Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, the Ministry of Justice, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the US Agency for International Development, organized a conference on the topic "Regulatory policy in Uzbekistan: achievements and development prospects".

The event was attended by representatives of the parliament and government of Uzbekistan, heads of ministries and departments, research institutions and public organizations, the international consulting organization Jacobs, Cordova and Associates, as well as representatives of the governments of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Mongolia.

During the event, topical aspects of the regulatory policy of Uzbekistan were discussed, including preliminary results and long-term work plans in the field of assessing the regulatory impact of legislative acts.

The purpose of the conference, which was attended by international experts and representatives of foreign countries, is to increase the knowledge, skills, and practical skills of the heads of ministries and departments in assessing the regulatory impact of legal acts and their projects. In addition, the participants were introduced to the ongoing reforms in Uzbekistan in this area and their legal framework, preliminary results and experience of developed countries.

Regulatory policy, along with tax and monetary policy, is the main tool used to manage the economy in a country in order to achieve sustainable development.

Indeed, in dealing with the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, clear regulatory measures have been applied at almost every stage of the pandemic.

The event was opened by Minister of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ruslanbek Davletov, Head of the EBRD Office in Uzbekistan Alkis Drakinos and USAID Mission Director in Uzbekistan Michaela Meredith.

Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov noted that society needs rules that protect its safety and healthy lifestyle, but it is not always possible to ensure their quality and efficiency without creating obstacles for the development of the economy, that is, business, and also that through an effective regulatory policy the sustainable development goals can be achieved.

Today, changes in our society, including citizens and businesses, require decision makers to have open, transparent, and evidence-based legislation.

In this regard, in order to modernize rule-making, improve the quality and effectiveness of laws in Uzbekistan, “smart regulation” tools are being widely introduced in accordance with international standards, including a regulatory impact assessment system.

It should be noted that the regulatory impact assessment system allows the creation of high-quality and sustainable legislation, premeditated, with analyzed benefits and costs, which allows achieving the intended goal and ensuring enforcement.

Since last year, the intensification of the use of the regulatory impact assessment system has begun to bear fruit.

In particular, through the evaluation of the project by the Ministry of Justice, which could lead to business expenses in the amount of more than 500 billion soums annually, and most importantly, this decision would not provide the proper result, despite the large financial costs.

The project was evaluated as a pilot project with the participation of local and foreign experts, its presentation took place at the conference and presented to the participants in the form of a book.

The event was also attended by Dr. Caesar Cordova, Senior Director of Jacobs, Corvodva & Associates, who spoke about the effective implementation of the regulatory impact assessment system based on the results of the study over the past year in Uzbekistan, about its effective establishment, which compares favorably with the experience of other countries with its effective approaches, and also expressed his suggestions and comments on the next steps in this area.

The EBRD representative expressed his opinion on ensuring the effectiveness of this system from a gender perspective, as well as the application of gender inclusiveness in the process of assessing the regulatory impact in Uzbekistan.

The second session of the conference was held in the format of a discussion forum, where representatives of the Legislative Chamber, the Senate of the Oliy Majlis and the government, as well as deputy ministers of justice, economic development and poverty reduction and the leadership of the Antimonopoly Committee exchanged views on regulatory policy, its environment and prospects in Uzbekistan.

During the conference, the current state of rule-making practice, the consequences of making decisions that are not based on accurate calculations and evidence, as well as the benefits of regulatory impact assessment were explained to the heads of state bodies and organizations using concrete examples. The main goal is to ensure the development and adoption of high-quality and effective, cost-effective and enforceable legislation.