President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the constitutional Presidential Administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bill into Law today. The Legislative Chamber passed the bill on August 6, and the Senate approved it on August 7.

Under the new Law, the Presidential Administration is defined as a state body that assists the head of state in ensuring the coordinated functioning and interaction of government bodies, while also supporting the exercise of his powers in organizational, legal, and analytical matters.

The Administration reports directly to the president and is accountable to him alone. In carrying out the president's decrees, resolutions, orders, and instructions, it coordinates the work of state bodies and organizations, including enterprises with state participation, and organizes monitoring and oversight of how presidential decisions are implemented.

Duties of the Presidential Administration

The Law establishes that the Administration is responsible for the organizational, legal, and analytical support of the president's work. Its core responsibilities also include:

• analyzing the country's socioeconomic and sociopolitical development, providing organizational, legal, and analytical support for the president's reform agenda, and developing new policy initiatives;
• supporting the rule of Law and public order, protection of citizens' rights and freedoms, adherence to the Constitution and legislation, and reform of the judicial and legal system;
• coordinating the work of Law enforcement and oversight bodies, security agencies, and state bodies and organizations directly subordinate or accountable to the president, as well as relevant officials;
• developing proposals on the country's core domestic and foreign policy directions, and on protecting Uzbekistan's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity;
• organizing open, direct dialogue with the public and business community, improving public welfare, and ensuring that individuals and legal entities can exercise their right to appeal to the president;
• fostering effective engagement with representative government bodies and civil society institutions to strengthen their role in building a democratic, Law-based state and open civil society, and to reinforce national unity;
• ensuring implementation of a unified state personnel policy and management of the civil service;
• organizing the work of state bodies and organizations under the president and the Administration, as well as advisory bodies that support the exercise of presidential powers, and providing organizational, legal, and analytical support for the president's coordination of the Security Council;
• organizing and supporting the exercise of the president's powers in legislative policy;
• supporting the president's role as guarantor of human rights and the Constitution, and his powers relating to state sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity;
• supporting the president's powers in ensuring coordinated functioning and interaction among government bodies;
• supporting the exercise of the president's powers in international affairs;
• supporting the president's right to address the people of Uzbekistan and the Oliy Majlis on major issues of domestic and foreign policy;
• supporting the president's powers over citizenship matters, political asylum, amnesty, and pardons for those convicted by the courts;
• organizing and monitoring compliance with Laws, decrees, resolutions, orders, and instructions issued by the president, as well as directives issued by the head of the Administration.

Powers of the Chief of the Administration

The Administration shall be headed by a chief, appointed and dismissed by the president.

The Chief of the Administration shall:

• provide organizational, legal, and analytical support for the president's work as head of state, including his role in ensuring coordinated interaction among government bodies;
• lead the Administration under the president's coordination, oversees the work of its departments, and issues directives governing its operations;
• create or eliminates staff positions, and establishes or dissolves project offices focused on developing specific sectors;
• facilitate the president's interaction with the chambers of the Oliy Majlis, the judiciary, and judicial community bodies, and supports the exercise of his powers with respect to the Cabinet of Ministers and Law enforcement, oversight, and security agencies;
• oversee and coordinates the work of heads of state bodies and organizations directly subordinate or accountable to the president, and organizes performance evaluations for them;
• issue instructions to the heads of such bodies and organizations within his authority and ensures their implementation;
• organize the preparation of informational, analytical, and organizational materials for the president, and briefs him on important social and political matters;
• organize the work of advisory bodies under the president;
• support the exercise of the president's right of legislative initiative, coordinates the drafting of legal and other documents submitted by the president, and, through designated representatives, takes part in the review of presidential bills in the chambers of the Oliy Majlis;
• coordinate and oversees administrative reforms in national and local executive bodies, and submits proposals to the president on improving public administration;
• organize the review of matters involving state bodies and organizations that legally require presidential approval;
• coordinate regional development programs, monitors the socioeconomic situation across regions, and submits proposals to the president for addressing systemic problems;
• oversee compliance with the president's decrees, resolutions, orders, and instructions;
• hears reports from heads of national and local executive bodies on the implementation of presidential decisions and instructions, and organizes disciplinary measures — including dismissal — for officials found to have failed in this regard, submitting relevant proposals to the president;
• support the rollout and operation of a key performance indicator (KPI) system across state bodies;
• organize legal, financial, anti-corruption, and other forms of review for draft decrees, resolutions, and orders submitted to the president by state bodies and organizations;
• organize the handling of appeals from individuals and legal entities addressed to the president, monitors public opinion on government policy, and studies pressing issues facing the public and business community;
• represent the president's interests domestically and internationally as instructed, including in negotiations and official events;
• sign regulatory directives governing the Administration's interaction with state bodies and organizations;
• submit proposals to the president on candidates for leadership positions in state bodies and organizations, including their dismissal;
• appoint and dismisses certain officials within state bodies and organizations, as determined by the president, and organizes implementation of state personnel policy;
• coordinate the fulfillment of international obligations on matters designated by the president;
• establishe or dissolves compliance-control units within state bodies and organizations, as well as deputy or advisory positions focused on compliance and internal anti-corruption control, as determined by the president;
• chair Administration meetings and signs the minutes recording assigned tasks;
• authorize Administration staff to travel abroad on official business, in accordance with the Law.

The Chief of the Administration may hold additional powers as provided by Law. To assist with document review, policy proposals, and oversight of assigned tasks, the head of the Administration may engage independent advisors on a contractual basis.

The Chief of the Administration will also serve as deputy chairman of the Security Council under the president, and will organize and coordinate its members' activities. The president chairs the Security Council.

Relations with the government and provincial authorities

The Administration will coordinate interagency cooperation between the Cabinet of Ministers and subordinate bodies in implementing presidential decisions and instructions, organize monitoring of their implementation, and take part in evaluating the government's performance.

The Chief of the Administration, or an official he designates, will be entitled to take part in and present positions at Cabinet of Ministers meetings, its presidium, commissions, councils, and other collegial bodies of state agencies.

At the provincial level, the Administration will coordinate, monitor, and oversee the work of regional governors' offices (hokimiyats) and the Tashkent city administration in implementing state policy and presidential decisions. It will also analyze economic, social, infrastructural, and environmental development across regions, assess living standards and disparities between them, and submit proposals to the president for addressing identified problems.

Relations with the judiciary

A separate article of the Law addresses the Administration's relationship with the judiciary and judicial community bodies. The Administration will prepare proposals and analytical materials for the president on this relationship, support the exercise of his constitutional powers regarding the judiciary, coordinate reforms in the judicial and legal sphere, and develop proposals for reforming the court system.

Immunity for Administration staff

The Law grants specific immunity guarantees to officials and management-level staff of the Presidential Administration. This immunity extends to their private life, homes, and offices; personal and official vehicles; communication devices; correspondence and electronic data; personal belongings and documents; and their family members.

Officials of the Administration may not be subject to criminal prosecution, other procedural measures restricting their rights and freedoms, operational-investigative activity, inquiries, investigative actions, or administrative detention.

Management-level staff cannot be held criminally, administratively, or civilly liable for decisions, actions, omissions, opinions, or instructions connected to the performance of their official duties.

For actions or omissions unrelated to their official duties, management-level staff cannot face criminal prosecution, procedural measures restricting their rights and freedoms, investigative activity, or administrative penalties without the president's written consent.

Only the prosecutor general may open a criminal case against such an employee, whether during their tenure at the Administration or after leaving it. Such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Officials retain their legally mandated immunity for life after leaving the Administration, while management-level staff retain it for five years. Evidence obtained in violation of these guarantees will be deemed inadmissible.

In addition, Administration officials and their family members — spouses, children, and parents — will be issued lifetime biometric diplomatic passports, under a procedure established by the president. Management-level staff will receive such passports for the duration of their employment at the Administration.

Officials covered by the Law include: the head of the Administration; his contractually engaged advisors; the president's assistant; deputy heads of the Administration; the head of the chief of staff's secretariat; presidential advisors and their first deputies and deputies; presidential representatives; and heads of the Administration's structural divisions, along with their first deputies and deputies.

Post-employment guarantees

Officials and management-level staff are also guaranteed employment after leaving the Administration. As a general rule, they must be offered a position at least one level higher than the one they held before joining the Administration. If no such vacancy exists, they are to be given priority for an equivalent or higher-level position elsewhere in government, taking their specialization into account.

Exceptions apply to staff who joined the Administration from an elected office or a position appointed directly by presidential decree, as well as to those dismissed for violating labor discipline.

The Law also allows for staff to receive official housing, guaranteed medical care, wellness and sanatorium services, and other social support for themselves and their families.

The Administration will be funded from the national budget and other legally permitted sources, and may establish off-budget funds.

The Constitutional Law takes effect on the date of its official publication.