Appealing a civil court decision

An ordinary appeal must be filed within one month (Article 385-1 CPC). A cassation appeal must be filed within six months (Article 405-1 CPC) if there was no appeal. Revision applies after appeal or cassation; its general time limit is one year (Article 419-6 CPC).

In brief:

• An appeal is for a decision that has not yet taken legal effect; the general time limit is one month (Article 385-1 CPC).
• Cassation is available for an effective first-instance decision that was not reviewed on appeal; the time limit is six months (Article 405-1 CPC).
• A defendant may ask the issuing court to set aside a default judgment within 15 days (Article 285 CPC).
• An interlocutory appeal against a separately appealable ruling must be filed within 20 days (Article 400 CPC) after the ruling is served or sent.
• Choose the next court by checking whether the act is effective and whether the case has already passed through appeal, cassation, or first revision.

Updated: 05 September 2026

How to choose the review route

The route depends on the status of the judicial act and the review stages already completed, not on the label the applicant gives the complaint. The Civil Procedure Code (CPC) distinguishes five grounds for review (Article 372-1 CPC): appeal, cassation and revision, together with interlocutory appeals against rulings before and after they take legal effect.

An appellate, cassation, or revision ruling or resolution takes effect immediately (Article 372-6 CPC). After each stage, the applicant must therefore identify the permissible next route, the correct recipient, and the remaining time instead of resubmitting the same complaint.

This article concerns decisions of civil courts. Disputes between companies and entrepreneurs follow different procedural rules, explained in appeals from economic courts. A criminal judgment has separate time limits and procedures, covered in appealing a criminal judgment.

How to file an appeal

An appeal may be filed by the parties, other joined participants, and a person who was not involved if the court determined that person’s rights or obligations. In a business-related dispute, the Business Ombudsman also has a special right within the limits of the standing rule (Article 383 CPC).

The appeal is addressed to the higher court but filed through the court that issued the challenged act. That court must send the appeal with the case file within five days (Article 385 CPC). A decision of a district, city, or interdistrict court is normally reviewed by the civil panel of the court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the relevant regional court, or the Tashkent City Court. Military courts and a first-instance decision of the Supreme Court have separate reviewing courts (Article 384 CPC).

The general time limit is one month from the date of the decision. A ten-day limit (Article 385-1 CPC) applies to simplified proceedings and to cases concerning the return of unlawfully occupied state-owned land or demolition of an unauthorised structure. If the court issues a supplemental decision, its appeal period also runs from the main decision (paragraph 7 of Plenum Resolution No. 9).

The appeal must contain the full required set of information: the name of the appellate court; the applicant’s details and postal address; the case number; the date of the act and the court that issued it; the alleged error in the decision; the relief sought from the appellate court; and a list of attachments. The applicant or representative must sign the appeal—these are mandatory particulars (Article 386 CPC).

The attachments must include proof of payment of state duty and postal expenses and, if a representative signs, proof of authority. A paper filing must include copies for all participants; the copies rule does not apply (Article 387 CPC) to an electronic document.

An appellate judge decides whether to admit, return, or refuse the appeal within five days (Article 388 CPC). The grounds for return are exhaustive: missing signature or authority; non-compliant contents or attachments; no proof of duty or postal expenses and no permissible application concerning payment; bypassing the first-instance court; filing late without an application for restoration; or a request to return the appeal before admission. The defect may be corrected and the appeal filed again while time remains; the ruling must state the entire list of return grounds (Article 389 CPC).

How much does a complaint cost?

The applicant pays state duty before filing unless exempt by law or granted deferral, instalments, or a reduction by the court. Appeal, cassation, and revision complaints cost 50% of the original rate; in a property dispute, the calculation uses the amount actually challenged.

State duty is not charged for every interlocutory appeal. The law identifies appeals against rulings that terminate proceedings, leave a claim without consideration, impose a judicial fine, and certain rulings involving arbitral, foreign, and mediation decisions. A complaint limited to the state-duty issue is an exception; the chargeable categories are explained in Plenum Resolution No. 37.

The court fixes the postal deposit, which may not exceed 44.000 UZS (Article 132 CPC). The person filing the complaint pays it. If an appeal or cassation complaint is returned or refused, the court decides the refund of the duty, but postal expenses are not refunded (paragraph 10 of Plenum Resolution No. 9).

Example. The challenged award is UZS 100,000,000. The first-instance rate is 4%, or UZS 4,000,000. The appeal duty is 50% of that rate: 4,000,000 × 50% = UZS 2,000,000. With the maximum postal deposit of 44.000 UZS, the initial mandatory payments total UZS 2,044,000.

How to restore a missed time limit

An explanation for the delay is not enough: the omitted procedural step must be taken with the application, meaning that the complaint and its attachments must be filed at the same time. The application goes to the court where the step should have been taken. The participants are notified of the hearing, but their absence does not prevent consideration (Article 155 CPC).

The outer window depends on the stage. For an appeal, the application must be filed within three months of judgment (Article 385-1 CPC). For cassation, it may be made during the next three months (Article 405-1 CPC) after the main six-month period expires. For revision, restoration is possible if the application is made within three months (Article 419-6 CPC) after the applicable revision period expires.

Time-limit example. A decision is issued on 5 September. The ordinary one-month appeal period ends on 5 October. If there is a valid reason, the restoration application and appeal must be filed by 5 December, three months after the decision.

Potentially valid reasons include an objective obstacle such as an emergency, flood, pandemic, quarantine, lack of knowledge of the decision by a person who was not joined, illness of an individual, or the death or serious illness of a family member. The circumstance must have prevented or substantially hindered timely filing; the examples are not exhaustive (paragraph 8 of Plenum Resolution No. 9).

For revision, the Plenum expressly excludes a lack of money for a representative or duty, a corporate representative’s business trip or leave, and the absence of in-house counsel from valid reasons (paragraph 11 of Plenum Resolution No. 20). A ruling restoring time or refusing restoration may be challenged by an interlocutory appeal.

How does the appellate court review the case?

The appellate court re-examines the legality, evidential basis, and fairness of the act in full, not merely the wording of the appeal. It may examine new evidence and facts (Article 396 CPC). New substantive claims that were not before the first-instance court are generally not admitted (paragraph 30 of Plenum Resolution No. 9).

The general review period is no more than one month (Article 395 CPC) from admission. Simplified proceedings and the specified land cases are reviewed within 15 days; exceptionally, the panel may extend the review by no more than one additional month.

The court reviews five groups of grounds: incomplete determination of material circumstances; lack of proof for circumstances treated as established; findings inconsistent with the case facts; failure to decide a pleaded claim; or violation or misapplication of substantive or procedural law. A decision that is correct in substance cannot be set aside for a merely formal reason—these are the general review grounds (Article 372-2 CPC).

Material procedural violations include an unlawful bench or breach of subject-matter jurisdiction; hearing the case without a participant who was not notified; breach of the language rules; deciding the rights of a person not joined; breach of deliberation secrecy; signature by judges who did not decide the case; and an unsigned hearing record. This complete list (Article 372-4 CPC) should be compared with the actual case record.

The appellate court may leave the act unchanged; set it aside in whole or part and issue a new act; vary it; terminate the proceedings or leave the application without consideration; or transfer the materials to another court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. These appellate powers (Article 399 CPC) determine the relief that can properly be requested.

When is cassation available?

Cassation is not the next level after an appeal. It applies to an effective first-instance decision that was not reviewed on appeal (Article 403 CPC). The complaint is addressed to the relevant cassation court but filed through the first-instance court, which must send it with the file within five days (Article 405 CPC).

Cassation courts are allocated according to the level of the original court in the same way as on appeal: acts of district, city, and interdistrict courts are reviewed by the civil panel of the relevant regional court. Military matters and a first-instance act of the Supreme Court have special panels (Article 404 CPC).

The requirements for contents, signature, proof of authority, payments, and copies are materially the same as for an appeal. Cassation review takes no more than one month (Article 415 CPC) and may exceptionally be extended by no more than one additional month.

The cassation court also reviews the act in full and may examine new evidence (Article 416 CPC). It may leave, vary, or set aside the act and issue a new one, terminate proceedings or leave the application without consideration, or transfer the materials for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. It may not set aside the decision and remit the case to the first-instance court; the list of powers appears in Article 419 CPC.

Where can the losing party go after cassation?

After cassation, the losing party may file a revision complaint. Participants and a person not joined whose rights or obligations were determined have this right; the Business Ombudsman and prosecutors act within special limits. Access requires completed appeal or cassation review under the revision procedure (Article 419-4 CPC).

For a case originating in a district, city, or interdistrict court, the route usually has three levels:

1. The first revision complaint is considered by the civil panel of the court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the relevant regional court, or the Tashkent City Court.
2. After that revision, a complaint may be filed directly with the Civil Panel of the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court judge first decides whether to transfer the case to the panel.
3. After revision by the Supreme Court panel, the applicant cannot complain directly to the Presidium. The applicant may ask the Chair of the Supreme Court or the Prosecutor General to lodge a protest with the Presidium.

The first two levels follow from the revision court structure (Article 419-5 CPC). The right to seek a protest after review by the Supreme Court panel is expressly explained by the Supreme Court Plenum (paragraph 43 of Resolution No. 20). Such a request is not a direct appeal to the Presidium: the case reaches it only if an authorised officeholder lodges a protest.

The general revision time limit is one year from the date the first-instance act took legal effect. If that year expired before the cassation ruling, three months remain after cassation for the first revision. If it expired before the regional revision ruling, three months remain after that revision for a Supreme Court complaint. The filing procedure and both additional windows (Article 419-6 CPC) must be applied to the actual procedural history.

At the Supreme Court, a judge studies the materials and decides whether to transfer the complaint to the panel. Transfer or refusal is decided within one month (Article 419-15 CPC), or within two months if the file is requested. Within the revision time limit, the applicant may ask the Chair of the Supreme Court or a deputy to reverse a transfer refusal (Article 419-16 CPC).

The revision court reviews the act in full and may leave it unchanged; vary it; set it aside and issue a new act; remit it to appeal or cassation in the specified cases; terminate proceedings or leave the application without consideration; or set aside some acts and reinstate an earlier one. These are the revision court’s powers (Article 419-28 CPC). A resolution of the Supreme Court Presidium is final (Article 419-26 CPC) and cannot be appealed or protested further.

How to set aside or appeal a default judgment

A defendant has a special remedy: an application for reconsideration of a default judgment must be filed with the same court within 15 days (Article 285 CPC) after the judgment is issued. The application states the court and the defendant’s details, the reasons for non-appearance with proof, evidence capable of affecting the judgment, the relief sought, and the attachments. It includes copies for all participants unless filed electronically and carries no state duty (Article 286 CPC).

The court considers the application within ten days (Article 288 CPC). Setting aside requires all three elements: a valid reason for non-appearance; inability to notify the court in time; and evidence capable of affecting the judgment. These are the combined requirements (Article 290 CPC).

The ruling setting aside the default judgment or refusing to do so cannot itself be appealed. If the judgment is set aside, the case resumes. If the duly notified defendant again fails to appear, the new judgment is not treated as a default judgment and a second application for special reconsideration is unavailable.

The default judgment itself may be appealed under general rules (Article 285-1 CPC). The special setting-aside application does not replace an appeal alleging errors of law or in the assessment of evidence. A defendant intending to use both mechanisms must therefore keep the general one-month appeal period from the decision in view.

How to appeal a court ruling

A court ruling is separately challenged by an interlocutory appeal in two situations: the CPC expressly permits it, or the ruling prevents the case from proceeding. Otherwise there is no separate complaint, but objections may be included in the appeal or cassation complaint against the final decision. This is the general rule (Article 400 CPC).

The Plenum gives an open list of separately appealable rulings. It is not exhaustive, so the particular ruling must be checked against the relevant CPC article. The examples of rulings (paragraph 15 of Plenum Resolution No. 19) are grouped below without omitting a listed category.

An appellate interlocutory appeal is filed within 20 days after the ruling is served or sent. If the ruling was not reviewed on appeal, a cassation interlocutory appeal is available within six months (Article 419-1 CPC) after it takes legal effect.

The higher court may leave the ruling unchanged; set it aside and return the application or case to the first-instance court; vary or set it aside and determine the issue; or transfer the materials to another court for subject-matter jurisdiction. These four powers (Article 402 CPC) should guide the relief requested.

How to clarify or correct a decision

Clarification, correction, and a supplemental decision do not replace an appeal. They address ambiguity, a technical error, or an omitted issue; they do not permit the same court to reassess evidence or correct an error in applying the law.

A manifest arithmetic error is an error in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, or another calculation. Misapplication or misunderstanding of the law must be corrected by a higher court (paragraph 21 of Plenum Resolution No. 12), not by the first-instance court under the guise of correcting a clerical error.

The missed ten-day period for a supplemental decision may be restored under the general rules. If an appeal and a request for a supplemental decision are pending together, the first court resolves the supplemental-decision issue before sending the case up, as the Plenum has explained (paragraph 22 of Resolution No. 12). An application for correction or clarification should not be treated as an appeal substitute: the appeal time limit still governs a challenge to the substance.

Does a complaint stay enforcement?

A timely appeal prevents an ordinary decision from taking legal effect before appellate review. Without an appeal, the decision takes effect when the appeal period expires; with an appeal, it takes effect after review if not set aside. This is the legal-effect rule (Article 264 CPC), and ordinary enforcement starts after legal effect (Article 265 CPC).

Immediate enforcement is the exception. It is mandatory for decisions:

• awarding maintenance;
• awarding an employee up to three months’ wages;
• awarding compensation for injury to health or death of a breadwinner;
• reinstating an employee and correcting the stated ground for employment termination;
• ordering involuntary hospitalisation of a person with contagious tuberculosis;
• on claims admitted by the defendant, to the admitted extent.

This exhaustive list (Article 266 CPC) applies regardless of the ordinary date on which the decision takes legal effect.

If an appeal period is restored after enforcement has begun, the appellate court, on a participant’s application, stays enforcement (Article 389-3 CPC), except for immediately enforceable decisions. In cassation, the court likewise stays enforcement (Article 407-6 CPC) on application. In revision, the court may order a stay on application (Article 419-13 CPC). Merely sending a cassation or revision complaint does not replace a stay ruling.

If an executed act is set aside and the claim is later rejected, the proceedings terminated, or the application left without consideration, the defendant receives back what was recovered. This is reversal of enforcement (Article 458 CPC). If the higher court did not decide the issue, the application is filed with the first-instance court without duty and with proof of enforcement; it is considered within ten days (Article 459 CPC).

Review for newly discovered circumstances

This procedure applies only when there is a special statutory ground, not simply because a party has found another item of evidence. The CPC identifies four groups: a previously unknown material circumstance; falsity of testimony, an opinion, translation, document, or evidence established by a criminal judgment; an offence by a participant or judge; or reversal of the act on which the decision was based. The list of grounds (Article 437 CPC) is exhaustive.

New evidence is not by itself a newly discovered circumstance. The application carries no state duty; the Supreme Court Plenum has explained these limits of the procedure in Resolution No. 25.

The application is filed with the court that issued the decision. If an appellate, cassation, or revision court changed the decision or issued a new one, the court that changed it (Article 438 CPC) hears the application. The time limit is three months after the circumstance is established; restoration is possible if requested within six months of discovery (Article 439 CPC) and the reason is valid.

The court considers the application within one month (Article 442 CPC), then sets aside the earlier act or refuses review. The ruling may be challenged by interlocutory appeal; after the act is set aside, the case is heard under the general rules.

What changed in 2026?

The current appeal, cassation, and revision ladder remains in operation. Decree UP-160 of 14 August 2026 instructed the Supreme Court to submit, by the end of 2026, draft laws establishing interregional courts, transferring some review jurisdiction to them, and abolishing the current regional courts’ revision jurisdiction. This is an instruction to draft legislation, not an enacted replacement of Articles 419-4 to 419-6 CPC.

What to check before filing

First, map the procedural history: when and how the act was received, when it was issued and took legal effect, and which review stages have already occurred. Then check that the requested relief matches the chosen court’s powers, such as setting aside and issuing a new act, varying the act, terminating proceedings, or ordering another permissible result.

In the complaint, separate dissatisfaction with the outcome from a reviewable error. For every ground, identify the material fact, evidence, legal rule, or procedural violation and explain how it affected the decision. Attach new evidence with a clear account of its relevance, but do not recast it as a new substantive claim.

Before sending, check the signature, the representative’s specific authority, copies, state duty, postal deposit, and proof. If the filing is late, include the restoration application and evidence of a valid reason at the same time. If enforcement has begun, make a separate stay application: the complaint alone does not resolve that issue.

Frequently asked questions

Can cassation follow an appeal?

No. Under the current CPC, cassation is for an effective first-instance decision that was not reviewed on appeal. If the appellate court has already reviewed the case, the next complaint is filed through revision. For a district-court case, the first revision goes to the civil panel of the relevant regional court and, after that review, the next possible complaint goes to the Civil Panel of the Supreme Court.

Where can I go if cassation fails?

File a revision complaint after cassation. The first revision is normally heard by the court of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, a regional court, or the Tashkent City Court; a further complaint may then go to the Civil Panel of the Supreme Court. After that panel’s revision ruling, there is no direct complaint to the Presidium. The applicant may ask the Supreme Court Chair or Prosecutor General to lodge a protest. The Presidium’s resolution is final.

Should I seek to set aside a default judgment or appeal it?

An application to the same court is appropriate for a defendant who proves a valid reason for non-appearance, an inability to notify the court, and evidence capable of changing the outcome. An appeal challenges the legality, evidential basis, or fairness of the judgment itself. The CPC permits a default judgment to be appealed under the general rules, so the ordinary one-month appeal period must be tracked separately.

Does correcting a decision extend the appeal period?

Correction of a clerical or arithmetic error and clarification of a decision are not procedures for changing its substance. The CPC runs the appeal period from the date of the decision and does not provide a separate starting date for those applications. A supplemental decision is appealed with the main decision, and the Plenum likewise links its period to the date of the main decision. These applications should not replace a timely appeal.

Can every court ruling be appealed separately?

No. An interlocutory appeal is available if the CPC expressly permits it or the ruling prevents further progress of the case. Objections to other rulings must be included in the appeal or cassation complaint against the final decision. For a separately appealable ruling, the appellate period is 20 days after service or dispatch; cassation applies if the ruling was not reviewed on appeal.