Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis has reviewed, in the first reading, a draft law aimed at improving the compensation system for damage caused by unlawful decisions, actions, or inaction of government bodies and their officials.

Currently, Uzbekistan lacks a unified regulatory framework governing the compensation of material and moral damages sustained by individuals and legal entities as a result of court-confirmed unlawful decisions, actions, or inaction by state bodies, officials, or public servants.

As noted by Deputy Minister of Justice Alisher Karimov, the draft law provides for the following: compensation for damage caused; subsequent recourse (regress) against the responsible official, whereby the amount paid out of a regional compensation fund is recovered from that official; and a defined mechanism for the formation of these regional funds.

The primary objective of the draft law is to guarantee citizens’ constitutional right to be compensated for damages inflicted by unlawful actions or omissions of state bodies and their officials, while also establishing formal accountability for those responsible.

During the session, the draft law prompted active discussion. Shukhrat Yakubov, a member of the “Adolat” Social Democratic Party, expressed support for the law’s social orientation, which aligns with his party’s election platform. However, he posed clarifying questions regarding several provisions.

In particular, Yakubov pointed out that most compensation payments are expected to be made from regional compensation funds established at the local level. This raised a critical question: how will damages caused by decisions of central government authorities and their officials be covered?

He also noted a legal ambiguity: while the draft refers to state bodies and their officials as subjects of liability, it remains unclear how responsibility will be assigned when damage is caused by a public servant. Who, in that case, would be held accountable?

Saidullo Azimov, a member of the UzLiDeP party, emphasized that anchoring the protection of constitutional rights in legislation is vital for their full realization. Nonetheless, he pointed out several unresolved issues within the bill.

According to Azimov, under the draft law, if a court rules in favor of a citizen’s compensation claim, the judgment must explicitly state that the damages are to be paid from the regional compensation fund. The ruling is then forwarded to a territorial commission — referred to as the “regional supervisory council” — for enforcement.

He identified two core problems with this provision. First, procedural laws already define the scope of issues to be addressed in judicial rulings. However, the draft law does not propose the necessary amendments to relevant codes — such as the Criminal Procedure Code, which explicitly states that criminal proceedings must be based solely on its own provisions. This could create legal conflicts between the new law and existing legislation.

The second issue concerns the unclear legal status of the “regional supervisory council.” Under current practice, enforcement bodies handle the execution of judicial rulings, including the recovery of damages from responsible officials. The draft law, however, assigns this function to the council, effectively turning it into an enforcement body — a change that, according to Azimov, requires clear legal definition.

In addition, the bill does not specify the types of unlawful decisions, actions, or inactions for which compensation would be granted, potentially leaving room for varied interpretations in practice.

All questions raised by lawmakers received detailed responses from representatives of the bill’s drafting committee.

Following the discussions, the draft law was adopted in its first reading.