Can Spouses Access Each Other’s Bank Accounts? Constitutional Court to Review the Issue

Теlegram CС - https://t.me/consot_kz

 

The Constitutional Court will consider the issue of spouses’ access to banking secrecy. Based on a petition filed by a citizen, the Court will assess the constitutionality of paragraph 4 of Article 50 of the Law “On Banks and Banking Activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

Under this provision, information constituting banking secrecy may be disclosed only to the client or to a third party with the consent of the account (property) holder.

Applicant’s Position

The applicant contends that the provision effectively deprives one spouse of the ability to obtain information about joint savings and hinders the exercise of the right to a share in the spouses’ common property.

Case Background

According to the petition, while preparing a claim for the division of jointly acquired property following the dissolution of marriage, the applicant was unable to obtain information about the former spouse’s financial savings accumulated during the marriage.

In this regard, she filed a lawsuit against second-tier banks seeking an order to provide the relevant information. However, the court dismissed her claims.

Participants in the Hearing

The hearing was attended by the applicant and her legal counsel, as well as representatives of the Chambers of Parliament, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the National Bank, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, the Ministry of Justice, the Institute of Legislation and Legal Information, and the Institute of Parliamentarism.

Reporting Judge: K.S. Musin

The final decision of the Constitutional Court will be published in accordance with Article 65 of the Constitutional Law on the official website of the Constitutional Court, as well as in the newspapers Egemen Qazaqstan and Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.