International Development Law Organization

Technology and cross-border cooperation help bailiffs in Central Asia

8 Jan 2020

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are working together to increase the quality and effectiveness of court decision enforcement mechanisms, by adopting integrated technology solutions and enhancing mutual legal assistance in the search for debtors, their property and sources of income in the two countries.

According to Kubanychbek Kapalov, Director of the Kyrgyz Court Department, 70,000 cases and 70 per cent of all court decisions are currently unenforced in the Kyrgyz Republic. He thinks increased collaboration with Uzbekistan will open new horizons for Kyrgyz bailiffs.

“[Uzbekistan] unified the system of interagency electronic interaction on the collection of debts on executive documents. They have also created an open auction where you can find all pledged property, which reduces the possibility of corruption,” said Mr. Kapalov.

Building on Uzbekistan’s experience with digital technology, Kyrgyzstan has decided to develop and implement new systems for electronic auction and improved integration with databases of other government bodies.

Despite their shared border, bilateral cooperation between the bailiff institutions of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan has been limited until now.

This changed in October 2019, when a conference provided an opportunity for bailiffs and experts from across the region – including Estonia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan – to share their experiences on court decision enforcement in commercial disputes.

An initial meeting between Kyrgyz and Uzbek representatives at the conference was followed up with an official visit to Uzbekistan in November 2019. As a result of the visit, the Kyrgyz Court Department and Uzbekistan’s Compulsory Enforcement Bureau have signed a cooperation agreement, creating the basis for enhanced collaboration and joint action.

Both the regional conference and the visit to Uzbekistan were organized with support from IDLO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as part of their work to improve the investment climate in Central Asia.

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