THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM IN THE FERGANA REGION: HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS AND LEGAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE LATE XIX – EARLY XX CENTURIES

Abstract

The article analyzes the formation and functioning of the judicial system in the Fergana region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries within the broader framework of the Turkestan General-Governorship. Particular attention is paid to historiographical approaches, legal transformations, and the interaction between imperial legislation and traditional Islamic judicial institutions. The study systematizes academic literature into three main groups: works produced during the Russian imperial and Soviet periods, research conducted in the years of independence of Uzbekistan, and foreign scholarly studies. Through a critical comparative analysis, the article identifies methodological limitations of earlier interpretations and substantiates the necessity of a comprehensive reassessment of the activities of people's judges (qadis), the legalization of legal norms, and archival documentation. The research emphasizes the contemporary relevance of historical judicial studies in the context of judicial reforms and the strengthening of the rule of law in modern Uzbekistan.