The Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting on modernization of the judicial system.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his speech that the state, despite the pandemic, continues to modernize the judicial system. The ongoing reforms should mobilize new qualified professionals in the industry and ensure fair justice. Such measures are taken primarily to strengthen public confidence in the courts. In turn, courts and court procedures must meet modern requirements and protect the rights of citizens, businesses and investors. Now, according to the President, it is necessary to ensure the real implementation of these new norms and to eradicate bureaucracy in the activities of the courts.
“The president of the Supreme Court has repeatedly reported to me that judges under the same conditions often make different decisions. Such doubtful cases should not be allowed. This causes a negative reaction in society, information is spread that all courts are corrupt. To ensure the uniformity of judicial practice, it is necessary to use the possibilities of normative decisions of the Supreme Court and reviews of judicial practice.
You should also use the analysis based on IT services. Courts in the course of criminal proceedings should not look back at the investigating authorities.
A conviction cannot be passed if the public prosecutor does not prove the guilt of the defendant in court. Obviously, if the judges show adherence to principles, pre-trial investigations will be carried out efficiently. And the rights of citizens who have been prosecuted will certainly be protected," the Head of State emphasized.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reminded the participants of the meeting that people are at the center of all reforms. Therefore, judicial procedures should be clear to everyone.
A person-centered approach should form the basis of the activities of administrative justice, introduced from July 1, 2021. As a result, the system of work of the state apparatus with citizens should radically change. The professionalism of judges plays a key role in the success of the reform.
“In last year's Address, I instructed to make the selection process for new judges transparent and open. Citizens have the right to know who becomes a judge and for what merits. This issue must be resolved without delay. The most important task of the Supreme Judicial Council is to promptly provide courts with highly qualified personnel. At the same time the Supreme Court needs to analyze the reasons for staff turnover. The judicial profession should attract professional lawyers," the President said.
The Head of State described corruption as one of the main factors undermining confidence in the judicial system. In the last five years alone, 17 judges have been brought to justice because of corruption. The corruption facts in the Turkestan regional court, where the chairman of the board and the judge of the regional court were convicted, caused a wide public resonance.
"A scandalous case happened the other day. A judge of the Supreme Court with 30 years of experience, a former member of the Supreme Judicial Council, and a judge of the district court were detained. This incident is known to everyone, it received a wide negative response. I think that the leadership of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme court must learn the necessary lessons and draw the necessary conclusions. Over the past five years, by the decision of the Judicial Jury, 29 judges were dismissed from their posts for committing disciplinary misconduct. In general, it is clear that there is an active cleaning of the ranks of the judiciary. This process cannot be stopped in any case. We need to change the negative image of a judge that has developed in people's minds. All judges must become the embodiment of legality, incorruptibility and professionalism. This is the only way we can build a legal state and a just society," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The President also raised the problem of interaction between civil servants and entrepreneurs.
"I believe that illegal interference in business affairs by the state apparatus and all other persons, which caused serious damage to entrepreneurs, should be equated with a grave crime. It is urgently necessary to formalize this in legislation," the Head of State noted.
The President also spoke about the proposal of the Supreme Court to introduce the principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction. The essence of this idea is that a less busy court will be selected for the consideration of disputes by a special IT program, regardless of its territorial location. In other words, it will be possible for the plaintiff and the defendant to be in one region, and the court in another, but for this there must be the consent of the parties.
“Obviously, this will become an effective tool against corruption and evenly distribute the burden on the courts throughout the country. The work of the courts during the pandemic has shown certain advantages of remote consideration of cases. This is a considerable saving of time and resources for participants in court proceedings. In general, the proposal for extraterritorial jurisdiction is relevant, but requires deep study. It is necessary to work out all the details, take into account all the risks," the President believes.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also talked on the issue of using new judicial IT services. According to him, the courts are obliged to apply all the achievements of modern technologies, conservative approaches are inappropriate here. At the same time, it is necessary to continue to keep pace with the times, actively introducing demanded technological solutions.
"The offered IT-services will allow to form an integrated knowledge base. In particular, by referring to it, the judge will be able to see the decisions of colleagues in similar cases. This will avoid the adoption of an incorrect judicial act. The advantages of IT technologies should be felt by the participants in the process. For this, it is necessary to open access to the IT services of the judicial system to all interested parties. This is a really difficult task. Of course, in compliance with the requirements for confidentiality of information," said the Head of State.
The President instructed to work out in detail a new forensic IT service that contains elements of artificial intelligence. On the basis of the large array of judicial acts introduced, it will be able to predict the likely outcome of the case. Consideration must be given to the risk that incorrect jurisprudence will provoke an incorrect prognosis.
During the event, the Chairman of the Supreme Court Zhakip Asanov, the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Entrepreneurs of Kazakhstan Rustem Zhursunov also made reports.
Before the meeting, the President was familiarized with information systems and new IT services, which the Supreme Court began to use in its work.
By the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda
