Kazakh, international experts to discuss issues of strengthening the role of the lawyer in the framework of the EU-funded project
ASTANA. February 28. KAZINFORM Today, the EU-funded project (2010-2013) "Support to Judicial and Legal Reform in the Republic of Kazakhstan" is co-organising an international roundtable together with the Supreme Court, the Republican Collegium of Lawyers, the Committee for legislation and judicial and legal reforms of the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, as well as with the OSCE, LPCR and the Soros Kazakhstan Foundation, Kazinform refers to the press service of EU Delegation to Kazakhstan.
This seminar will bring together deputies, judges, prosecutors and lawyers in order to discuss the role of the Lawyer in the code of criminal procedure, and, in particular, such issues as the status of the lawyer, his/hers rights and duties, the equality of arms, the collection of evidences, the principle of advertorial proceedings, the lawyer and the jury-trial.
While speaking at the opening of the seminar, Ambassador Aurelia Bouchez, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Kazakhstan, stressed that "the right to a fair trial, which is an indispensable element of the rule of law, is enshrined in Articles 14 and 16 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) which has been ratified by Kazakhstan in 2006. The principle of fair trial is based on the concept of the equality of arms of the prosecution and the defence in court. As part of Kazakhstan's ongoing judicial reforms, we welcome all efforts which strengthen the role of the defence lawyers in Kazakhstan's criminal justice system".
This seminar is especially relevant and important in light of the on-going amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. From the side of the Project, the European expert Mr Richard Sedillot and the Russian Expert Mr Sergey Pashin will participate and deliver speeches during the seminar.
The project "Support to Judicial and Legal Reform in the Republic of Kazakhstan" is being funded by the European Union to the sum of 3.4 million Euro. It is implemented by the international consortium led by the Paris-based JCI with ICON (Germany) and Louis Berger (France).