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OSCE supports further reform of criminal legislation in Kazakhstan

Other News Materials 16 June 2007 12:40 (UTC +04:00)

( OSCE )- The state of the Kazakh criminal legislation and ways to improve it was the focus of a conference that ends here today.

The two-day event marked 10 years since the adoption of the Kazakh Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. It was organized by the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, (ODIHR), and the OSCE Centre in Almaty.

"The search for ways of improving the criminal and criminal procedure is ongoing and now has been intensified in view of the recent amendments to the Constitution," said Kairat Mami, the Chairman of the Supreme Court.

"This will lead to significant changes in the legislation. I am convinced that this forum has provided a unique opportunity to comprehensively discuss such new approaches."

More than 100 participants representing the main criminal justice bodies from all regions of Kazakhstan, as well as the Parliament, national and international NGOs, and experts from Germany, Italy, Russia, and Ukraine took part in the conference.

"The recent transfer of powers to authorize arrest from prosecutors to the judiciary in the Constitution will give a further impetus for criminal justice reform," said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Almaty. "Choosing a right model of judicial authorization that fits the Kazakh criminal justice system will determine the success of this important reform."

Summarizing the outcome of the conference, Vladimir Shkolnikov, the Head of ODIHR's Democratization Department, said: "The adopted recommendations will definitely help to formulate the criminal justice reform agenda in Kazakhstan in years to come."

The conference was co-funded by the Governments of Kazakhstan and Germany, and the OSCE Centre in Almaty.

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