Prospects for probation in Kazakhstan’s criminal justice system discussed at OSCE-supported conference

ASTANA, 28 March 2011 – Parliamentarians, government officials, civil society representatives and academics discussed the necessary legal and institutional framework for a probation system in Kazakhstan at an OSCE Centre conference that began in Astana today.

The focus of the conference was a draft law developed by the Ministry of Justice to introduce a probation service to Kazakhstan’s criminal justice system. Participants were able to familiarize themselves with the draft law on probation for the first time and make recommendations for improvements.

"The Republic of Kazakhstan is following a path of reform in humanizing its penal legislation and bringing it in line with the practice of OSCE participating States. In this regard, the discussion on establishing a probation service in Kazakhstan may lead to the further improvement of the entire penal and correctional-rehabilitation system," said Jeannette Kloetzer, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

"The future development of the criminal-executive system should recognize the primacy and inalienability of human rights and liberties as the highest social value protected by law," added Amirkhan Amanbayev, the Vice-Minister of Justice. "The establishment of a probation service should meet international requirements; it should not only carry out alternative sentencing, but also provide social support to those convicted."

"Probation in many countries is used as the primary alternative to incarceration,” added Sultan Kusetov, the Chairman of the Justice Ministry’s Committee for the Control of Penitentiaries. “Establishing a full-fledged system of probation in Kazakhstan that is in line with international standards and which will provide supervision and social support to convicts is a pressing issue for Kazakhstan’s penitentiary system."

The conference was organized in partnership with the Committee for the Control of Penitentiaries under the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Policy Research Centre and Penal Reform International’s office in Central Asia.