Promotion of the Rule of Law in Central Asia

Project description

Title: Promotion of the Rule of Law in Central Asia
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
Lead executing agency: Justice ministries, supreme courts in Central Asia​​​​​​​
Overall term: 2018 to 2022

Context

The governments of Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have adopted laws on administrative procedure that set requirements for their national administrative agencies. In Kazakhstan, they are scheduled to be adopted. A similar law has been in force in Tajikistan for several years, but applying it is proving extremely difficult. With this reform, all the Central Asian republics aim to boost their national economies and improve the climate for business and investment. The situation for the business community has not yet improved, however, given that administrative and legal decisions concerning private sector stakeholders frequently fail to follow the legal rules.

Objective

Decisions concerning private sector stakeholders are increasingly in line with the procedural rules of the reformed administrative law.

Approach

The project supports the Central Asian governments and administrative agencies in improving compliance with the legal requirements of the reformed administrative law. It also contributes to building trust and cooperation in citizen-state relationships, thereby promoting good governance.

The project’s capacity development strategy covers four areas:

Firstly, it supports cooperation between the ministries of economic affairs, home affairs, and justice in implementing the administrative procedures act. Secondly, it harmonises administrative procedures (business registration, operating licences for production plants, use of agricultural land). To achieve this, the project aligns several special procedures with the procedural and legal standards laid down in the administrative procedures act. Thirdly, it provides advice to administrative courts and licencing bodies on how to adapt their internal administrative procedures to the new legal standards, and on rules for implementation. Fourthly, it provides further training to administrative staff, judges and attorneys on applying the new standards in administrative decisions.

Last update: August 2022