Senator Erkaev: Justice system backsliding in Uzbekistan, public trust in judiciary declining

Speaking at a Senate plenary session, Erkaev pointed out that the reforms aimed at improving the judicial and legal system in recent years have not yielded tangible results.

“In 2023, we adopted a new version of the Constitution, and the legal framework for justice and many other sectors was strengthened. Numerous new laws have been passed. The Constitution even includes a special chapter with two articles dedicated to the legal profession — something not found in many other constitutions. The aim was to ensure fair justice, because without lawyers, justice cannot be served. Based on all these efforts, we should have seen improved indicators. Unfortunately, in some areas, we are seeing the opposite.”

Erkaev noted that Uzbekistan’s position in the Rule of Law Index dropped five places to 83rd. More alarmingly, within the sub-index on access to civil justice, the country dropped ten positions, from 96th to 106th.

“We are now behind some African countries,” he stressed.

According to the senator, this decline reflects growing difficulties in accessing fair justice, declining public trust in the judiciary, and a widespread perception that justice and impartiality are lacking in court decisions. He added that many court rulings are delayed or not enforced at all.

Erkaev emphasized that the Rule of Law Index is not based solely on official statistics but also on public surveys, indicating that trust in certain areas of the judicial system is deteriorating.

“What are the results of the judicial reforms we’ve carried out in recent years? There are none. Instead of progress, we see regression. Where there is genuine work, there are positive outcomes. In areas with negative results, things have simply been left unattended,” he said.

The senator also listed the persistence of “telephone justice” — referring to informal pressure on judges — as well as ongoing corruption and the poor qualifications of some judges as key reasons for Uzbekistan’s decline in international rankings.