3.3 The private sector Any industry actor involved in land based developments in Uzbekistan, whether urban or rural, should exercise caution. There is a significant risk that the land has been acquired through improper means in breach of national law and international human rights law. Market actors looking to assess risk and conduct enhanced due diligence cannot rely on conventional methodologies. Modifications need to be made that recognise the compromised nature of courts, the potentially illicit character of decrees, and ongoing, significant shortcomings in urban and rural governance. It must also be recognised that restrictions on freedoms of expression and association negatively impact independent monitoring and reporting, a key element of effective due diligence. To assist market actors calibrate their due diligence to the specific risk factors in Uzbekistan it is recommended that private sector organisations involved in supporting or financing real-estate developments and the landed expansion of agro-industrial enterprise factor in the following steps into their due diligence procedures: c) Where land has been expropriated by the state, consult independently with affected residents, businesses, and/or farmers, using independent facilitators, to determine whether substantive consent has been given to the proposals, free of direct or indirect forms of coercion in line with international free prior informed consent principles. d) Where affected residents, businesses or farmers have implemented legal action, this denotes a very high risk that consent has not been given. e) A court order for eviction or a court decision confirming the legality of associated decrees should not be accepted as evidence of consent or lawful compulsory acquisition given the compromised nature of the courts and the evidenced deficiencies in judgements. These judgements should be reviewed by independent legal experts, to ensure they were validly concluded. a) Obtain independent legal opinion on government decrees used to expropriate private property to ensure they align with private property protections and due process requirements set out in Uzbek law and international human rights law. b) Recognise that any decree that expropriates private property for purposes other than public need is illegal and therefore such an acquisition by the state should not be considered as a valid basis for the subsequent transfer of rights or interests in the property to private sector actors. A False Sense of Legality 63