COMPETITIVE SELECTION AND FIXED-TERM EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS IN UZBEK UNIVERSITIES: STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE AND GUARANTEES OF STABLE EMPLOYMENT

Universities in Uzbekistan fill teaching posts through competitive selection and then sign fixed-term contracts with the successful candidates, yet the Labour Code and government resolutions give different answers to the question of how long such contracts may last. The article treats the competition as one element of a compound legal fact, traces the conflict between the statutory three-year ceiling and the five-year and one-year terms set by Cabinet resolutions, and examines the transparency of selection and the risk of academic inbreeding. Drawing on court decisions and on the law of Russia, the European Union, Germany, Poland and Sweden, it proposes a dedicated Labour Code provision that links contract terms to career stages and separates competitive entry from periodic appraisal.