This article presents a systematic analysis of Uzbekistan’s investment, corporate, labor, and environmental legislation from the standpoint of its compliance with due diligence standards set out in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct. The analysis is conducted in the context of the European Union’s experience with mandatory due diligence and the amendments introduced by Omnibus I Directive (EU) 2026/470.

The article also examines Uzbekistan’s reforms in implementing international labor and environmental standards, its existing capacity, and the insufficiency of the current legal framework in this area. Taking into account the key conclusions drawn from the Omnibus I package – particularly the need for phased implementation of reforms – the article proposes a four-stage model for incorporating due diligence and ESG-related standards into Uzbekistan’s national legislation. This model begins with the introduction of voluntary guidelines and mandatory sustainability reporting practices. In subsequent stages, it provides for the gradual expansion of legal obligations, culminating in the adoption of a dedicated law “On Responsible Business Conduct.”

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Omnibus Directive, business and human rights, ESG, Brussels Effect, Uzbekistan, responsible business conduct.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 of 31 July 2023 supplementing Directive 2013/34/EU as regards sustainability reporting standards [2023] OJL;

Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 as regards corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) [2022] OJL322/15

Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence [2024] OJ L 2024/1760;

Directive (EU) 2026/470 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2013/34/EU, Directive (EU) 2022/2464 and Directive (EU) 2024/1760 (Omnibus I) [2026] OJ L (26 February 2026);

Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 applying a scheme of generalized tariff preferences [2012] OJ L303/1;

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries [2023] OJ L191/1;

Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials [2024] OJL;

Paris Agreement (adopted 12 December 2015, entered into force 4 November 2016) 3156 UNTS 79;

UN Human Rights Council, ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’ (21 March 2011) UN Doc A/HRC/17/31;

Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Konstitutsiyasi

Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi Mehnat kodeksi, № OʻRQ-798 (2022-yil 28-oktabr);

Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining «Investitsiyalar va investitsiya faoliyati toʻgʻrisida»gi qonuni, № OʻRQ-598 (2019-yil 25-dekabr);

Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining «Aksiyadorlik jamiyatlari va aksiyadorlar huquqlarini himoya qilish toʻgʻrisida»gi qonuni, № 223-I (1996-yil 26-aprel, oʻzgartirishlar bilan);

Oʻzbekiston Respublikasining «Tabiatni muhofaza qilish toʻgʻrisida»gi qonuni (1992-yil 9-dekabr, oʻzgartirishlar bilan);

Gesetz über die unternehmerischen Sorgfaltspflichten in Lieferketten (LkSG), BGBl 2021 I 2959 (Germaniya);

Loi n° 2017-399 du 27 mars 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre, JORF n° 0074 (Fransiya);

Lov om virksomheters åpenhet (åpenhetsloven), LOV-2021-06-18-99 (Norvegiya);

Sud ishlari.

Milieudefensie and Others v Royal Dutch Shell plc, Hague District Court, 26 May 2021, ECLI:NL: RBDHA:2021:5337;

Milieudefensie and Others v Shell plc, Hague Court of Appeal, 12 November 2024

Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc [2021] UKSC 3, [2021] 1 WLR 1294

Vedanta Resources plc v Lungowe [2019] UKSC 20, [2020] AC 1045

Ilmiy adabiyotlar.

Bradford A, The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World (OUP 2020);

Clapham A, Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors (OUP 2006)

Deva S, Regulating Corporate Human Rights Violations: Humanizing Business (Routledge 2012);

Deva S and Bilchitz D (eds), Human Rights Obligations of Business: Beyond the Corporate Responsibility to Respect? (CUP 2013);

Vernon R, Sovereignty at Bay: The Multinational Spread of US Enterprises (Basic Books 1971);

Bright C and Bueno N, ‘Insights from National Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Legislation’ in Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and others (eds), Teaching Business and Human Rights (Edward Elgar 2023);

Bueno N and Bright C, ‘Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence through Corporate Civil Liability’ (2020) 69 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 789;

Lichuma CO, ‘Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Laws Caught Between Rituals and Ritualism’ (2024) 9 Business and Human Rights Journal;

McCorquodale R, Smit L, Neely S and Brooks R, ‘Human Rights Due Diligence in Law and Practice’ (2017) 2 Business and Human Rights Journal 195;

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, ‘EU CSDDD: Omnibus I Amendments’ (February 2026);

EBRD, Environmental and Social Policy (2019)

IFC, Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability (2012);

IFRS Foundation, IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (2023);

International Labour Organization, ILO Standards and Responsible Supply Chains (2022);

OECD, Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Publishing 2018).