Christian Roch (right), a judge at the local court of Sonthofen, and Abai Rakhmetulin, Chairman of the criminal division at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In cooperation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a seminar was held in Astana at the end of October on “Criminal offences in the RK penal code”.
The term “criminal offences” was introduced in Kazakhstan with the reform of the penal code in 2015. The event focussed on the application of new legal standards in procedural practice. The classification of crimes and differences between criminal and administrative offences have repeatedly been discussed.
40 judges from various regions of Kazakhstan took part in the seminar, as well as representatives of the Public Prosecutor General’s Office, the Institute of Legislation, the Ministry of Justice and the Kazakhstan Bar Association. Christan Roch, a German expert and judge at the local court in Sonthofen, attended as the director’s permanent representative. In his lectures, he started by outlining European experiences of criminal offences. Mr Roch then looked at the particularities of the process for criminal offences in Germany.
A closing event is planned to take place in Germany in November in cooperation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
As in previous years, the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan has organised an international conference on constitutional law. For the past few years, these events have been linked with important anniversaries. In 2016, this was the 25th anniversary of independence. The subject of this year’s conference, which took place on 29 and 30 August in Astana, was the “Constitution – the basis for the dynamic and stable development of society and state.”
The Secretary of State to the President, Gulschara Abdykalikova, opened the event and welcomed many high-ranking national and international guests. The Administration of the Kazakh President, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of the Civil Service were represented, as were national and international constitutional courts through their presidents and judges. Other participants came from the Venice Commission, the OSCE and the UNO.
Germany was represented at a high level by Professor Reinhard Gaier, a judge at the German Constitutional Court and IRZ expert. He reported on the role of the German Constitutional Court. He not only spoke about the historic development of constitutional jurisdiction in Germany, but also emphasized the importance of observing and enforcing basic and human rights.
The second day of the conference was held in parallel at the Eurasian National University and the KAZGUU University. University professors and representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Jordan, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Turkey were all given the chance to have their say.
From 7 to 10 June 2016, a study visit on the specific tasks handled by investigative magistrates took place in Berlin and Potsdam. Five judges from various regions of Kazakhstan took part in the visit. The event followed on from the seminar in Astana, which also dealt with the new authority of investigative magistrates.
The position of investigative magistrate was introduced in Kazakhstan alongside the new code of criminal procedure, which has been in force since January 2015. Since January 2016, the authority of investigative magistrates has been extended to allow them to order searches, body searches, inspections and seizures.
During the working visit, expert discussions were held at the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, at the Regional Court of Potsdam and at the Brandenburg police headquarters. The delegation was informed about German legislation relating to the authority of investigative magistrates, as well as about their duties and those of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the police during an investigative procedure. The participants had the opportunity to discuss similarities and differences in the criminal procedure of both countries with German experts.
Further deliberations will take place on the practical application of the new legal framework. This year, there are plans for two more events in cooperation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Christian Roch (right), a judge at the local court of Sonthofen, and Abai Rakhmetulin, Chairman of the criminal division at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.