The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, UNDP, OSCE Project Coordinator and GIZ held an international roundtable on “Judicial Protection of Business Entity Rights: The Experience of Uzbekistan and Foreign Practice”.

The protection of the rights and freedoms of entrepreneurs and the judicial support of their interests, has been a major direction of on-going legal reform in Uzbekistan, and was the focus of the international roundtable held this week in Samarkand.

The event brought together deputies of the Legislative Chamber and members of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, international experts, judges, lawyers and representatives of the Development Strategy Center, the State Services Agency under the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Association of Arbitration Courts.

Uzbekistan has taken serious steps in the last years to ensure the smooth running of business activities, create favorable conditions for doing business, and to increase investment attractiveness of the country. For example, the Law “On Combating Corruption” aimed at curbing unlawful encroachments on the right to private property, and unreasonable interventions into business activities was passed in early 2017 and the Institute of the Business Ombudsman was established to introduce new mechanisms for creating effective dialogue between business entities and government bodies, and to ensure state protection for the rights and legitimate interests of business entities.

The roundtable’s panel discussion addressed such matters as the improvement of national legislation to raise the efficiency and quality of legal proceedings, the introduction of effective protection mechanisms and institutions to guarantee the rights and interests of entrepreneurs, and the use of alternative tools for resolving disputes between entrepreneurs.

Dana Beegun, Acting Country Director for USAID in Uzbekistan, noted: “Events like this help to provide the Government with feedback from the private sector so that the business enabling environment can be further improved to support additional investment in Uzbekistan.” Participants also discussed modern mechanisms for the judicial protection of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs applied abroad. International experts presented their views on doing business with foreign partners, and offered key recommendations to investors and the host state, developed in light of their experience in international arbitration.