Current collaboration with the Constitutional Council

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Published: May 18, 2021
Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, during his lecture
Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, during his lecture
Kazakhstan

In cooperation with the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, IRZ has organised two very successful online seminars, bringing together representatives of the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Court, the Public Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice for Kazakhstan.

Online seminar on constitutional complaints

The first seminar on “constitutional complaints” was held on 28 April 2021 with the participation of the German Federal Constitutional Court. Kairat Mami, Chairman of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, talked in his opening speech about the constitutional controls that have been introduced recently by the Constitutional Council. He also emphasised the importance of the exchange of experiences on “constitutional complaints” since the citizens of Kazakhstan can only submit a constitutional complaint via ordinary courts at present.

IRZ expert Prof. Dr. Gabrielle Britz, a judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, talked about the legal requirements, provisions for admissibility and adoption procedure for constitutional complaints in Germany. She also outlined how judgements are enforced. Her lecture went on to cover the review of laws in the context of “Normenkontrollverfahren” (judicial review proceedings on the constitutionality of laws).

Online seminar on the administrative process

At the second event, held on 30 April 2021, Dr. Lars Brocker, President of the Constitutional Court and Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, and Dr. Sabine Wabnitz, Presiding Judge at the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate, explained the administrative procedure (administrative court proceedings) and their significance for the rule of law. They gave lectures on the following topics:

  • The significance of administrative jurisdiction in the democratic state governed by the rule of law
  • An overview of administrative jurisdiction in Germany (history and structure)
  • The powers and local jurisdiction of administrative courts (issues of differentiation)
  • Procedural principles in the administrative procedure (particularly principle of investigation)
  • Participants in court proceedings
  • Types of complaint (particularly legal and liability challenges)
  • Description of court proceedings and appeal proceedings
  • The enforcement of administrative court judgements against the administration

The Kazakh partners showed a great deal of interest. After each lecture, the participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the issues. Dr. Brocker and Dr. Wabnitz both have many years of expertise and took the time to consider all the questions and to answer them in detail.

In August, IRZ has been invited by the Constitutional Council to take part in an international symposium on constitutional law.

Online seminar for prospective administrative judges

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Published: March 11, 2021
Graphics: IRZ
Graphics: IRZ
Kazakhstan

The new administrative process law and administrative procedural law will come into force on 1 July 2021 in Kazakhstan. In this context, IRZ in cooperation with the Law Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has already organised several further training seminars for Kazakh judges, the last of which was held on 3 March 2021.

This online seminar, for which IRZ was able to enlist two experts with many years of experience, Dr. Christian Schaich and Dr. Christian Reitemeier, was aimed at prospective administrative judges.

Dr. Christian Schaich, Administrative Director at the Centre for East European and International Studies, opened the event with a lecture on “General administrative law”. He shed light on the following points in particular:

  • Sources of administrative law and their classification
  • The concept of administrative acts and the different types of these acts
  • Opposition to administrative acts

Dr. Christian Reitemeier, Chief of Department at the Ministry of Justice for North Rhine-Westphalia, went on to present administrative court proceedings by addressing the following topics:

  • administrative expenses
  • the handling of administrative court claims by judges
  • administrative court rulings

Both IRZ experts were excellent mediators and illustrated their lectures, which were met with a great deal of interest from the Kazakh participants, with plenty of examples of actual cases. Since only future administrative judges were taking part in the seminar, the expert discussions were at a correspondingly high level.

IRZ is planning further training for judges in Kazakhstan, covering topics including mediation and court settlements in administrative proceedings. 

2nd Eurasian Human Rights Forum

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Published: January 19, 2021
During the 2nd Eurasian Human Rights Forum: Zauresch Baimoldina (centre), Head of the Law Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan
During the 2nd Eurasian Human Rights Forum: Zauresch Baimoldina (centre), Head of the Law Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan

International Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. On 10 December 2020, the occasion was marked by the 2nd Eurasian Human Rights Forum. The forum, organised jointly by IRZ, the Law Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan and KAZGUU University, was held in a hybrid format at the Law Academy and online.

The Head of the Law Academy, Zauresch Baimoldina, opened the forum and led the event, which was broadcast on YouTube and watched by around 700 interested parties.

Welcome speeches were given by the German Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Dr. Tilo Klinner, as well as by Professor Sergey Pen, Head of KAZGUU University, and Aslan Tukiyev, a judge at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The speakers covered topics including the Kazakh government’s plans to abolish the death penalty, the reform of voting rights with the thirty percent quota for women and young people on party lists and a law passed in spring 2020 to allow peaceful protests.

IRZ was represented by two experts at the event:

  • Isabelle Biallaß, a Local Court judge and desk officer at the Ministry of Justice for the North Rhine-Westphalia region, gave a lecture on “The Ethical Charter on the use of artificial intelligence in judicial systems (CEPEJ)”.
  • Dr. Kerstin Ashauer, Head of Department for the Senator for Justice and the Constitution for the Bremen region, gave a lecture on the “Protection of Human Rights in Prison in the COVID-19 Context”.

The other lectures at the forum were given by scientists and academics from universities in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. These covered a wide range of subjects focussing on current aspects concerning the protection of human rights.

IRZ plans to continue its successful cooperation with the Law Academy of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan next year.