Corruption in the judiciary of Kazakhstan – Diplomat

Kazakhstan – like many other countries with a post-Soviet heritage – is struggling with corrosive and widespread corruption. The Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe did so called the level of corruption in Kazakhstan is “severe” and estimates that it is pervasive in many sectors of the country, including the public sector and public institutions. This trend also affects the judiciary in Kazakhstan, to the detriment of the rule of law in the country.

In Kazakhstan, a pattern of corruption cases in the judiciary can be observed. For example, in 2020, the judge presiding over a criminal trial in a bribery case against a government official who had illegally leased a plot of land received a $26,000 bribe in exchange for the official’s acquittal. The corruption came to light when an appeals court overturned the acquittal. A judge was caught red-handed while returning a bribe to a government official.

International Transparency publishes annual results measuring perceptions of corruption for almost all countries in the world. Kazakhstan ranks 93rd out of 180; compared to Kyrgyzstan (141), Tajikistan (162), Turkmenistan (170) and Uzbekistan (121), it performs best in the Central Asian region. On a global scale, next to Kazakhstan there are countries such as India (with India on 93), Belarus (98) and Albania (98).

The Norwegian Anti-Corruption Resource Center U4 has we analyzed corruption trends in Kazakhstan. Such trends include grand corruption, where those in power use their position to extort public funds, and nepotism, where people use their position to give preferential treatment to members of their family, clan, tribe or network. AND a famous example of both types of corruption how former president Nursultan Nazarbayev and his family controlled the property and he gained enormous wealth through corruption schemes. However, corruption in the public sector is also widespread – including in the judiciary.

As of 2021, 30 judges have been held accountable for corruptionresulting in 15 prison sentences, significantly more than in the previous eight years combined. An example is the former president of the District Court in Kustanay, who last year was sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting a bribe of almost PLN 40,000. dollars in 2022 From the end of 2023 three judges in Almaty Oblast and the city of Konayev were also accused of corruption. What’s more disturbing is that in Talgar a judge received a bribe in exchange for changing mandatory medical measures for a person who abused a child.

This problem is not new in Kazakhstan, although it is perhaps more visible due to the larger number of convicted judges than before. In 2012, two judges of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan were sentenced to long prison terms for accepting a $70,000 bribe from a private company to “favorably consider its claim.”

Olga Didenko, a local anti-corruption expert, stressed that much of the corruption in the judiciary goes unnoticed, although bribes are significant and the problem appears to be sector-wide:

Corruption in the judicial system remains a problem and seriously undermines efforts to strengthen judicial independence. Let us remember that the number of identified cases and judges convicted of corruption is much lower than, for example, convicted employees of state law enforcement agencies. However, the bribes are greater and so is the harm to society in such cases of corruption in the judicial system. In 2023, three judges were convicted of accepting bribes to make favorable decisions… But these are only the identified cases that went to court. According to non-governmental organizations, corruption in the judicial system remains high.

The Anticorruption Agency is the body responsible for investigating corruption in Kazakhstan. While the agency is doing a lot of work to address pressing issues, its work will not be successful without law reform. The two easiest ways to overcome corruption in the judiciary are: increase judges’ salarieswhile also removing benefits from the terms of their employment. The independence of judges is closely linked to their income, and the amount of their remuneration should be public and regulated by law. Unfortunately, in Kazakhstan, judges’ salaries are not made public.

According to Kiev’s recommendationsa set of guidelines and recommendations advising on how to maintain the independence of the judiciary in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, recommends the abolition of benefits (such as bonuses and other privileges) for judges and replacing them with higher salaries ensuring judges have a standard of living reflecting the level of responsibility in their profession, to combat the risk of corruption in the sector.

If these pressing issues are not resolved, the rule of law in Kazakhstan will remain at risk and the situation is unlikely to improve.