Rights
A 2023 constitution that reset presidential terms to seven years
A referendum in 2023 adopted extensive amendments, lengthening the presidential term to seven years and resetting the count, while adding social rights and a habeas corpus guarantee.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary state including the Republic of Karakalpakstan, whose constitutional right of secession was the flashpoint of the 2022 protests.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan1992, substantially amended 2023
- Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court
In practice
The 2023 amendments touched roughly two-thirds of the text. They expanded socio-economic guarantees, wrote in the presumption of innocence and a prohibition on torture, introduced Miranda-style rights on arrest, and abolished the death penalty in constitutional terms. The proposal to remove Karakalpakstan's sovereign status and right to secede was withdrawn after protests in Nukus in July 2022 that ended in deaths and prosecutions, and the final text retained that status. The presidential term was extended to seven years with the incumbent's prior terms discounted.