In Uzbekistan, administrative liability has been introduced for creating obstacles to the activities of non-governmental non-profit organizations to strengthen the legal guarantees of their operations. This was reported by Upl.uz.
This law was signed by the president on August 21, 2025, concluding the legal process that began on April 15 in the Legislative Chamber and was approved by the Senate on April 30. The new regulations are aimed at ensuring the liberalization of the civil society environment and protecting the legal interests of NGOs.
As a central element of the reforms, Article 197-8 was added to the Administrative Liability Code. This article establishes clear sanctions against officials of state bodies for illegal interference in the activities of these organizations.
According to the law, officials who create obstacles to the work of NGOs will be fined from 7 to 10 base calculation units. This amount in monetary terms ranges from 2,884,000 to 4,120,000 Uzbek soms.
If such violations are repeated within a year, the fine amount will significantly increase to between 10 and 15 base calculation units, i.e., from 4,120,000 to 6,180,000 soms. Along with introducing new liability measures, lawmakers also reviewed existing sanctions.
In particular, the maximum fine amount for NGOs that are not registered or accounted for, as well as for their representative offices and branches, has been reduced and set at 25 base calculation units. This corresponds to 10.3 million soms, whereas previously this figure was 30 base calculation units, or 12,360,000 soms.
At the same time, the minimum fine amount was set from 15 to 25 base calculation units. The adopted amendments are part of a broad state policy aimed at developing civil society institutions, ensuring their independence, and creating favorable conditions for their effective operation.
By the beginning of 2025, more than 10,000 non-governmental non-profit organizations were registered in Uzbekistan, operating in various fields such as social protection, education, ecology, and human rights protection.
