LEGAL REGULATION OF ELECTRONIC TENDERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

Аннотация

Electronic tenders (e-tenders) have become a cornerstone of public procurement reform in Uzbekistan, serving as tools to enhance transparency, efficiency, and economic policy goals. This article examines the legal regulation of e-tenders in the Republic of Uzbekistan, combining a theoretical analysis of the concept and principles of electronic tendering with a comparative assessment of international best practices from jurisdictions such as South Korea, the European Union, and the United States. It traces the evolution of Uzbekistan’s procurement legislation – notably the 2018 and 2021 public procurement laws – and how these reforms have progressively aligned national practice with global standards. The thesis highlight significant progress in digitising tender procedures and embedding principles like competition, openness, and sustainability into law. Keywords: electronic tenders; public procurement; Uzbekistan, transparency, UNCITRAL, KONEPS, European Union. Public procurement frequently experiences inefficiencies and corruption, highlighting the importance of transparent and competitive practices. Internationally, electronic procurement (e-procurement) has addressed these issues effectively, as evidenced by the European Union (EU) and South Korea, achieving considerable transparency and cost savings. Uzbekistan has actively pursued similar reforms, transitioning to comprehensive electronic tender systems from 2018 to 2021. Despite substantial budgetary savings and improved transparency, challenges like direct contracting and enforcement gaps persist. These efforts have already borne fruit. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the number of contracts awarded through electronic platforms rose from 0.5 million in 2019 to 1.8 million in 2024, with a total value of UZS 248 trillion, and the budgetary savings from e-procedures reached UZS 13.9 trillion (approximately 12% of initial contract prices). E-tendering has thus emerged not only as a budgetary savings tool but also as a lever for broader policy goals, including curbing corruption and advancing “green” procurement initiatives. Concept and Principles E-tendering entails digital procurement procedures via authorized platforms, including electronic notification, 65 ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN MODERN SCIENCE International scientific-online conference submission, evaluation, and awarding of contracts. Uzbekistan’s Public Procurement Laws of 2018 and 2021 clearly define e-procurement and embed principles such as transparency, competition, proportionality, and anti- corruption. These principles align closely with global norms from UNCAC and UNCITRAL, providing a robust legal framework to minimize corruption risks and subjective decision-making. Electronic tender refers to a procurement method in which competitive bidding procedures are conducted through digital platforms, replacing or supplementing traditional paper-based tenders. In essence, an e-tender is a form of public competition for contracts, carried out online under defined rules to select the supplier offering the best terms. Uzbekistan’s 2018 Public Procurement Law (Law № 472, 9 April 2018) provided one of the first legal definitions of a tender in national legislation, defining it as a two-stage procurement method involving a preliminary qualification round followed by a comparison of price proposals. This definition underscored the competitive nature of tenders and mandated public transparency of the process. The 2021 Public Procurement Law of Uzbekistan (Law № 684, in force from July 2021) explicitly enshrined a comprehensive set of principles for procurement, building on the earlier law. While the 2018 law emphasised basic “contestability and objectivity” (a rudimentary form of competition principle) and transparency, the 2021 law expanded the list to incorporate principles of full competition, personal accountability, life-cycle cost consideration, and sustainable procurement. This shift marked a maturation of the legal framework from focusing solely on procedural fairness to embracing strategic goals. Notably, the introduction of a sustainability principle in the 2021 law (Article 11¹) requires consideration of economic, environmental, and social impacts throughout the contract’s life cycle. This means procurement decisions should account for long-term costs and benefits, such as energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, and social value, rather than only immediate cost. The inclusion of sustainability aligned Uzbekistan’s approach with global trends – for example, the 2011 UNCITRAL Model Law on Public Procurement recommended integrating environmental and social criteria1, and the EU’s 2014 procurement directives encourage life-cycle costing. International Best Practices Uzbekistan’s procurement reforms have drawn from international best practices. The UNCITRAL Model Law provides 1 https://uncitral.un.org/sites/uncitral.un.org/files/media-documents/uncitral/en/2011-model-law-on-publ