The new image of the justice system is a historic step for public trust, the rule of law, and human dignity.
Reliable protection of human rights, ensuring the rule of law and justice — these are among the main goals of the "Fair Justice — 2030" strategy. By the relevant Decree of the President, priority directions for the development of the judicial system until 2030 have been established.
Justice is the greatest pillar of the state. The rule of law j is the most solid foundation of societal stability. And the court is the most important place where a person feels that his rights are protected.
Mhe reforms being implemented in the judicial and legal sphere in our country are not merely about improving a particular system, but constitute an important part of a strategic policy aimed at further strengthening the rule of law in the life of the state and society, elevating human dignity, and reinforcing citizens' trust in justice.
The Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated August 14, 2026, No. PF-160, "On the Strategy 'Fair Justice — 2030': Building a People-Friendly and Just Judicial System that Reliably Protects Human Rights in New Uzbekistan" became an important political and legal document that elevates these great goals to a new level.
This Decree defined the strategic directions for the development of the judicial system until 2030. Most importantly, at the center of this document is not a judicial body or its organizational structure, but the individual, their rights and freedoms, legitimate interests, and trust in justice. This allows for a deeper understanding of the essence and content of judicial and legal reforms.
Human dignity is the main criterion of judicial and legal reforms. The democratic development of any state is determined, first of all, by the extent to which human rights are protected.
When a person's rights are violated, where do they turn; when their legitimate interests are trampled, from whom do they seek justice? In the event of a dispute between a state body and a citizen, which institution should impartially protect their rights? All these questions ultimately lead to the court.
Therefore, trust in the court is not merely a simple social relationship. It is an important indicator of respect for the law, trust in the state, and belief in justice within society. Proceeding precisely from this point of view, the "Fair Justice — 2030" strategy aims to raise the protection of human rights and legitimate interests through the court to a qualitatively new level. Hence, the main idea of the new strategy is embodied in one great goal:
When a person knocks on the door of the court, they must feel that behind it stand the law, justice, and the guarantee of the state. Six pillars, the solid foundation of the new judicial system The Decree stipulates that reforms aimed at shaping the renewed image of the judicial power of New Uzbekistan will be implemented based on six main pillars. These are "People-Friendly Court", "Fortress of Justice", "Guaranteed Justice", "Guardians of Justice", "Digital Justice", and "International Recognition". Although each of these names represents a separate direction of the judicial system, there is a single goal uniting them. That goal is — bringing justice closer to the people. "People-Friendly Court": The highest assessment of a court is the people's trust. A people-friendly court is not simply a court located close to the people. A people-friendly court is one that listens to citizens, respects their rights and legitimate interests, and organizes its activities in an open and understandable manner for society. The Decree sets the tasks of increasing the transparency of court activities, expanding access to information about court proceedings and judicial activities, and effectively establishing feedback with the public.
Furthermore, special attention is paid to transforming courts into a system free from bureaucracy and creating conveniences for citizens and business entities in accordance with modern standards. This is a new perspective on the role of the court in society. Because today's citizen expects from the court not just a decision, but an impartial attitude, openness, and an understandable legal response. Trust in the court does not appear overnight. It is formed in every court session, in the conduct of every judge, in the reasoning of every decision, and in the extent to which every person's rights are protected. Therefore: Trust in the court is not the court's reputation, but the legal prestige of the state.
Every citizen's trust in the court is "Fortress of Justice": an independent court, a strong state Judicial independence is the heart of fair justice. When making a decision, a judge must be free from external influence, pressure, or interests. The Decree identifies strengthening an independent fair justice system that unconditionally ensures the supremacy of human rights and is free from any influence or interference as a priority task. This issue is not merely an internal matter of the judicial system. Judicial independence is one of the most important attributes of a rule-of-law state. Because where there is an independent court, the citizen believes their rights will be protected. Where the citizen believes, the rule of law is strengthened. In a society where the law prevails, respect and trust in state institutions increase. In this sense, the concept of "Fortress of Justice" also carries immense political meaning in a symbolic sense. If the court is the last line of defense for human rights, its independence ensures the strength of that line of defense.
"Guaranteed Justice": Behind every decision lies a human destiny. The most important outcome of judicial activity is the court decision. A court decision may look like just a document. But behind it often stands a person's destiny, family, property, reputation, freedom, or future. Therefore, along with the legality of the decision, it is also extremely important that it be fair and well-reasoned. The "Fair Justice — 2030" strategy sets the task of strengthening guarantees for restoring citizens' violated rights in court by adopting legal, fair, and reasoned court decisions and ensuring their quality and stability. This places great responsibility on the judge. After all, for a judge, each case is not just the next case. Each case is a human destiny. Therefore, every decision of a judge must be based on the law, evidence, impartiality, and the criteria of justice.
Judicial control in criminal proceedings is a new guarantee of human rights One of the most important aspects of the Decree is the provisions aimed at strengthening judicial control in criminal proceedings. From July 1, 2027, it is envisaged to grant the investigating judge the authority to verify the legality and validity of the detention of a person, and the sufficiency of grounds for suspicion or charges, when considering issues of sanctioning procedural coercive measures. This is of fundamental importance from the standpoint of protecting human rights in criminal proceedings. That is, judicial control over important procedural decisions affecting a person's rights and freedoms will be further strengthened. Additionally, tasks are defined to expand the scope of the "Habeas corpus" institution, strengthen judicial control over operational-search activities, pre-investigation checks, inquiries, and investigative actions, and expand the practice of applying alternative preventive measures. Underlying this is one important principle: restricting human freedom is one of the state's most serious decisions, therefore there must be effective judicial control over such decisions.
Anew system for reviewing court decisions The Decree also brings significant changes to the system of reviewing court decisions. From July 1, 2027, it is established that interregional courts will be established, with jurisdiction covering several administrative-territorial units, authorized to review cases in the areas of general jurisdiction and administrative courts. These courts are envisaged to consist of a total of 319 administrative staff positions. The main goal of the new system is to further increase impartiality and efficiency in the review of court decisions. Notably, the jurisdiction of interregional courts covers several regions. In particular, the Kashkadarya Interregional Court will cover the Kashkadarya, Bukhara, and Surkhandarya regions, while the Samarkand Interregional Court will cover the Samarkand, Navoi, and Jizzakh regions. This indicates that a new institutional approach is being formed in the system of reviewing court decisions.
What matters is not going to court, but achieving justice No matter how perfect the judicial system is, if a citizen encounters excessive obstacles in accessing it, the effect of the reform will not be fully realized. Therefore, the strategy also pays special attention to simplifying access to courts. Mechanisms are envisaged such as reforming the institution of returning a lawsuit based on the "Single Window" principle, abandoning the practice of returning applications because the case is not within the jurisdiction of that court and transferring it to the appropriate court, and eliminating certain deficiencies in formal requirements with the active assistance of the court. This is a very important change. Because when a citizen goes to court to protect their rights, new bureaucratic obstacles should not arise before them. When a citizen knocks on the door of the court, the court should become a mechanism for protecting their rights, not a source of new problems.
The judge is not a position holder, but a guardian of justice at the center of judicial and legal reforms stands the judge. Because no matter how perfect the law is, the professional skill, worldview, integrity, and principled stance of the person applying it in practice are of decisive importance. The strategy aims, based on the concept of "Guardians of Justice" to form a corps of judges who serve the people, possess high moral and professional qualities, and strictly adhere to the criteria of justice. This means that the requirements for the judicial profession are rising. A judge must have a deep knowledge of the law, be impartial and unbiased, make decisions independent of any influence, uphold human dignity, be able to substantiate their decisions with evidence and law
