Survey: Tajik courts among institutions cited in corruption complaints

Tajikistan's judicial system faces significant public scrutiny, with its highest courts among the institutions most often named in corruption complaints. A nationwide survey conducted in 2025 revealed that 6.5% of respondents who had experienced corruption pointed to judicial bodies as the source.

The survey, which polled 10,000 citizens, was a joint effort by the Center for Strategic Studies and the Anti-Corruption Agency under the President of Tajikistan. It found that citizens reported encountering or being asked for bribes at various levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, High Economic Court, regional, city, and district courts, as well as military courts.

Economic courts, responsible for handling commercial and financial disputes, were also frequently mentioned in corruption allegations. Overall, the survey indicated a widespread issue, with over 35% of all respondents reporting they had encountered corruption in some form. A substantial portion, approximately 26%, stated they had been compelled to pay bribes.

Specific judicial institutions were cited with varying percentages of respondents who encountered corruption within them. All judicial institutions collectively accounted for 25.3% of such mentions. Regional, city, and district courts were named by 24.6% of respondents, followed by the Supreme Court at 18.2%, military courts at 13.2%, and the High Economic Court at 9.6%. Regional economic courts and the Dushanbe Economic Court were cited by 6.1%.

These findings emerge amidst several high-profile corruption cases involving members of the judiciary. Notably, a former district judge was recently sentenced to four years in prison for accepting a bribe. Although the survey was conducted in 2025, its results were only recently made public, shedding light on persistent concerns about integrity within the justice system.