The topical issues of regulation of the legal profession were discussed in Astana

An international conference on the theme: "The topical issues of regulation of the legal profession in the Republic of Kazakhstan" was held today in the "Rixos" hotel. The event was organized by the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court together with the division of the Commercial lawyers "Kazakhstan Bar Association".

The Deputy Head of the Executive Office of the president Talgat Donakov, the chairman of the Supreme Court Kairat Mami, the representatives of state bodies, the international organizations, the NGOs, human rights institutions as well as foreign experts and law scholars took part in the forum.

The purpose of the conference is to discuss bills "On advocacy and legal assistance" and "On introducing changes and additions to some legislative acts on advocacy and legal assistance" prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

The moderator of the event was the Minister of Justice Marat Beketayev. The Chairman of the Supreme Court Kairat Mami and the Deputy Head of the Executive Office of the president Talgat Donakov made a welcoming speech.

In his speech, K. Mami noted that large reforms in the field of law have been carried out in the republic over the past several years. The work of the courts has been radically improved. Justice has become more operative and accessible to the public. On the instructions of the Head of State, a major modernization of the criminal procedural law, including the strengthening of the competitive principle and expanding the rights of lawyers was started. "All this in tandem is aimed at improvement of the work of the rule of law state to ensure the rule of law in accordance with the best international standards," the Chairman of the Supreme Court emphasized.

Further, K. Mami said that in the context of ongoing reforms, the issue of reforming the institution of representation in the courts and the legal profession is especially topical. "Lawyers and jurists should really meet the expectations of the population and provide effective protection in the legal field of legitimate interests and citizens' rights," he noted.

A number of problems that needed to be solved were identified. In particular, the sphere of legal services and assistance is still not transparent and is not well understood for the general public, there is no specialization of lawyers. Despite high fees, there are no legislative guarantees for the quality of the work performed. There is difference in the professional training of lawyers, especially in the regions.

Concluding his speech, the Chairman of the Supreme Court expressed his confidence that the conference will help to remove all the existing misunderstandings of the essence of the forthcoming reforms in the society.

During the conference, presentations were made by Anna Buch, a member of the Association of Lawyers and the Solicitor of England and Wales, Deputy Chairman of the Council of European Bar Associations and Law Societies (CCEE), an expert of the joint program of the European Union and Council of Europe Rytis Jokubauskas. In addition, a senior adviser of the Committee on Legal Cooperation, an expert of the joint program of the European Union and the Council of Europe Oleksandra Sytnik delivered a report. These speakers spoke about the organization of the work of the Advocacy abroad, including the regulation of advocacy in the UK as well as European experience in providing free legal assistance.

The director of the Department of Registration Service and Legal Services of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Baktygul Atagazieva, the chairman of the Republican Bar Association Anuar Tugel, acting chairman of the Kazakhstan Union of Lawyers RPA Serik Akylbai, the president of the Kazakhstan Association of Jurists of the Oil and Gas Industry Zhumageldy Elyubayev, the chairman of the Governing Board of the Board of the Commercial Lawyers Kazbar Aigul Kenzhebayeva and others were further on the program.

During the event, a lively and constructive dialogue was held on all issues outlined in the program. Based on the results of the conference, relevant recommendations were developed to be taken into account in further work on bills.