Judicial candidates to be trained at academy

The Academy of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan will be established on the basis of the Higher School of Judges under the Supreme Council of Judges. This is stipulated in the Presidential decree adopted on August 21, “on measures to radically improve the system of training highly qualified personnel in the field of justice".

According to the decree, from October 1, 2025:

• The preparation of candidates for judicial positions will be organized at the Academy through six-month professional retraining courses funded by the state grant;
• Those admitted to the courses will retain their current positions throughout the entire study period;
• During the study period, participants will receive a monthly stipend equal to the one-month salary fund of a judicial assistant.

The admission to the Academy of Justice course will be carried out on a competitive basis, which includes:

• psychology;
• foreign languages;
• specialized judicial field test examinations;
• written exam;
• individual interview.

Based on the results of the final certification examination, graduates who have completed the course participate in competitions for vacant judicial positions upon their application.

Listeners who have not completed the training program or failed the final certification examination, as well as graduates who do not apply for a vacant judicial position within three years or refuse the offered judicial position, are required to fully reimburse the amount of the scholarship they received.

According to the decree, the following procedure for mandatory professional development of judges and court staff is introduced:

• Judges appointed for a term of 5 years attend training courses at least once every 2 years for no less than 2 weeks;
• Judges appointed for a term of 10 years attend training courses at least once every 3 years for no less than 2 weeks;
• Supreme Court judges, court chairpersons and deputy chairpersons, as well as judges appointed for an indefinite term, attend training courses at least once every 3 years for no less than 1 week;
• Judges with low performance ratings attend extraordinary training courses for no less than 2 weeks;
• Court staff attend professional development courses at least once every 2 years for no less than 1 week.

Professional development courses on complex cases are organized for serving judges. As a rule, only judges who have completed retraining courses for managerial positions are appointed to leadership roles. The Academy will offer education under the master’s program in the specialty of “Judicial activity" starting from the 2026/2027 academic year.