Deepening German-Uzbek judicial cooperation
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- Published: October 2, 2025
Ms Anette Kramme, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMJV and also President of the Board of Trustees of IRZ, and Alexandra Albrecht, General Director of the IRZ, were part of a German delegation that was received by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr Akbar Tashkulov, on 29 September.
The highlight was the signing of a memorandum of understanding on deeper cooperation between the two ministries. Prior to this, concrete discussions had already taken place on the use of artificial intelligence in legislative processes, the further development of regulatory impact assessment, the digitisation of legal procedures and the improvement of one-stop-shop solutions and mobile applications for government services.
During the meeting, Parliamentary State Secretary Anette Kramme also praised the cooperation between Uzbekistan and Germany within the framework of the EU-funded twinning project for the systematisation and simplification of the legal framework: ‘The latest reforms demonstrate a clear political will to strengthen the rule of law and citizen-centred governance, as well as the trade and investment climate.’ Minister of Justice Akbar Toshkulov then reported on the contributions made since the start of the project in April 2024 to support the Ministry of Justice's reform agenda. He particularly highlighted the quality of the experts' contributions and the valuable suggestions from the delegation's visit to Germany to institutions involved in regulatory impact assessment. ‘Germany is following the twinning project with great interest,’ said the Parliamentary State Secretary. ‘We would like to accompany Uzbekistan on its path of reform in a spirit of partnership – with appreciation and interest in the solutions developed for common challenges.’
The following day, during their visit to the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court, Mr Shukhrat Polvanov, the delegation discussed the latest reforms of the Uzbek judiciary, which aim to strengthen the administration of justice and improve legal protection for citizens and entrepreneurs. Particular interest was shown in the digitisation projects of the judiciary, especially the introduction of artificial intelligence in court proceedings and the concept of the ‘digital court’. The German participants made it clear that they would be happy to contribute their experience in this area. As Germany also plays an international pioneering role in administrative law, the Uzbek partners are also interested in an in-depth exchange on structures, procedures and judicial qualifications in administrative procedural law.
During talks with the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ms Svetlana Artykova, the focus was on the reform of law enforcement agencies, the introduction of digital technologies in investigation and supervisory procedures, and measures to increase transparency and accountability. Particular attention was paid to the protection of human rights, the fight against corruption and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the area of mutual legal assistance and extradition proceedings. Both sides emphasised the importance of continuous, practice-oriented exchange for the modernisation of the public prosecutor's office and the promotion of constitutional structures.
At IRZ, it is important to us to work as efficiently and sustainably as possible. For this reason, the IRZ seminar ‘Mediation as an instrument of dispute resolution – theory and practice’ was held in parallel with the talks for notaries, civil and commercial lawyers and employees of the Ministry of Justice. Both Deputy Minister of Justice Mahmud Shuhratovich Istamov and State Secretary Anette Kramme emphasised the importance of mediation as an extrajudicial instrument during the opening of the event.
The IRZ looks back with satisfaction on the numerous discussions, which highlighted the great mutual interest in a sustainable, practical exchange. The signing of the joint declaration and the specific areas of focus agreed upon laid an important foundation for the further deepening of the German-Uzbek partnership in the field of justice and the rule of law.
