Within the framework of the Basic law

I remember the days when the Constitution was written yesterday...

The situation in the economy and society is extremely difficult. Huge increase in crime. Racketeering, banditry, smuggling. Crime openly divided the spheres. Businessmen and ordinary people were killed by order. They were stealing cargo from trains and military warehouses.

The main task at that time was to protect people and protect the country. And people pinned great hopes on the new Constitution of the country at that time. It raised the spirit of the people, there was a clear reference point-where and how to move our Kazakhstan.

In ' 95, I worked in the Presidential Administration. Every evening, the Head of state gathered security forces and conducted a tough "debriefing". He personally led the fight against crime. We in his apparatus, as they say, only "brought shells".

As a result, thanks to The President's determination since then and to this day, the rates of murders, serious harm, and robberies at the same time have been decreasing from year to year. But in the world, the security of the country is measured by these crimes.

Moreover, Kazakhstan has ceased to be a country of prisons. According to the prison index, we are out of the top three in the world. And now we are ranked 68th. The number of convicts over these years has decreased from 100 thousand to 35 thousand people!

It is obvious that it is becoming safer to live and work in our country.

As for the Prosecutor's office, the Constitution first gave us Supreme supervision. At the same time boundless. We were obliged to detect any violations. And then we threw all our strength into testing. We checked everything: government agencies, schools, kindergartens, businesses.

I must say that at that stage of development, this was a justified measure. After all, mass violations were almost everywhere – in medicine, education, etc. But gradually we began to replace government agencies, became super-visors. And as a result, we were not enough in the criminal process. Although that's where we were most needed.

This year was a fateful one for the Prosecutor's office. At the initiative of Elbasy, for the first time we changed article 83 of the Constitution, which clearly defined our three main functions. This is the highest supervision, representation of the state in court, and criminal prosecution on behalf of the state. At the same time, the supervision is not as before - vast, but strictly within the limits outlined by the Basic law. It requires the Prosecutor's office to focus on the most sensitive issues for society and people.

Now, on behalf of the President, we are also working to modernize the criminal process. The head of state has set a clear goal for us – to look at it through the eyes of people, to be equal to the basic principles of developed countries.

The new Criminal procedure code has been in force for 2.5 years. And many of its key institutions have taken root well. The same ERDR (unified register of pre-trial investigations). Thanks to it, there are no mass shelters as before. The same is true for the Institute of investigative judges. They are now appealing any action, decision of the investigator and Prosecutor.

But there is still a lot to develop. Historically, we have an uneven balance between prosecution and defense in criminal proceedings. The investigation of cases is complex, long, and costly. A lot of bureaucracy. This is expensive for the budget. Not to mention the hundreds, thousands of people involved.

There are claims from the society to the state prosecution. The reason is that the Prosecutor does not take an active part in the investigation. Not knowing the nuances of the case, the Prosecutor unconditionally accepts the investigator's version, approves the charge and sends the case to the court.

However, now, as I have already said, a group created under the Presidential Administration is working on this. The situation is changing under the current CPC. Processes become fast and economical. After all, obvious criminal cases that were previously investigated for months are now brought to court in a maximum of a week. And this is 70% of all police cases.

At the same time, in many police buildings, the Ministry of internal Affairs makes transparent interrogation rooms with video recordings. And relatives can watch the course of the interrogation. But this is not the only innovation. As part of the President's Address on the introduction of universal digitalization in Kazakhstan, the law enforcement sphere is gradually being transferred to a digital format. We believe that this will solve many problems.

By the way, a center for law enforcement services was recently opened in the General Prosecutor's office. It operates as a PSC, and provides about 50 types of services. We are also creating similar centers in the regions.

Of course, we have many plans and ideas. And we are ready to discuss them. The doors of the Prosecutor's office are open to everyone.

...Our Constitution has absorbed the wisdom of our entire history, the spirit of our ancestors. It contains the most progressive world experience in building a legal and democratic state. I am sure that its potential will serve for the benefit of the people and our country for centuries to come. I wish all of us peace, harmony and prosperity!

 

Zhakip Asanov, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan

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