UZBEKISTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sherzod Abdulkasimov, Nazokat Kamilova and Navruza Yunusova, PraeLegal Uzbekistan
PraeLegal Uzbekistan 6th floor 77, Bobur Str. Tashkent Uzbekistan 100022
Tel: +998 95 198 21 12 Email: info@praelegal.uz Web: praelegal.uz
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
These sectors share features that favour arbitration: they attract the most foreign capital, so their contracts most often contain arbitration clauses; they involve high-value, long-term obligations where technical and industry expertise is valued in arbitrators; and they frequently involve state or quasi-state participation, where investors prefer a neutral forum and New York Convention enforceability. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The leading institution is the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre (TIAC), established in 2018 under the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and oper - ating since 2019. Parties are drawn to it for its zero administrative fees, predominantly virtual processes, and modern rules addressing technology, data and cybersecurity disputes. TIAC also has a co-operation agreement with the Hong Kong International Arbi - tration Centre (HKIAC), enabling joint administration under the TIAC-HKIAC Cross-Institutional Rules. For contracts of higher value or with more complex party structures, well-established foreign institutions, including the ICC, the LCIA, SIAC, HKIAC and the SCC, are still frequently chosen, with London often remaining the seat of choice for serious disputes given its depth of expertise and predictability. At the same time, as the Chinese commercial presence in Uzbekistan continues to grow, arbitration clauses increasingly reference Chinese institutions such as CIETAC, the BAC, SHIAC and SCIA, reflecting the shifting composition of counterparties in cross-border contracts. Overall, recent institutional activity has cen -
International arbitration is rapidly gaining ground in Uzbekistan as a means of resolving cross-border commercial disputes – though arbitration itself is far from new. Its recent rise reflects the wide-ranging eco - nomic and legal reforms launched from 2017, which produced a dedicated international arbitration law in 2021 and a modern arbitral institution. For purely domestic matters, businesses still tend to turn to the state economic courts, but where a contract has a for - eign element, arbitration is increasingly the preferred route. Arbitration is governed by two separate laws: interna - tional arbitration by the Law “On International Com - mercial Arbitration” (ZRU-674, 16 February 2021) (the “ICA Law”), and domestic arbitration by the Law “On Arbitration Courts” (ZRU-64, 16 October 2006) (the “Law on Domestic Arbitration”). The ICA Law gives effect to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) and operates alongside institutional rules such as those of the Tashkent International Arbi -
tration Centre (TIAC). 1.2 Key Industries
The most active sectors are construction and infra - structure, energy (including oil and gas), mining and metallurgy, the trade and supply of goods, and agri - culture. Locally, disputes have centred on construc - tion, the trade in goods, agriculture, and oil and gas.
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