Information regarding the regulatory resolution of the Constitutional Court
(№ 45 of 29 May 2024)
The Constitutional Court considered the Prosecutor General's request for interpretation of the provision of a normative decision previously issued by the Constitutional Council (paragraph 6) regarding the interpretation of the constitutional norm on the competence of the Prosecutor's Office to represent the interests of the State in court when exercising supreme supervision over the legality of pre-trial investigations (6 March 1997, No. 3).
The Constitutional Court is the legal successor of the Constitutional Council, according to the Constitutional Law ‘On the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan’.
The appeal of the Prosecutor General for additional interpretation of the earlier decision of the constitutional control body is related to the issue of the possibility of participation of the prosecutor at the stage of consideration by the investigating judge of the materials of the pre-trial investigation on the authorisation of covert investigative actions, inspection, search, seizure, personal search, seizure of property, forced examination, etc.
The Constitutional Court pointed out that, unlike the prosecutor's office, another state body, acting as a party in court, defends the validity of its decision or performs other actions prescribed by law on behalf of the state, i.e. represents the interests of the state within its competence. Whereas the peculiarity of constitutionally defined areas of activity of the prosecutor's office in court proceedings is that it is called upon to represent the interests of the state in a comprehensive manner, including in cases where there may be violations of constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen as a result of the activities of individual officials of state bodies.
Along with the interpretation of paragraph 6 of the Constitutional Council's decision in force today, the Constitutional Court recommended that the Government, the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General's Office and other interested state bodies should further consider the issues of improving the legal regulation of the activity of the investigative court and achieving a fuller realisation of the constitutional functions of the Prosecutor's Office at the stage of pre-trial investigation in order to ensure the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen.