On December 17, 2025, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed Law No. 241 "On Introducing Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Issues of Administrative Justice, Rulemaking, and Organization of Legal Assistance."

Amendments and additions have been made to a number of legal acts, but we will focus on certain changes related to administrative justice.
This Law expands the scope of administrative proceedings and transfers certain categories of disputes from the Civil Procedure Code to the Administrative Procedural Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Specifically, the said Law has excluded Chapter 30 from the Civil Procedure Code, which regulated proceedings in cases challenging the legality of a regulatory legal act.
This means that individuals and legal entities who disagree with regulatory legal acts may now challenge their legality not through civil proceedings, but through administrative proceedings.

Article 135-1 of the APC provides for a new type of administrative claim—challenging the legality of a subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions).
According to this article, in a claim challenging the legality of a subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions), the claimant may seek to have the subordinate regulatory legal act declared inconsistent with the law (except for the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan) in whole or in part.

Under the Law "On Legal Acts," subordinate regulatory legal acts are regulatory legal acts that are not legislative acts and are issued on the basis of and/or in execution of and/or for the further implementation of legislative acts and other higher-ranking regulatory legal acts.

These may include acts adopted by local executive bodies and officials of the region on the basis of and in execution of laws and acts of higher legal force (for example, resolutions of the regional akimat, decisions of the maslikhat).

The deadline for filing such a claim is set at three months from the date when the claimant became aware of the violation and/or possible violation of their rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan by said act (Part 3-1, Article 136 of the APC).

Claims may be filed by individuals and legal entities to whom the regulatory legal act applies, as well as by the prosecutor in the event that a protest against a subordinate regulatory legal act that does not comply with the law is rejected.

A mandatory condition for filing a claim regarding disagreement with a regulatory legal act is to specify in the claim exactly which legal provisions the contested act contradicts, how it violates or may violate the rights and legitimate interests of the claimant, and, in the case of its official publication, to indicate the date of publication, and which articles or provisions of the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan (except for the Constitution) the contested subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions) contradicts.

A period of one month after the completion of case preparation for judicial consideration is provided for the consideration of a claim challenging a regulatory legal act. The preparation period is 20 working days from the date the claim is accepted for court proceedings.

Filing a claim with the court does not suspend the effect of the subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions), except in cases where the prosecutor files a claim with the court to declare the protested subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions) unlawful before the court's consideration.

Furthermore, recognition of the claim by the defendant and withdrawal of the claim by the claimant are not subject to acceptance. That is, once a claim is filed, even if the claimant subsequently wishes not to proceed with the substantive consideration, the court will in any case consider the claim on its merits in order to provide an assessment of the regulatory legal act.

When considering the case, the court examines the competence of the defendant and the compliance of the subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions) with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The burden of proof lies with the authorized body or official that adopted the contested subordinate regulatory legal act.

According to Article 159-1 of the APC, if the claim is granted, the court shall state in its decision which laws (except for the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan) and in what part the contested subordinate regulatory legal act contradicts, and shall declare the subordinate regulatory legal act invalid in whole or in part from the date of its adoption.

The court decision declaring a subordinate regulatory legal act (or its provisions) unlawful, or a notice thereof, must be published in the media at the expense of the body that adopted (issued) it. Publication must be carried out no later than ten calendar days from the date the court decision enters into legal force.

The court decision granting the claim is binding on an indefinite circle of persons to whom it applied, including the defendant.

If a regulatory legal act does not comply with the provisions of the Constitution, then in such a case the individual must apply to the Constitutional Court, as these matters do not fall within the jurisdiction of specialized administrative courts.

Mariash ZHAMALIYEVA,
Judge of the Specialized Inter-District
Administrative Court of Kostanay Region