THE PRESUMPTION OF GOOD FAITH OF BUSINESS ENTITIES AS A PROCEDURAL GUARANTEE FOR THE JUDICIAL PROTECTION OF ECONOMIC RIGHTS

Abstract

This article examines the legal character of the presumption of good faith in the activities of business entities and substantiates the need for its explicit incorporation into the economic procedural legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The study proceeds from the premise that, although Uzbek legislation establishes a range of substantive guarantees aimed at safeguarding entrepreneurial freedom, the existence of such guarantees does not in itself ensure a balanced procedural position of the parties when entrepreneurs challenge actions or decisions of public authorities. Particular attention is therefore devoted to the relationship between the general principle of good faith and its procedural manifestation in the form of a legal presumption. The article analyzes the existing rules governing the distribution of the burden of proof under the Economic Procedural Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan and identifies the procedural implications of the absence of a clearly formulated presumption of good faith for business entities. The study also includes a comparative legal analysis of the approaches adopted in Kazakhstan, Germany, and France, focusing on the extent to which their procedural frameworks provide mechanisms for protecting private parties in disputes involving public authorities. Based on the findings of the analysis, the article proposes the introduction of a new Article 68¹ into the Economic Procedural Code. The proposed provision would establish a rebuttable presumption that the actions and conduct of a business entity are lawful and undertaken in good faith unless the contrary is demonstrated in accordance with the procedure established by law. In disputes concerning legal measures affecting entrepreneurial activity, the relevant public authority would bear the burden of substantiating the alleged unlawfulness or bad faith. Such an approach, in the author’s view, could strengthen procedural guarantees for entrepreneurs, improve the predictability and legal certainty of economic proceedings, and contribute to a more balanced allocation of procedural burdens between business entities and public authorities.