OSCE Centre supports discussion on new criminal justice model in Kazakhstan
An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on the implementation of the action plan for the transition to a new model of the criminal and administrative justice took place on 21 November 2014 in Almaty.
The event was co-organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana and the Prosecutor General’s Office with support from the local think-tank Legal Policy Research Centre and the British Embassy in Astana. It brought together some 70 high-level officials of the Interior Ministry and Prosecutor General’s Office, parliamentarians, defence lawyers, legal scholars as well as representatives of non-governmental and international organizations.
The discussion focused on the most important legal developments related to the implementation of the newly-adopted Criminal, Criminal Procedure and Criminal-Executive Codes as well as the Code of Administrative Offences. The participants also discussed the ways to fill in the gaps in criminal procedure legislation regarding the introduction of plea bargaining, the institute of the investigating judge and release on bail. They examined the recommendations on developing by-laws and regulations as well as commentaries on the criminal and administrative justice codes. Particular attention was paid to the provisions of the new Criminal Code on the fundamental freedoms and human rights, most notably on freedoms of association, expression and opinion, and their compliance with international human rights commitments.
The event is part of the Centre’s long-standing efforts to promote criminal justice system reform in Kazakhstan.