Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in December 1991, the five states in Central Asia (CA) - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan - have taken major steps towards the creation of modern legal systems geared towards market economy. All these countries have enshrined democratic principles and the rule of law as major cornerstones in their Constitutions. There is a degree of commonality between European (continental) and Central Asian legal systems, as they derive historically from common roots. However, the Soviet legacy is still visible in the region and impacts the speed and effectiveness of the process of implementing reforms in the legal system and the judiciary. Additionally, the process of implementing reforms is influenced by the respective economic and political situation in each country. As a result, the CA countries are at different stages in their development and reform of their legal and judicial systems.

Despite many reform efforts in recent years, there are still deficiencies in the application of laws, as well as the quality and consistency of legislation. The judiciary is still subject to undue political influence and is often marred by corruption. These factors negatively impact not just the rule of law, but also the business climate in the CA countries, hindering their sustainable economic development. For a variety of reasons, the five CA states have grown very differently in this respect over the last few years. For instance, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have joined the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), while Turkmenistan has stayed out of it.

At the same time, all the CA countries share common challenges in the areas of transparency, business integrity, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering (AML), and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). They all face difficulties in properly assessing and addressing national and sectorial AML/CFT risks. There is an overall lack of understanding and implementation of AML/CFT measures and risk-based internal control/compliance principles in both financial and non-financial sectors. National CA authorities need to build capacities to implement effective evidence-based supervision systems. Major challenges also exist in establishing a solid track record of effective asset recovery, including the imposition of confiscation measures with regard to cross-border cases, which necessitates cooperation on a regional scale.

In the framework of the EU’s Central Asia Strategy adopted in 2007, a number of interventions in the region were launched in relation to the rule of law. At the EU level, the Rule of Law Initiative for Central Asia, co-led by France and Germany, implemented the EU-funded Rule of Law Platform (RLP) programme. The RLP intervention was implemented in two phases: from December 2011 to December 2014 and then from February 2015 to February 2018. In 2019, the EU updated its Central Asia strategy to focus on resilience, prosperity, and regional cooperation. The current EU-funded Intervention, with a timeframe from January 2020 to December 2023 (extended to June 2024), is implemented by the Council of Europe, in concert with leading European judicial institutions and anti-corruption services, as well as National Training Institutions for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.