Ongoing activity for improving the professional level of judges

At the VI Congress of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan the President announced the necessity to improve the system of selection, education and training of judicial personnel.

Supreme Court and other judicial educational institutions take measures to improve the professionalism of the judicature of the country.

One of the forms of continuing judicial education of judges is refresher courses at the Institute of Justice of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan.

Courses are organized in accordance with the schedule and curriculum of extension courses for judges. Training for judges is mandatory every five years throughout the work. The curriculum of extension course is approved by the Rector of the Academy in consultation with the Chairman of the Supreme Court. The improvement of training programs is underway.

Thus, the schedule and course curriculum of training of judges and the judiciary in 2014 take into account of specialization of judges for more effectively forming groups of students. There is also a separate program for the training of judges, specialized in economic courts. It is also taken into account, that freshly appointed judges are in greater need of training on the application of theoretical knowledge in practice, acquiring of skills, mastering professional technique of cases, litigation, drafting legal documents, formed separate groups of students, that consist of newly appointed judges, who having served for up to 1 year.

Since 2011, the Supreme Court implemented a form of professional development of working judges, such as distance learning via videoconferencing with regional and equivalent courts. Topics of video lectures are designed for judges’ training needs. Distance learning technologies allow judges to attract the maximum number of listeners without departure from the place of their residence.

The internship in the higher courts for judges is established in order to improve the professional skills of judges. Internship is carried out once every three years. In this case, the judges of the district level have two-week internship in the regional court, and the judges of the regional courts in the same period in the Supreme Court. The Chairman of the Chamber approves the plan of internship, which includes the identification and analysis of current problems of existing legislation and judicial practice, litigation to review the cases, the discussion of the reasons for cancellations and changes in judicial acts, acquaintance with the jurisprudence of certain categories of cases.

One of the basic principles of judicial education is the continuity of the educational process. Therefore, professional development must start from the probation of candidate for the position of judge. At present, the enhancement of efficiency of internship is under way in courts of future judges. The participation of judges is planned in seminars, round tables, trainings and other educational events, organized by the local courts.

At the VI Congress of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan it was noted that personnel of judicial system must be formed primarily from among undergraduates of Institute of Justice.

In order to have the advantage in the appointment, undergraduates must have the best training of all competitors.

Currently, the measures for improving the level of training of future judges in specialized MA courses are being developed for fulfillment of assigned tasks. It is planned to build a learning process so that starting from the second year of study, graduates have practice in courts. Practice program must include participation in court hearings, drafting of judicial acts, and case study for certain categories of cases.

Such an organization of the educational process will allow undergraduates to consolidate the theoretical knowledge on timely basis.