The Member of the Supreme Judicial Council Yerlan Aitzhanov during his interview for the program «Prime Time» on the «24KZ» TV channel spoke about the formation of cassation courts, criteria for the selection of judges and measures for its modernization

The Member of the Supreme Judicial Council Yerlan Aitzhanov during his interview for the program «Prime Time» on the «24KZ» TV channel spoke about the formation of cassation courts, criteria for the selection of judges and measures for its modernization.The creation of cassation courts has become a key direction of the judicial reform initiated by the Head of the State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and announced by him at the IX Congress of Judges. The President emphasized that the staff of these courts should be formed from among the most experienced judges.
Under the leadership of the Chairman of the Council Dmitriy Malakhov, unprecedented and diligent work was carried out on selecting candidates for judges of the cassation courts, in the framework of which 75 out of 334 candidates were recommended. During the selection process practical experience, judicial experience, the quality of the administration of justice, impeccable reputation, as well as other criteria provided by a multi-stage and phased system for evaluating candidates were took into account.
Yerlan Aitzhanov noted that such personnel policy makes it possible to form a truly professional staff of judges, capable to ensure the effectiveness of the cassation instance and strengthening citizens' trust in the judicial system.
On behalf of the Chairman Dmitriy Malakhov, the system of training and selection of judges was significantly modernized. The frequency of qualifying exams has been increased from 4 to 12 times a year, and the duration of all stages has been reduced from 1.5 years to 3 months.
The requirements for candidates have been tightened, including additional checks on databases of law enforcement and special agencies.
The qualification commission meetings now are held 4 times a month instead of previous one in two months, that allowed 125 candidates to pass successfully all stages of the qualification exam in the first six months of 2025 (for comparison, 73 for the whole of 2024).
In addition, the number of competitions for judicial positions has been increased from 2 to 6 per year, and their duration has been reduced from 6 to 2 months.
The Member of the Council stressed that the work of the Supreme Judicial Council is based on the principles of openness, transparency and objectivity. The Council is focused on improving the personnel policy, ensuring an honest and competitive approach to the selection, evaluation and promotion of judges. This creates a professional judicial corps and helps to strengthen public confidence in the judicial system.