July 19, 2024

Amendments in the Economic Procedure Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Introduction

The Economic Procedural Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter. EPC) has undergone significant changes recently. Three statutes on amendments and additions to the EPC have been adopted since 2023: Law No. 833 dated 26.04.2023, Law No. 888 dated 25.12.2023, and Law No. 911 dated 21.02.2024. The most substantial reform was enacted by Law No. 888, which amended and added 46 articles to the EPC and excluded 3 articles. The most significant change was the addition of a new Chapter 36, which governs the newly introduced revision procedure. The implementation of this procedure led to the exclusion of repeat cassation and the modification of some procedural deadlines, which will be discussed in more detail below.

  1. Amendments introduced by Law no. d.d. 26.04.2023

Law No. 833 amended 11 articles of the EPC and added Article 311, which is the most important among other amendments. Article 311 on the transfer of case materials from one economic court to another allows to transfer of a claim filed in violation of the jurisdictional rules to the appropriate court for civil or administrative matters. The decision on the transfer of a claim (application) and case, materials from the economic court to another court can be appealed.

According to this article, disputes between courts regarding jurisdiction are eliminated.  Specifically, if a claim is filed in violation of jurisdictional rules, the court does not have the power to refuse to accept the claim. This is further supported by the amendments to Article 154 of the EPC introduced by Law No. 833, where lack of jurisdiction by the economic court ceases to be a ground for refusing to accept a claim. To refuse to accept a claim, the case must not fall under the jurisdiction of the economic court, civil court, or administrative court.

  1. Amendments introduced by Law No. 888 d.d. 25.12.2023

The revision procedure for proceedings is a recent innovation by the legislator in the procedural law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, eliminating the repeat cassation procedure that had been in effect since 13.01.2021. As of 01.01.2024, Chapter 36 of the EPC, regulating the review of judicial acts in the revision procedure, has come into force. This procedure has significantly altered the norms of the EPC. For example, by Law No. 888, changes were made to 46 articles of the EPC, 3 articles were deleted, and a whole new Chapter 36, consisting of 30 articles, was added.

Changes in the appellate and the cassation review procedurals for judicial acts

  • Appellate procedure

Significant changes in the appellate review procedure of acts primarily affected Article 260 of the EPC, which was dedicated to the courts reviewing appellate complaints. This article was rewritten, stipulating that appellate complaints are reviewed by the judicial board for economic cases of the regions, the city of Tashkent, and the Republic of Karakalpakstan on decisions of district, inter-district, and city economic courts, as well as the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, and Tashkent city court. Appellate complaints are reviewed by the judicial board for economic cases of the Supreme Court decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

According to the old version, the judicial board of the Supreme Court for economic cases reviewed appellate complaints on decisions of the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, and Tashkent city courts, and decisions of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The judicial board for economic cases of the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, and Tashkent city courts, in turn, reviewed appellate complaints of decisions of the respective district (city) and inter-district economic courts. 

Accordingly, the difference is that if, for example, a major investor, in accordance with part 6 of Article 34 of the EPC, files a claim in regional court as the court of first instance, then after receiving the decision, under the old version, they could file an appellate complaint to the Supreme Court. Under the current version, this investor cannot file an appellate complaint to the Supreme Court, as the Supreme Court no longer reviews appellate complaints on decisions of the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, and Tashkent city courts.

The next significant changes were made to Article 278, which defined the powers of the appellate court. Paragraph 5 of this article, which gave the court the authority to overturn decisions and refer the case for a new trial if a violation or incorrect application of substantive and/or procedural law was found, was excluded. New provisions were added as part two, giving the court the authority to review the case according to the rules of first-instance proceedings if the was reviewed in the absence of any party properly notified of the time and place of the court session, the court decided on the rights and obligations of persons not involved in the case, or the court did not decide on the claimed requirement.

Accordingly, the changes made to Article 278 of the EPC oblige the appellate courts to review the case according to the rules of first-instance proceedings in certain cases.

  • Cassation Procedure

Before January 1, 2024, it was possible to appeal the ruling of the appellate court only in the cassation procedure within one year after the ruling was issued. Additionally, after the ruling of the cassation court, it was possible to appeal it in a repeated cassation based on Article 3051 of the EPC. Due to the amendments, this practice was replaced, and Article 3051of the ECP was excluded.

Article 282 of the EPC underwent a major revision. For example, part 1 of this article previously allowed appeals only against judicial acts that had been previously appealed in the appellate procedure if it has not been reviewed in the appellate procedure. This means that if, within a month, the decision of the court of first instance is not appealed in the appellate procedure, it can be appealed in the cassation procedure, provided the six-month appeal period after the decision comes into force has not expired.

Article 283 of the EPC, defining the courts that review cassation complaints, was adopted in a new version. In the old version, this norm was written as follows: “A cassation complaint (protest) against the decision of the court of first instance, reviewed in the appellate procedure, and the ruling of the appellate courts is reviewed by the Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan. “ In the new version, this article was changed exactly like Article 260 of the EPC. Specifically, according to this version, cassation complaints are reviewed by the court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, and Tashkent city courts – on decisions of the respective inter-district, district, city economic courts, the Court of the Republic of Karakalpaksatn, regional, and Tashkent city courts. The Supreme Court reviews only complaints against the decisions of the Supreme Court.

The aforementioned example of a major investor applies as well. For instance, if the investor chooses the regional court as the court of the first instance and, after the court of the first instance’s decision, misses the one-month appeal period, they file for cassation. However, this cassation will be reviewed by the regional court, not the Supreme Court.

Changes also affected the scope of case review in the cassation court. In the old version of Article 299 of the EPC, courts were not given the right to examine new evidence and establish new facts, whereas in the new version, the cassation judge possessed such a right.

Regarding the powers of the court, similar changes were made in cassation proceedings as in appellate proceedings. For example, according to Article 301 of the EPC, if the case was reviewed in the absence of any party properly notified of the time and place of the court session; the court made a decision on the rights and obligations of persons not involved in the case; or if the court did not, make a decision on the claimed requirement, the court reviews the case according to the rules of first instance proceedings, which was not possible in the old version of this article.

  • Revision Procedure for Reviewing Judicial Acts

Judicial acts that have entered into force and have been reviewed in the appellate or cassation procedure can be appealed in the revision procedure. To file a complaint for the revision of judicial acts, the applicant must not miss the deadline for filing the application, which is one year from the date the court of first instance’s decision comes into force. If this period expires before the appellate or cassation ruling is issued, a three–month period from the date of the ruling is provided.

Cases in the revision procedure are reviewed by the following:

  1. The Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional courts, and Tashkent city court;
  2. The Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
  3. The Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
  • Cases Reviewed by the Judicial Board  for Economic Cases of the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Regional Courts, and Tashkent City Court

These courts review decisions, rulings, and resolutions of inter-district, district, and city economic courts in cases reviewed in the appellate or cassation procedure, as well as the rulings of the appellate or cassation court. The right to appeal is granted to:

  • Persons participating in the case, as well as persons not involved in the case, whose rights and obligations were affected by the court’s decisions;
  • The Business Ombudsman excepted for disputes between two entrepreneurs and disputes unrelated to entrepreneurship;
  • The General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan and their deputies, the prosecutors of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regions, and Tashkent city and their disputes, in cases reviewed with the prosecutor’s participation, as well as in other cases upon request.

Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan

This board reviews judicial acts in cases reviewed in the revision procedure by the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional courts, and Tashkent city court, as well as judicial acts of the revision instance of these courts, and judicial acts made by these courts in the first instance, reviewed in the appellate or cassation procedure, as well as judicial acts made by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the first instance, reviewed in the appellate or cassation procedure. The right to appeal is granted to:

  • A person participating in the case, as well as a person not involved in the case,  whose rights and obligations were affected by the court’s decision;
  • The General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan and their disputes in cases reviewed with the prosecutor’s participation, as well as in other cases upon request.
  • The Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Presidium reviews judicial acts in cases reviewed in the revision procedure, as well as judicial acts made in the revision procedure by the Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The right to appeal is granted to :

  • The Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan upon request;
  • The General Prosecutor of the Republic of Uzbekistan upon request.
  1. Amendments Introduced Based on Law No. 911 d.d. 21.02.2024

Based on Law No. 911, amendments were made to four articles of the EPC, and Chapter 25 was revised in its new edition. All these changes are primarily related to the replacement of the term “bankruptcy” with “insolvency” and “citizen” with “individuals”. The basis for this is the Law “On Insolvency” dated April 12, 2022, where the term bankruptcy is not used; instead, “insolvency” is used, although the concept of a bankrupt, which is a debtor recognized as insolvent by a court decision, exists. The change from “citizen” to “individual” immediately broadens the scope of persons to whom this procedure can be applied, for example, stateless persons and foreign individuals.

Conclusion

Summarizing the significant changes made to the EPC from April 26, 2023, to February 21, 2024, the following conclusion can be drawn:

  1. Economic courts do not have the right to refuse to accept a claim if it falls under the jurisdiction of civil or administrative courts; instead, the claim must be redirected to the appropriate jurisdiction.
  2. Introduction of Revision Proceedings in the EPC:

First, this led to the exclusion of the institution of repeated cassation.

Second, it altered the deadlines for filling cassation appeals (six months after the decision comes into force for cassation, one year after the decision of the first instance for revision).

Third, after the first instance court issues a decision, this decision can be appealed either in the appellate procedure (before the decision comes into force) or in the cassation procedure (after the decision comes into force). Only after these steps can the decision be appealed in the revision procedure.

Fourth, cases in the revision procedure are reviewed by:

  • Regional courts, Tashkent city court, and the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan;
  • The Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court;
  • The Presidium of the Supreme Court.

A judicial act can only be protested in the Presidium by the Chairman of the Supreme Court and the General Prosecutor, based on appeals from parties involved in the case, as well as individuals whose rights and obligations were affected by the court’s decision.

Additionally, as an appellate or cassation instance, the Judicial Board for Economic Cases of the Supreme Court does not review judicial acts of regional courts, Tashkent city court, and the Court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

The recent changes in terminology regarding insolvency cases were aimed at clarifying and harmonizing the terminology with current legislation, ensuring more precise and uniform use of terms in legal acts.