At the Fifth Congress of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan, held on November 18, 2009, in Astana, the country's judicial community focused on implementing the long-term objectives arising from the Concept of Legal Policy for 2010–2020.

It is noteworthy that foreign delegations took part in the congress: President of the International Association of Judges José María Bento Campani (Spain), First Secretary of the International Union of Judicial Officers Mathieu Chardon (France), Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Lebedev, Chairwoman of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic Zhanyl Aliyeva, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia Mikhail Gogishvili, and others.

A total of 640 delegates from judicial collectives from all regions of the republic arrived for the forum.

The broad representation of the judiciary, state bodies, and foreign guests made it possible to discuss the progress and achievements of judicial reform in the republic and to outline new priority tasks for the further development of Kazakhstan's judicial system.

Addressing the congress delegates, the Head of State noted that a fair and incorruptible court is the most important foundation of a democratic and rule-of-law state. One of the main achievements of sovereign Kazakhstan is that courts and judges have gained not only formal-legal but also actual independence.

It was emphasized that much has been done for the judicial branch in Kazakhstan, and the people have the right to expect from the judiciary such work in which the court will always be a reliable stronghold of law and justice.

Special attention was drawn to addressing the systemic tasks facing the judicial community: taking measures to increase citizens' trust in the judicial system; continuing work to improve and simplify judicial proceedings; ensuring further specialization of courts and judges; developing a system of judicial administration based on a clear delineation of the functions of the administration of justice and judicial administration. At the same time, the process of improving the judicial system must be accompanied by adequate updating of the relevant laws.

Particular note was made of issues concerning improving the quality of court operations and tightening requirements for candidates for judges. Optimization of judicial proceedings, including the maximum reduction of supervisory instances, was named an important direction. In this regard, amendments were introduced to update the Code of Judicial Ethics, which in its new edition established stricter frameworks for judges' conduct.

To improve the quality of court operations, optimization and simplification of judicial proceedings lie ahead through the maximum reduction of supervisory instances, tightening of requirements for candidates for judges, enhancing their professionalism, and further work on the specialization of courts.

All these measures outlined at the V Congress of Judges contributed to certain achievements of the judicial system in the post-congress period. In particular, the further improvement of the judicial structure and the simplification of judicial proceedings created conditions that eradicate red tape, judicial errors, and violations of legality by judges themselves.

For higher-quality consideration of cases in the appellate instance, steps were envisaged for the specialization of judicial chambers by branches of law. At the same time, a provision was introduced stipulating that judicial acts of the appellate instance enter into legal force on the day they are announced. Now, rendered decisions and verdicts of district (city) courts and appellate rulings may be appealed to the cassation instance of a regional court within six months from the day they enter into legal force.

Cassation proceedings are an independent stage of the judicial process, the essence of which consisted in verifying the legality of judicial acts that have entered into legal force. The cassation judicial chamber was headed by the chairmen of regional courts.

Appellate and cassation proceedings became a mandatory condition for further recourse to the Supreme Court.

At the same time, review of cases by way of supervision was exceptional in nature and only in cases of violation of the constitutional rights of citizens and threats to the national security of the country, for the purpose of further development of law and ensuring the unity of judicial practice. Such fundamental changes allowed the Supreme Court to effectively use its constitutional powers to supervise the activities of local courts.

One of the directions for developing the judicial system during that period was the elaboration of methods for the civilized resolution of private-law conflicts through the introduction of institutions of reconciliation and mediation.

The adoption on August 5, 2011, of the Law "On Mediation" can be regarded for the Kazakhstani legal system as a significant milestone, which demonstrates that the state genuinely promotes the development of civil society institutions and the formation of the foundations of a rule-of-law state.

The establishment of this institution was a direct implementation of the instructions given in 2009 at the V Congress of Judges of the country.

The advantage of the mediation experience successfully applied in many countries was that the conflicting parties gain the opportunity to resolve the dispute taking their interests into account. Unlike a judge, a mediator does not make a decision but gives the parties the opportunity to reach mutual agreement. This method has proven its effectiveness in the field of family-law, labor, and consumer relations, and in juvenile justice.

The issue of raising the level of professionalism of personnel was included among the main areas of work.

Consistent work was carried out, during which measures were taken to improve the mechanism for selecting personnel for judicial positions at various stages, starting with passing the qualification examination, completing an internship at a regional court, and considering the matter at a session of the Supreme Judicial Council.

This made it possible, within the framework of this direction, to revise the issues of computer testing and examination papers for the qualification examination for the position of judge.

Since 2009, in order to use public levers of influence on the formation of a quality composition of judicial personnel, the Supreme Court introduced into practice the publication in local official periodicals and on the internet resources of regional courts of information about candidate interns for the position of judge undergoing internships in courts, as well as about candidates for the position of judge who have submitted applications to participate in the competition for a vacant position of judge of a district court.

Starting in April 2011, information began to be published about candidates submitted for the positions of chairmen and chairmen of chambers of local courts in republican official periodicals and on the website of the Supreme Court.

Along with this, each candidate participating in the competition both for the position of judge of a district court and for the position of judge of a regional court is discussed at a plenary session of the respective regional court. If any negative or compromising information is discovered, the regional courts report this to the Supreme Court.

The direct participation of the public, including non-governmental organizations and professional associations related to the activities of courts, in the selection of candidates for judicial positions contributes to an objective and comprehensive study of the qualities characterizing the personality of a candidate for the position of judge.

JOINING THE IAU

The judicial system in those years came close to international standards. Confirmation of this is the full membership of the Union of Judges of Kazakhstan in the International Association of Judges (IAJ) since September 2011.

In admitting the public organization of judges of Kazakhstan to the ranks of this authoritative body, it was recognized that the country's judicial system had formed together with the state itself. After gaining Independence, the country could not simply preserve the Soviet model, in which the court was built into a unified system of power and depended on executive bodies.

The principle of separation of powers was enshrined in the 1995 Constitution. The court was already assigned an independent role, and the judicial branch was declared independent. The legislative foundations were laid in the constitutional law on the judicial system and the status of judges, and were subsequently repeatedly improved.

The important measures adopted over the years of independence, which were reflected in judicial activity, were positively received. Guarantees of immunity and irremovability of judges were established. The procedure for their selection and appointment changed: instead of the direct influence of the executive branch, competitive procedures and the participation of special bodies, including the Supreme Judicial Council, appeared.

Another important step was the transfer to courts of the right to authorize arrest, so that the decision to deprive a person of liberty would be made by an independent court rather than a prosecutor. Later, the institution of the investigating judge appeared, which controls the legality of actions at the pre-trial stage. Adversariality of the parties and equality of their procedural opportunities became practical principles of judicial proceedings. For grave crimes, jury trials were introduced, which expanded citizens' participation in the administration of justice.

International experts gave an objective assessment of the openness and accessibility of the judicial system. Modern technologies have brought courts closer to the people. Electronic case management, audio and video recording of proceedings, automated distribution of cases, and publication of judicial acts increase transparency and limit the possibility of unlawful influence on a judge.

The Union of Judges of Kazakhstan played an important role in the development of judicial self-government. Particular note was made of measures to introduce the norms and principles of judicial ethics and self-government and to develop ethical standards of judges' conduct.

This success became a landmark event thanks to the measures adopted over the years of independence to improve the position of courts and the effectiveness of their activities, demonstrating that the Kazakhstani judicial community is recognized as professional, independent, and open to dialogue with colleagues from other countries.

The successful resolution of the issue of full membership of the Union of Judges of Kazakhstan in the International Association of Judges had a favorable impact on the further integration of Kazakhstani justice into the global legal system, which positively affected the level of legal protection and well-being of Kazakhstani citizens.

Akmaraл ABDULOVA