LEGAL STATUS OF DIGITAL ASSETS AS OBJECTS OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE CIVIL LEGISLATION OF UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
Digital asset, object of civil rights, civil legislation, crypto-asset, virtual asset, token, property rights, digital property, civil circulation, electronic transactions, legal status, system of objects, civil-legal regulation, Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan.Abstract
This article provides a theoretical and practical analysis of the legal status of digital assets as objects of civil rights within the civil legislation of Uzbekistan. The research examines the interrelation between general provisions on the objects of civil rights, specifically the system of objects stipulated in Article 81 of the Civil Code, and special regulatory legal acts concerning the circulation of crypto-assets. Although special regulation of relations involving crypto-assets has commenced in Uzbekistan's legislation, the article argues that their civil-legal nature, role as property objects, capacity to be subjects of transactions, circulation, and legal protection mechanisms remain insufficiently defined. The study highlights that the economic value of digital assets, their transferability to other persons, participation in civil circulation, and intrinsic link to property interests necessitate their recognition as objects of civil rights. Furthermore, a comparative analysis is conducted regarding the approaches to digital assets as things, property rights, or distinct types of civil right objects. The research concludes by putting forward scientific proposals to clearly define the legal status of digital assets in the Civil Code of Uzbekistan and to improve norms concerning their circulation and legal protection.
References
1.Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Article 81.
2.Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PQ-3832 dated July 3, 2018 (with subsequent amendments), Clause 3, Sub-clause "a"; also, Regulation No. 3380 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated August 15, 2022, Clause 1.
3.Ruzinazarov Sh.N., "Digital Civil Circulation: Targeted and Conceptual Scientific-Theoretical Approach," Yuridik fanlar axborotnomasi / Review of Law Sciences, 2020. In the text, the author links the effectiveness of civil circulation to doctrinal foundations.
4.Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Articles 81–82.
5.Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Article 82.
6.Mutalov O.B., Legal Nature of Smart Contracts in Digital Civil Circulation (Abstract of PhD Dissertation), 2024. The author notes that conceptual approaches in the national doctrine have not been sufficiently formed.
7.Document "On Approval of the Regulation on the Procedure for Licensing the Activities of Service Providers in the Field of Crypto-Asset Turnover," August 15, 2022, Clause 1.
8.Ruzinazarov Sh.N., supra note. The author highlights the priority of civil-legal research related to the digital economy.
9.Norqulov A.U., "The Role of Avatars as Objects of Intellectual Property in Cyberspace," Yurisprudensiya, 2022/6. The author emphasizes the need for direct regulation of new digital objects.
10.Resolution No. PQ-3832 and Regulation No. 3380, where a crypto-asset is characterized as a collection of digital records in a distributed ledger.
11.Ibid. A crypto-asset is designated as a "property right".
12.See as supplementary literature: Civil Law textbook edited by O. Oqyulov (2017) and I.B. Zokirov’s Civil Law (Part I, 2009); these works are included in the bibliographic indices of TSUL publications.
