ENTERPRISE UZBEKISTAN AND THE TRANSPLANTATION OF ENGLISH CONTRACT LAW: A NEW FRONTIER FOR COMMON LAW IN CENTRAL ASIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47390/hum-i6v2y2026/n10Keywords:
legal transplant; Enterprise Uzbekistan; English contract law; freedom of contract; good faith; DIFC; ADGM; special economic zone; civil law; common law.Abstract
In November 2025, the President of Uzbekistan signed Presidential Decree No. UP-233, formally establishing the International Centre for Digital Technologies 'Enterprise Uzbekistan' as a distinct jurisdiction operating under the norms and principles of the common law of England and Wales. This article examines that development through the lens of English contract law. It considers what transplanting English contract law into a civil law State actually means in doctrinal terms, analyses the tensions that arise between the English common law tradition — with its emphasis on freedom of contract, certainty, and good faith —and the codified obligations framework of the Uzbek Civil Code, and draws on the comparative experience of analogous special economic zones in the Gulf, particularly the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
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