Information regarding the regulatory resolution of the Constitutional Court
(№ 56 of 24 December 2024)
Теlegram CС - https://t.me/consot_kz/1069
The Constitutional Court considered the appeal of Kolesnikov V.V. about checking the conformity to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan of subparagraph 3) of part two of Article 434 of the Civil Procedure Code (hereinafter - CPC).
The above norm of the CPC establishes restrictions on the cassation review of judicial acts in cases involving the property interests of natural persons where the amount of the claim is less than two thousand monthly calculation indices. The subject of the appeal considers this restriction discriminatory, depriving him of the right to full judicial protection, considering his property status.
The reason for his appeal to the Constitutional Court was his disagreement with the refusal of the Supreme Court with reference to the above norm of the Code of Civil Procedure to consider his petition for review of the decision of the appeal instance on the claim of Kustaev M.M. on the imposition on the subject of the appeal of reimbursement of expenses on payment for the services of his representative in the amount of 50 thousand tenge. These expenses were incurred by Kustaev M.M. as part of the criminal case against him on the private accusation of Kolesnikov V.V. under part two of article 131 of the Criminal Code (humiliation of the honour and dignity of another person, expressed in an indecent form, committed in public or with the use of mass media or telecommunications networks). The court verdict acquitted M.M. Kustaev.
Previously, the CC in a number of its final decisions noted that the Basic Law, while guaranteeing everyone the right to judicial protection of rights and freedoms and defining the constitutional principles of justice, does not expressly set out the procedure for its implementation. At the same time, the legislator, applying his discretionary powers, must act within the limits of the norms of the Constitution.
In the final decision on the consideration of the present appeal, the CC notes that the legislator may apply reasonable discretion in this matter through the prism of the rule of law within the limits of the Constitution, especially with regard to guaranteed human rights and freedoms. The legislator must find a reasonable balance between accessibility and efficiency of justice. In this regard, the CC draws attention to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 21 November 2024 ‘On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Reforming the Judicial System and Improving Procedural Legislation’, which provides for the deletion of subparagraph 3) of paragraph two of Article 434 of the CPC from 1 July 2027.
At the same time, as the CC points out, possible new ways and procedures at the level of law to check the legality and validity of judicial acts that have entered into legal force, if established, should best meet the constitutional goals of a state based on the rule of law and social welfare and correspond to the task of resolving questions of law that are fundamental to ensuring legal stability, the formation of a unified judicial practice and the interpretation of legislation for the purposes of the rule of law.
Thus, following the review, the CC concluded that the said provision of the CPC is constitutional and, at the same time, considering that the current Code also contains other provisions related to the access of citizens to the court of cassation, recommended the Government to consider the issue of further improvement of the CPC in accordance with the legal positions of the CC set out in the adopted normative decision.