Venice Commission backs High Judicial Council reform of Kazakhstan

"The Concept Paper on the reform of the High Judicial Council aspires to ensure independence of judges, raise their professionalism and increase public confidence in them. Most of the proposals formulated therein contribute to these goals, and are in line with the European standards," the document reads. 

However, it is said that the Concept Paper contains some gaps or is not ambitious enough which may risk efficiency of the reform.

The Venice commission states "that the system of recruitment of judges in Kazakhstan is very complex, involves many procedures and different actors, and will certainly benefit from some simplification."

The commission offers "to make the judicial career more attractive for young lawyers, financially or otherwise."

Meanwhile, the Venice Commission recommended not to use lie detectors during qualification exams of judges and clearly distinguish ethical violations and disciplinary offences and more clearly define professional evaluation indicators in the law.

The Venice Commission supposes the document will be approved by the Parliament of Kazakhstan soon.

Kazakhstan joined the Venice Commission in November 2011.