UZBEKISTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sherzod Abdulkasimov, Nazokat Kamilova and Navruza Yunusova, PraeLegal Uzbekistan
the request to arbitrate (Article 37); the tribunal is then constituted (Articles 15–20). The claimant files a state - ment of claim and the respondent a defence within the agreed or tribunal-fixed period, each amendable unless the tribunal thinks it inappropriate given the delay (Article 39). Subject to party agreement, the tri - bunal decides whether to hold hearings or proceed on documents, but must hold a hearing if a party requests one (Article 40). Default does not bring the proceedings to a halt: under Article 41, the tribunal terminates if the claimant fails without cause to submit its claim, continues (without treating silence as admis - sion) if the respondent fails to defend, and may award on the available evidence if a party fails to appear or produce documents. It may appoint an expert (Article 42) and seek the court’s assistance in taking evidence (Article 43). The Law on Domestic Arbitration rests on the same premise – party autonomy subject to equal treatment and a fair opportunity to be heard, with statements of claim and defence, hearings or documents-only deter - mination and default consequences – and imposes no materially different compulsory steps. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators The ICA Law confers on the tribunal the powers need - ed to conduct the arbitration effectively and imposes on it a small core of mandatory duties. As to powers, the tribunal may determine procedure and rule on the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of evidence (Article 34), rule on its own jurisdiction (Article 21), order interim measures (Arti - cle 22) and continue to an award despite a party’s default (Article 41). As to duties, it must treat the par - ties equally and give each a reasonable opportunity to present its case (Article 33), and each arbitrator must disclose circumstances giving rise to justifiable doubts as to their independence or impartiality (Arti - cle 17). Arbitrators enjoy immunity for acts and omis - sions in the proceedings, save intentional misconduct (Article 6). Further duties – availability, confidentiality, timely conduct – derive from the chosen institutional rules. The Law on Domestic Arbitration imposes an equiva - lent framework – powers to govern procedure, to rule
on evidence and on its own jurisdiction (Article 24) and to address default, with duties centred on equal treat - ment, a fair hearing and the disclosure and impartial - ity obligations tied to Article 14; the remaining duties come from the chosen permanent arbitration court’s rules. 7.4 Legal Representatives Arbitration imposes no special qualification require - ment on a party’s representatives. Under Article 38 of the ICA Law the parties may be represented by persons of their choice; there is no requirement to be an Uzbek-qualified advocate, and foreign lawyers may appear in an international arbitration seated in Uzbekistan. The position is the same in substance for domes - tic arbitration under the Law on Domestic Arbitra - tion: representation before the arbitral tribunal is not confined to licensed advocates, and the parties may appoint representatives of their choosing, subject to a narrow statutory bar (introduced in 2026) preventing a person who sat as arbitrator in the case from then acting as a party’s representative in it, with any further requirements coming from the rules of the chosen per - manent arbitration court. This differs from representation before the state courts – including in ancillary set-aside or enforcement pro - ceedings – where the ordinary rules on court repre - sentation and advocate licensing apply and a locally qualified advocate is generally required. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence The approach is one of tribunal control and party autonomy, not court-style discovery. Under Article 34 of the ICA Law, the tribunal determines the admis - sibility, relevance, materiality and weight of evidence, subject to party agreement and equal treatment; there is no discovery or compulsory disclosure, and mat - ters such as privilege are left to the tribunal and any rules the parties adopt. The tribunal may appoint an expert (Article 42) and seek the court’s assistance in taking evidence (Article 43), given effect through the EP Code.
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