In Uzbekistan, detaining people for more than 48 hours without a court decision has been declared illegal

In Uzbekistan, holding individuals for more than 48 hours without a court decision has been declared illegal.

The Constitutional Court of Uzbekistan has ruled that a provision allowing administrative detention of a person for up to three days, and up to ten days in the absence of documents with a prosecutor's sanction, is unconstitutional. The Court pointed out that without a court decision, the period of detention cannot exceed 48 hours.

This refers to part two of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility. It applied to individuals who violated the border regime or rules at state border checkpoints.

This issue was reviewed on September 22 following an appeal by the Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis for Human Rights. The appeal indicated that in 2025–2026, six complaints were received from citizens regarding cases of administrative detention exceeding 48 hours.

Article 27 of the Constitution prohibits holding a person without a court decision for more than 48 hours. However, the contested provision allowed for the detention of a border regime violator for up to three days, and in the absence of an identity document, for up to ten days with a prosecutor's sanction.

The Constitutional Court noted that the current procedure did not provide for obtaining a court decision to extend detention beyond 48 hours. Therefore, the periods of three and ten days contradicted the constitutional guarantee.

The Court specifically emphasized that notification of a prosecutor or their sanction cannot replace a court decision, which is required to hold a person for more than 48 hours.

As a result, part two of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility, in the part providing for detention of up to three days and up to ten days with a prosecutor's sanction, has been declared unconstitutional.