Draft of Kazakhstan’s Court Administration Strategy Presented at Roundtable Discussion

A formal moment featuring Francesco Depasquale, President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), and Eva Konecna, Secretary of CEPEJ-SATURN, engaged in discussion at the Roundtable on Kazakhstan's Court Administration Draft Strategy. (OSCE) Photo details

On 4 October 2024, in a significant step toward reforming the judicial system, the OSCE Programme Office in Astana (Office) and the Court Administration of Kazakhstan convened a roundtable discussion on the draft Strategy for the development of court administration for 2025-2029. This landmark event, following the 9th Congress of Judges, marked the culmination of months of progressively collaborative work aimed at enhancing efficiency, accessibility, and public trust in Kazakhstan's judicial system, in line with host country reform priorities.

The roundtable brought together state institutions, judges, lawyers, civil society representatives, and key international and national experts to review the draft strategy, which was presented by Nail Akhmetzakirov, Head of Court Administration. Participants provided essential feedback on incorporating international best practices, with particular emphasis on ensuring judicial independence and upholding the rule of law. The finalised version will aim at modernizing court administration and fostering public confidence in the judicial system.

The draft strategy has been informed by a series of consultations and activities. The support of the Court Administration baseline analysis in 2022 laid the groundwork for subsequent discussions, including an international roundtable titled "Court Administration for Independent Justice" held in June 2023. This event gathered 100 participants from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Denmark, Great Britain, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan to share experiences and good practices on judicial efficiency, new technologies, access to justice, and modernizing court administration. The conclusions and recommendations from this roundtable were distilled into a compendium of recommendations, serving as a foundation for Kazakhstan's Court Administration draft strategy.

Building on this progress, further sessions in 2024, led by a group of international and national OSCE - supported consultants, focused on strategic planning, human resources policy, and key performance indicator (KPI) alignment. These efforts supported the relevant working group of Kazakhstan's Court Administration in finalising the draft strategy. This series of initiatives signals a transformative period for Kazakhstan's judiciary, setting the stage for an increasingly transparent, efficient, and citizen-centred justice system.

All mentioned activities were organized under the extrabudgetary project of the Office "Improving the effectiveness of the justice system in Kazakhstan" with the support of the governments of the United States of America, Poland, and Norway.

Kazakhstan