Kazakhstan becomes a platform for global dialogue: judges from the constitutional courts of 30 countries around the world exchanged experiences in the field of rule of law and legal supremacy
The International Conference “Constitutional Justice: Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All” was held at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, dedicated to the Constitution Day of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Zhienbayev read the greeting from the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the participants, organizers and guests of the international conference.
The head of state emphasized that constitutional justice is one of the most important elements of a democratic society, serving as a guarantor of the protection of citizens' rights and freedoms.
“Symbolically, the conference is taking place on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a foundational document for the entire world. The Declaration emphasizes the need for broad cooperation in the protection and promotion of the human rights. Kazakhstan fully shares this approach”, - the welcoming telegram stated.
The platform for dialogue brought together judges from the constitutional courts, representatives of the ombudsman's office and human rights organizations from more than 30 countries around the world including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The event was attended by the leadership of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, government officials, the members of the Parliament, the Prosecutor General, the Commissioner for Human Rights, representatives of professional legal and academic communities, as well as representatives of international organizations such as the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), UN, OSCE, EU, Council of Europe, German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), European Court of Human Rights and others.
The event was opened by the welcoming speech of Elvira Azimova, the Chairperson of the Constitutional Court. She congratulated on the Constitution Day of Kazakhstan and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She emphasized that common goal and main topic for discussion of today’s conference is to find proportional, stable and peaceful balance between the interests of the state, society and the individual, as well as ensuring such law supremacy that addresses modern challenges and protects the individual and their rights inherent from birth. “The bodies of the constitutional control, ensuring the supremacy of the Basic Law, stand guard over these rights and freedoms of individuals and citizens”, - added Azimova.
During the conference current issues on the role of constitutional control in promoting the values in protecting human rights and freedoms were discussed.
Azimova emphasized that currently, due to the opportunity for citizens to directly appeal to the Constitutional Court and challenge the legality of legal acts, the Kazakh constitutional control body has reviewed the constitutionality of around 40 legal norms, where 7 of them were recognized as unconstitutional and 13 corresponding to the Constitution in the interpretation of the Constitutional Court.
Moreover, within the framework of the conference, a solemn ceremony took place for the cancellation of postage stamps dedicated to the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the launch of the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan. The special postal stamp was used for further release into circulation by JSC “Kazpost”.
For information:
In total, the Constitutional Court received 4050 citizens' appeals.
3779 appeals were returned to the citizens due to non-compliance with the requirements for the form, content and conditions of appealing to the Constitutional Court.
27 Normative Resolutions were adopted by the Constitutional Court, 21 of which were based on citizens' appeals.
Currently, 142 appeals are under review, including:
13 appeals were accepted for constitutional proceedings.
16 appeals are under preliminary examination by the judges.