit organizations"

· OSI Open Society Institute. Language Policies in Central Asia

· Partnership & Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Uzbekistan - Uzbek Law Review

· Refugee Materials on Citizenship

· SoyuzPravoInform - Commercial database of legislation NIC

· Tashkent Legal Services

· UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Legislation on drugs

· UNHCR - Legal Database consist of 16 legal documents

· UNDP

· World Legal Materials from Asia

· World Legal Information Institute - Free, independent and non-profit access to worldwide law. 820 databases from 123 countries. (Australasian Legal Information Institute)

· WUASP - Water Users Associations Support Program. 10 documents (Russian), Land Code of The Republic of Uzbekistan (English)

Legal Resources in Uzbekistan

· Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan (Russian)

· Uzbek Republican Copyright Agency Copyright Legislation (Russian)

· Central election commission (Russian, Uzbek)

· "UZINFOINVEST" - Economic Laws from Information Support & Foreign Investments Promotion Agency

· ICT. Information Communication Technology (Russian)

· Computerization and Information Developing Center (Russian)

· State Inspection of Communication - Legislation on Communication

· Information Agency "Jahon" (Russian)

· Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan - More 30 documents on business legislation

· Microfinance in Uzbekistan (Russian)