President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed proposals for the next stage of the reforms, the presidential press service reported.

Administrative courts have handled nearly 150,000 cases in recent years, overturning more than 70,000 unlawful decisions by government bodies. They have also issued nearly 27,000 special rulings over unlawful actions by officials, referring the cases to higher authorities or other competent bodies for consideration.

The new proposals envisage introducing nearly 15 additional legal mechanisms based on international practice and current legal requirements.

Under the existing system, citizens and businesses have a single type of legal action available when seeking to restore rights they believe have been violated. The proposed reforms would establish four types of claims and introduce a mechanism allowing courts to protect rights before a violation occurs.

The reforms would also change the rules governing the time limit for bringing administrative claims. Currently, such claims generally must be filed within six months. One proposal would allow citizens to ask a court to formally establish that a government body has acted unlawfully, without being bound by a time limit.

Another proposed change would allow citizens to directly challenge regulatory acts issued by local government authorities. Under current rules, there is no direct legal avenue for challenging a local authority’s regulatory act when it violates an individual’s rights.

The reforms would also broaden the powers of administrative courts. Courts would be able to assess whether government bodies had used their discretionary powers lawfully and whether their decisions were sufficiently justified, particularly when those decisions impose measures affecting citizens or businesses.

The proposals draw in part on the proportionality principle enshrined in Article 20 of Uzbekistan’s Constitution. The provision requires measures taken by government bodies against individuals to be proportionate and sufficient to achieve the objectives established by law.

The government is also considering measures to improve compliance with court rulings. If an official fails to carry out a court decision and continues to disregard it after being fined, the court would notify prosecutors for further legal action.