Seminar on Aviation Safety in Nursultan

Participants in the seminar with speakers Jens Friedemann (1st row, centre), BFU Aircraft Accident Investigator, and Nurlan Akkulow (on his left), Chief Investigator at the Kazakh Air Accident Investigation Authority
Participants in the seminar with speakers Jens Friedemann (1st row, centre), BFU Aircraft Accident Investigator, and Nurlan Akkulow (on his left), Chief Investigator at the Kazakh Air Accident Investigation Authority
Kazakhstan

In partnership with the Academy of Law Enforcement Authorities at the Office of the Public Prosecutor General in the Republic of Kazakhstan, a seminar on aviation safety was held on 6 November 2019 in Nursultan. Jens Friedemann from the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU) took part as a German expert on behalf of the IRZ.

The Kazakh participants in the seminar included public prosecutors from the Office of the Public Prosecutor General and the Main Traffic Prosecutor's Office, as well as investigators from the traffic police, who were very interested in learning about the work of the BFU.

The IRZ expert Jens Friedemann informed the participants about:

  • the German aviation safety system,
  • investigation into the causes of aircraft accidents and
  • coordination between specialist and law enforcement authorities in the area of transport safety.

Nurlan Akkulow, Chief Investigator at the Kazakh Air Accident Investigation Authority, presented the Kazakh experiences in this area.

The 28 participants showed a great deal of interest in the following aspects in particular:

  • the independence of the BFU and how this is guaranteed in work processes,
  • communication and consultation regarding responsibilities and
  • the benefits that the law enforcement authorities can draw from the investigation report and the expert knowledge of the BFU contained in this report.

About the work of the BFU

As well as aviation safety, the areas of responsibility of the BFU include above all the collection of evidence and establishment of the causes of aircraft accidents, with the aim of preventing accidents and malfunctions from happening in future. The investigations carried out by the BFU are not aimed at apportioning blame or liability. However, the BFU’s report does provide a technical basis for the subsequent work of law enforcement authorities. The BFU works as an independent body. It must not be influenced by politics or the media nor allow itself to be influenced. The establishment of the causes of aircraft accidents is impartial and purely factual. BFU employees, who come from a wide variety of specialist fields, shed light on the potential aeronautical, technical and psychological reasons, which may have led to the aviation accident.

Study Visit to Hanover and Celle on “Combating Terrorism and Extremism in Germany”

The participants in the study visit with Jörg Gaus (centre), Department 43 of the Office of Criminal Police Investigations of Lower Saxony, and Senior Public Prosecutor Mergen Mendigaliyev (on his left), Head of the Delegation
The participants in the study visit with Jörg Gaus (centre), Department 43 of the Office of Criminal Police Investigations of Lower Saxony, and Senior Public Prosecutor Mergen Mendigaliyev (on his left), Head of the Delegation
Kazakhstan

From 28 to 30 October 2019, a delegation from the Kazakh Office of the Public Prosecutor General visited the Office of Criminal Police Investigation of Lower Saxony, the Competence Centre for the Prevention of Islamism in Lower Saxony, the Ministry of Justice for Lower Saxony and the Office of the Public Prosecutor General in Celle. The study visit on “Combating Terrorism in Germany” was organised by the IRZ.

Seven senior public prosecutors, who are involved in the fight against extremism and terrorism in Kazakhstan, and a leading academic from a research centre at the Academy for Combating Terrorism and Extremism learned about the following subjects in Lower Saxony:

  • Risk and threat management in the area of Islamist endangerers,
  • the system for assessing the danger of radicalised persons,
  • presentation of guidelines for dealing with religious and political extremism in law enforcement,
  • measures for deradicalisation/cooperation with the non-governmental organisation Violence Prevention Network,
  • networking with communities and local civil society and
  • presentation of the work involved in the prevention of Salafist radicalism.
The delegation was particularly interested in the structures and processes of the authorities, specific investigation measures and prevention work, particularly when it comes to the recruitment of children. In each case, the Kazakh system was compared with the German system. The Kazakh guests also expressed their approval of the European network and of the success rate of the transnational cooperation between EU countries. Both sides are very interested in continuing to work together on this in the future.

Working visit on legal basic and further training in Sonthofen, Kempten and Munich

The Kazakh delegation visiting the Regional Court of Kempten: Gunther Schatz (4th from left), Vice-President of the Regional Court; Adlet Rayev (6th from left), Senior Public Prosecutor at the training institute of the Office of the Public Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Christian Roch (on his right), Presiding Judge at the Regional Court of Kempten
The Kazakh delegation visiting the Regional Court of Kempten: Gunther Schatz (4th from left), Vice-President of the Regional Court; Adlet Rayev (6th from left), Senior Public Prosecutor at the training institute of the Office of the Public Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Christian Roch (on his right), Presiding Judge at the Regional Court of Kempten
Kazakhstan

From 14 to 16 October 2019, a delegation from the Kazakh Office of the Public Prosecutor General and the Law Academy of Law Enforcement Authorities visited Bavaria to learn about basic and further training for judges, public prosecutors and the police in Germany. The working visit, which was attended by public prosecutors from the Kazakh Office of the Public Prosecutor General and employees of the Law Academy of Law Enforcement Authorities at the Office of the Public Prosecutor General, was organised by the IRZ.

The Kazakh guests visited the Local Court of Sonthofen, the Regional Court of Kempten and the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, where the focus was on the following main topics:

  • Basic and further training for police officers,
  • studies, preparatory training and state exams for judges and public prosecutors,
  • conduct of criminal proceedings in Germany (stages of the proceedings, indictment),
  • appointment of staff for courts and public prosecutor’s offices,
  • further training for judges and public prosecutors in Bavaria and
  • cooperation with the German Judicial Academy.

The following experts were among those appointed by the IRZ to take part in the working visit:

  • Christian Roch, Presiding Judge at the Regional Court of Kempten,
  • Prof. Dr. Bijan Nowrousian, a professor in criminal law and the law of administrative offences at the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration and Management of North Rhine-Westphalia
  • Sebastian Pitz, a judge at the Regional Court of Kempten and Memmingen and head of the working committee for trainee lawyers, and
  • Theresa Beck, Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, HR Department.
The participants showed a great deal of interest in the topics covered during the working visit and the discussions with their German colleagues were very fruitful. The Kazakh guests would like to continue this type of cooperation in future.