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Courts in Uzbekistan will no longer impose a reconciliation period in divorce proceedings if one spouse has suffered domestic violence and is seeking an immediate separation. The new law, signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on April 9, has already gone into effect.
“The Family Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan has been amended to state that, in divorce proceedings, the court shall not impose a reconciliation period if requested by a party who has suffered from domestic (household) violence,” the law reads.
While presenting the bill in the Senate, lawmakers explained that repeated family conflicts and quarrels during the reconciliation period “lead to suicide among women, and the physical injuries they sustain result in premature death.”
👉 The same law introduces an amendment to the Housing Code stipulating that, during disputes over the use of residential property, a court—based on an agreement between the parties and at the initiative of the property owner—may require the owner to either house the evicted party in another of their properties under comparable conditions or pay rent for alternative accommodation.
Due to the ambiguity of this clause, the Ministry of Justice’s press service issued a clarified version: “When resolving disputes over the use of residential property based on an agreement between the parties and at the initiative of the owner, the court may require the owner to house the evicted party in another of their properties under comparable conditions, or pay rent for alternative accommodation.”
This provision can be interpreted as follows:
If the owner of the residence initiates the divorce, they are required to either provide another dwelling for the other party to live in or cover the cost of rental housing.
The term “party forcibly housed in residential property” refers to individuals whom the court compels to be housed against the will of the property owner. This typically includes former family members and underage children of the owner.
▶️ Notably, neither this clause nor the revised Article 32 of the Housing Code specifies that the provision applies exclusively to cases involving domestic violence.
