OSCE supports discussion on role of defence lawyers in criminal procedures in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 28 February 2013 – An OSCE-supported roundtable discussion on enhancing the role of defence lawyers in protecting constitutional rights and freedoms in criminal proceedings was held in Astana today.

The event was organized by the Mazhilis (the lower chamber of Parliament), the Supreme Court, the Republican Collegium of Advocates, the OSCE Centre in Astana, the EU project “Support of Judicial and Legal Reforms in Kazakhstan,” the Legal Policy Research Centre and the Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan. It was held in connection with the ongoing reform of the Criminal Procedures Code in Kazakhstan.

The event brought together high-level state officials, legal experts, lawyers, academics and representatives of international organizations as well as experts from Austria, Estonia, France, Russia and the US. The participants discussed ensuring the equality of parties in a criminal trial, the independence of advocates and the right to defence. Participants also shared good practices with respect to the role of defence lawyers in criminal proceedings, including the collection of evidence by the defence, the regulation of advocates’ access to certain classified cases, motions and other ways to present evidence to the court.

“The OSCE welcomes Kazakhstan’s efforts to reform its Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes, in particular the further development of the institution of defence lawyers,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Astana at the opening of the event. “We would recommend expanding advocates’ rights and strengthening guarantees of their independence in line with OSCE human dimension commitments, and as agreed by OSCE participating States”.

Welcoming the participants, Justice Minister Berik Imashev said: “The protection of citizens’ rights remains one of the main aims of national legal policy in Kazakhstan. We believe the ongoing reform of criminal procedure legislation will take into account the need to further support defence lawyers as the primary providers of legal counselling for citizens.”

As an outcome of the roundtable discussion, a set of recommendations on how to improve the status and the role of defence layers was developed and shared with the relevant state authorities and key decision makers.