For Immediate Release

Press Release

Astana, Kazakhstan, November 24, 2022 – Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Kazakhstan Rule of Law activity organized a roundtable to discuss the benefits of replacing Kazakhstan's inquisitorial system with an adversarial one. The courts in an adversarial system are an impartial referee between the prosecution and the defense. The activity is implemented by the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI), in cooperation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

More than 50 representatives from the government, including the General Prosecutors’ Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the judiciary, as well as lawyers, local and international experts, discussed challenges and opportunities of adopting an adversarial criminal system in Kazakhstan, as the country begins a transition from inquisitorial investigations to utilizing adversarial criminal justice procedures.

Participants discussed the independence of the courts, the role of prosecutors, lawyers, fair trial requirements and the adversarial criminal procedure at the pre-trial and trial stages. 

Emphasizing the importance of using adversarial criminal procedures, USAID Central Asia’s Acting Kazakhstan Country Coordinator, Gary Robbins, noted: “Adversarial criminal justice is an important factor in building a democratic and just society; as adversarial criminal justice processes make access to justice more efficient, transparent, and fair for all citizens.”

The roundtable will offer  proposals and suggestions to the Supreme Court to implement the “Twenty-four Steps” reform agenda and address the further development of the judicial system to increase public confidence, strengthen the rule of law and ensure an independent judiciary. 

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USAID is the world's leading international development agency and a catalyst for achieving development results. For more information about USAID's activities in Central Asia, visit the Mission website and Facebook page.

ABA ROLI works with partners in 60 countries to build sustainable institutions and societies that promote equity, economic opportunity and human dignity.

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