Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s Constitutional Court has ruled unconstitutional a provision that allowed people who violated the border regime to be detained for up to three days, or up to 10 days with a prosecutor’s authorization if they lacked an identity document.
The constitutionality of the relevant provision in part two of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility was considered on 22 September 2026 following an appeal by the Ombudsman of the Oliy Majlis, the Ombudsman’s Information Service reported.
The appeal was prepared following an analysis of citizens’ complaints. In 2025–2026, the Ombudsman received six complaints about cases in which people alleged they had been unlawfully held in administrative detention for more than 48 hours.
Under part two of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility, people who violated the border regime or procedures at checkpoints on the state border could, when necessary to establish their identity and the circumstances of an offense, be detained for up to three days with written notification to the prosecutor. If a person did not have an identity document, the detention period could be extended to up to 10 days with the prosecutor’s authorization.
At the same time, part three of Article 27 of the Constitution stipulates that a person cannot be detained for more than 48 hours without a court decision. This provision serves as a constitutional guarantee protecting freedom and personal inviolability.
The Constitutional Court noted that the three- and 10-day periods provided for under Article 288 exceeded the limit established by the Constitution. At the same time, existing legislation did not provide a mechanism for obtaining a court decision to keep a person in detention beyond 48 hours.
Following its review, the court concluded that detaining a person for more than 48 hours without a court decision contradicts the guarantees established by part three of Article 27 of the Constitution.
Accordingly, the provision in part two of Article 288 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility allowing detention for up to three days, or up to 10 days with a prosecutor’s authorization when a person lacked an identity document, was declared unconstitutional.
The Constitutional Court also separately stated that notifying a prosecutor or obtaining the prosecutor’s authorization cannot replace the court decision required to keep a person in detention for more than 48 hours.
