ARTICLE 24 OF THE LAW ‘ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE’ AS A NORMATIVE PLACEHOLDER: THE NEED FOR STATUTORY REGULATION OF THE ESCROW MECHANISM IN UZBEKISTAN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/Keywords:
escrow, electronic commerce, payment guarantee, Article 24, conditional deposit, civil law of Uzbekistan, comparative law.Abstract
The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Electronic Commerce” of 29 September 2022 No ЗРУ – 792 marks the most ambitious legislative consolidation of digital trade regulation in the country’s history. Yet Article 24 of this Law contains a single, isolated reference to a “system of deposit of monetary funds” as a permissible mechanism of settlement in electronic commerce - a reference that, in the absence of any developed regulation of its content, operates as a normative placeholder rather than as a functioning legal instrument. The provision does not specify the contractual structure of the deposit relation, the rights and obligations of the parties, the legal status of the depositary, or the conditions for the release of the funds. Although the legislator has signaled the desirability of a payment – guarantee mechanism, the legal instruments necessary for its operation have not yet been provided.
