Kazakhstan’s legal system classifies as a Romano-Germanic (continental) system of law. The basic law having the highest legal force is the Constitution adopted in 1995 at a national referendum. The law currently in effect in Kazakhstan is the regulations of the Constitution, the Constitution-compliant laws and other regulatory legal acts (“RLAs”), international treaties, and regulatory resolutions of the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Court. The international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan prevail over the national legislation and apply directly, unless the international treaty requires a special act to be issued in order for the treaty to apply.
Practically all forms and stages of doing business in Kazakhstan are legally regulated. A large number of derivative acts (regulations, technical regulations, rules and instructions), which are mandatory and binding, are in effect alongside with the principal RLAs (Constitution, codes, laws, Government decrees, orders, etc.).
The local legislation lacks stability: acts of all levels (legislative and subordinate) are being revised and amended on a regular basis. The major factors triggering the substantial revision and amendment of the Kazakhstan legislation are currently Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO, the country’s plans to join the OECD, further implementation of the strategy “Kazakhstan 2050,” Plan of the Nation “100 Concrete Steps” to implement five institutional reforms, program of modernizing Kazakhstan’s national identity “Rukhani Zhangyru,” “Digital Kazakhstan” program dated 12 December 2017, strategic plan of developing the Republic of Kazakhstan until the year 2025, and the need to attract investments into economy, as those have dwindled due to the investment legal regime deterioration over the past fifteen years.
On 11 January 2022, the President Tokayev presented the new composition of the Kazakhstan Government at the extraordinary meeting of the Kazakhstan Parliament in connection with declaring the state of emergency in the country and resignation of the Government as a result of large-scale protests and subsequent events. The President concurrently gave certain instructions to the Government intended to change the social and economic policy of the state. In September 2022, the President announced specific steps on the country’s political and economic transformation. In view of the above, the Government is currently reviewing the current legislation and we expect subsequent legislation amendments intended to introduce the announced changes. Kazakhstan’s law application and enforcement practice cannot boast uniformity. Same-level courts can issue different, sometimes contrary, judgments in similar disputes. This may to a certain extent be explained by the fact that, formally, judicial precedent is not the source of law in Kazakhstan. In practice, the provisions of RLAs often find different, sometimes mutually contradicting interpretation by different governmental agencies. Currently, Kazakhstan legislation is going through the stage of harmonization with the unified supra-national legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union. The past several years witnessed the adoption of a large number of international treaties establishing the unified principles of governmental agencies’ work and commercial activities regulation in the Union’s territory.
