Kazakhstan – annual report 2022

Details: Published: September 4, 2023

International round table on “The Evolution of Constitutional Control in the Context of Societal and State Transformation” with the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Strategic Framework

Legal Policy Starting Point

Kazakhstan has adopted a path of political reform since the mass protests in January 2022. A referendum on constitutional amendments was held in June, with a large majority of the population voting in favour of the changes. The reforms are intended to decentralise political decision-making and relativise the influence of the president. Greater powers were also vested in parliament and the reinstalled Constitutional Court, which resumed work in January 2023.

The president’s future term of office had already been limited to a single seven-year term in September 2022. President Tokayev used his address to the nation to announce further sweeping reforms that would promote the emergence of an “effective state with a strong civil society” and also create a multi-party system to enable political competition.

The early presidential elections were held on 20 November 2022. Twelve largely unknown candidates stood for election, of whom only six were registered, including incumbent President Tokayev. He emerged as winner of the elections as expected, taking an 81.31 percent majority of the votes cast.

Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly important for Germany, especially in the priority areas of “energy and infrastructure”. The country is an important economic partner in Central Asia. Kazakhstan opposed Russia in the UN vote condemning Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine and has not recognised the annexed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukrainian as independent states. The country has therefore emphasised the intention to continue its cooperation with western countries. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also visited Kazakhstan on her trip to Central Asia at the end of October 2022. The EU initiative “Global Gateway” was included on the agenda of her visit. The core points of the project essentially focus on the topics of “climate protection, energy transformation and digitisation”; Germany is also keen to initiate projects in these areas – together with the European Union.

Overall Concept

Some of the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic remained in force in 2022, and the unstable political situation in Kazakhstan early in the year also briefly influenced cooperation. Although most consultations were held in online format, two events – on the topics of “Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCH)” and “Administrative law” – took place face-to-face at the end of the year. The positive feedback received from the participants and the speakers confirmed once again the importance of face-to-face events as a particularly effective way to nurture personal exchange between professionals.

The Constitutional Council or now the Constitutional Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Supreme Court and the General Prosecutor’s Office with their further training academies are long-standing partner institutions for IRZ. In addition, IRZ has managed to establish cooperation with new institutions, such as the Centre for German Law at the Faculty of Law of KAZGUU University.

Consultations prioritised areas such as civil and commercial law, operation of the HCCH, the issue of corruption and implementation of the new Administrative Code (Code of Administrative Court Procedure and Administrative Procedures Act). In addition to providing further training to the judiciary, the IRZ expert team also trained Kazakh lecturers on the new legislation.

Focus of Activity in 2022

Constitutional Law, Human Rights and their Enforceability

International round table on “The evolution of constitutional control in the context of societal and state transformation” with the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Civil and Commercial Law

Online seminar with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan on “Building respect for intellectual property and combating counterfeiting and piracy in the digital environment for law enforcement officials”
Online seminar on “The practical operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction” with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)
Seminar on “The practical operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction” with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and HCCH as a face-to-face event in Almaty
Online seminar on “German private insolvency law as an example of a regulation for resolving insolvency among natural persons” with the German Academic Exchange Service and the Centre for German Law at KAZGUU University

Public Law

Online seminar on “Legislation on administrative procedure and administrative court proceedings: peculiarities and problems of practical application” with the Academy of Justice at the Supreme Court
Seminar on “Administrative law: theory and practice of teaching” with the Centre for German Law at KAZGUU University in Astana

Criminal and Penitentiary Law

Online seminar on “Preventing corruption in the court system” with the Academy of Justice at the Supreme Court

Outlook

Consultations are envisaged for 2023 as well, in particular on administrative procedure law, constitutional law and on civil and commercial law. IRZ will place another focus on policy to combat corruption and intends to include additional Kazakh partners in this process. Overall, the sweeping reforms announced in Kazakhstan will create fresh impetus for cooperation. There are therefore plans to establish a partnership with the newly constituted Constitutional Court as well.

Please find the Annual Report 2022 here: Media centre – Annual reports.