UZBEKISTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sherzod Abdulkasimov, Nazokat Kamilova and Navruza Yunusova, PraeLegal Uzbekistan
tred on consolidating and growing TIAC, expanding its caseload and deepening co-operation with HKIAC, rather than establishing additional domestic arbitral bodies. 1.4 National Courts Uzbekistan has not, to date, established a court dedi - cated exclusively to arbitration-related matters. Juris - diction over such matters is instead divided between the economic (commercial) courts and the courts of civil jurisdiction, according to the identity of the parties and the nature of the dispute. The economic courts, acting under the Economic Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (the “EP Code”), determine the great majority of arbitration-related matters as commercial disputes, whereas the courts of general jurisdiction, acting under the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, hear matters involving individuals acting otherwise than in the course of busi - ness or entrepreneurial activity. The 2022 reforms to the EP Code introduced a dedicated chapter govern - ing judicial assistance to arbitration and applications for the setting aside of arbitral awards. The national courts exercise supervisory and assistive functions at defined stages of the process. Where the seat of the arbitration is in Uzbekistan, the compe - tent economic court exercises supervisory jurisdiction over applications to set aside awards, applications for interim measures and the taking of evidence, and rules on the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, subject to an ultimate right of appeal to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Uniformity of judicial practice in this field – in particular as regards the application of the New York Convention – has been reinforced by Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 27 of 20 November 2023 “On Certain Issues of the Application of Legisla - tive Acts by the Economic Courts in Cases Involving Foreign Persons” (the “Supreme Court Guidance”). A degree of specialisation exists at the apex of the system: under the Presidential Decree “On Additional Measures to Further Improve the Activities of Courts and Increase the Efficiency of Justice” (No. UP-6034, 24 July 2020), a specialised panel of the Supreme Court hears, at first instance and at the investor’s elec - tion, investment disputes involving major investors
(investments of not less than USD20 million) and state bodies, together with competition cases; other invest - ment disputes may, at the investor’s election, be heard at first instance by the courts of Karakalpakstan, the regions and the city of Tashkent. Finally, a specialised forum has recently been added to this architecture, though it is not yet operational. The Tashkent International Commercial Court (TICC), established by the Constitutional Law “On the Tash - kent International Financial Centre” (ZRU-1158, 13 July 2026) (the “Сonstitutional Law”) considered in 2.2 Changes to National Law , is to be activated in stages. Once operational, it will exercise the supervi - sory and assistive functions described above on an exclusive basis, in respect of arbitrations seated with - in the Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC), arbitrations administered by the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre where the parties have agreed that it is to act as the supervisory court, and any arbitration whose parties have otherwise recognised its jurisdic - tion; in the absence of a TIFC seat or such an agree - ment, arbitrations seated elsewhere in Uzbekistan will remain under the supervision of the state courts. Its recognition and enforcement jurisdiction is, by con - trast, framed more broadly: the TICC may recognise and enforce awards made in any international arbitra - tion, irrespective of the seat and in conformity with Uzbekistan’s treaty obligations, and its decisions are enforceable throughout Uzbekistan rather than only within TIFC. International arbitration in the Republic of Uzbekistan is governed by the ICA Law, adopted on 16 February 2021 and brought into force on 18 August 2021. It is the country’s first dedicated statute on international arbitration and stands alongside the Law on Domes - tic Arbitration, which continues to govern domestic arbitration. The ICA Law is closely modelled on the 1985 UNCI - TRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitra - tion, as amended in 2006 (the “Model Law”), making Uzbekistan the 85th Model Law jurisdiction – an align - 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
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