OSCE Issues Judicial Report
OSCE Issues Judicial Report
New OSCE recommendations for making judicial proceedings in Kazakstan more open and fair have missed an opportunity to focus on political bias in trials, according to NBCentralAsia experts.
On February 23, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, released a report on criminal proceedings in Kazakstan after having monitored the judicial system for a year. Its recommendations include working towards international standards for fair trials, ensuring a balance between prosecution and defence, and giving the public access to trials.
The OSCE rapporteurs noted that court proceedings are currently shrouded in secrecy, and commented on the imbalance in outcomes where 99 per cent of cases end in a guilty verdict.
The report contains several recommendations for technical improvements such as removing the courtroom cages where defendants are held, so as to psychologically uphold the presumption of innocence, and abolishing the need for outsiders to obtain a pass before attending a trial.
Kairat Mami, the chairman of Kazakstan’s Supreme Court, has welcomed the report, saying he is confident that the judicial system is independent.
Yevgeny Zhovtis, who heads the Bureau for International Human Rights in Kazakstan thinks the OSCE’s recommendations are fair as far as they go, but fail to address what he calls “the essential problem” – the judiciary’s vulnerability to government pressure.
“Above all else, courts should be freed from political influence. At the moment, the executive has unspoken, unofficial control over the judiciary,” he said.
NBCentralAsia political observer Andrey Chebotarev noted that judges are appointed by the Kazak president, who consults the Supreme Judicial Council and the Justice Certification College – both of which include government representatives.
“The main reason why something is wrong with our judicial system is its dependence on the executive,” Chebotarev said.
Kazakstan is hoping to chair the OSCE in 2009 and a final decision on its bid will be made at the end of this year.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On February 23, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, released a report on criminal proceedings in Kazakstan after having monitored the judicial system for a year. Its recommendations include working towards international standards for fair trials, ensuring a balance between prosecution and defence, and giving the public access to trials.
The OSCE rapporteurs noted that court proceedings are currently shrouded in secrecy, and commented on the imbalance in outcomes where 99 per cent of cases end in a guilty verdict.
The report contains several recommendations for technical improvements such as removing the courtroom cages where defendants are held, so as to psychologically uphold the presumption of innocence, and abolishing the need for outsiders to obtain a pass before attending a trial.
Kairat Mami, the chairman of Kazakstan’s Supreme Court, has welcomed the report, saying he is confident that the judicial system is independent.
Yevgeny Zhovtis, who heads the Bureau for International Human Rights in Kazakstan thinks the OSCE’s recommendations are fair as far as they go, but fail to address what he calls “the essential problem” – the judiciary’s vulnerability to government pressure.
“Above all else, courts should be freed from political influence. At the moment, the executive has unspoken, unofficial control over the judiciary,” he said.
NBCentralAsia political observer Andrey Chebotarev noted that judges are appointed by the Kazak president, who consults the Supreme Judicial Council and the Justice Certification College – both of which include government representatives.
“The main reason why something is wrong with our judicial system is its dependence on the executive,” Chebotarev said.
Kazakstan is hoping to chair the OSCE in 2009 and a final decision on its bid will be made at the end of this year.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
