OSCE Centre supports discussion on introducing plea bargaining into Kazakhstan’s criminal justice system

ALMATY, Kazakhstan, 26 March 2012 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on prospects for introducing plea bargaining into Kazakhstan’s planned Criminal Procedure Code was held in Almaty today.

The need for a gradual introduction of plea bargaining within the framework of the new Criminal Procedure Code was stipulated by the government’s Legal Policy Concept of Kazakhstan for 2010-2020.

The event brought together some 50 parliamentarians and representatives of the Presidential Administration, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Constitutional Council and the judiciary, as well as representatives of the bar association and academia. Local non-governmental organizations and international organizations took part as well.

International experts from France and Estonia presented national practices with respect to applying plea bargaining, while representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Offices of Georgia, Ukraine and the Russian Federation shared their experience with introducing plea bargaining and further developing criminal procedural legislation.

“The Centre provides assistance to the host country in implementing its Legal Policy Concept for 2010-2020. Promoting dialogue between the authorities and nongovernmental organizations on a new Criminal Procedure Code is an important part of the Centre’s work to support the modernization of the country’s legal system,” said Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana.

“With the rise in crime and the increased need for the more cost-intensive procedures required by due process, law enforcement agencies around the world are gradually making the principle of judicial economy a priority. However, at the same time it is crucial to maintain a balance between due process procedures and procedural economy. We hope this balance will be reflected in Kazakhstan’s new Criminal Procedure Code.”

“The simplification of criminal procedure by introducing plea bargaining will contribute to the development of a more effective and efficient criminal justice system in Kazakhstan,” added Marat Tazhin, Presidential Adviser and Secretary of Kazakhstan’s Security Council.

The event, which was jointly organized by the OSCE Centre in Astana, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the NGO Charter for Human Rights and an EU project that provides support for judicial and legal reform, complements the OSCE Centre’s activities to foster democratic legal reforms in Kazakhstan.