Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 18 February 2016 No. 198 “On the Establishment of the Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan»

In accordance with paragraph 7 of Article 18 and Article 38-2 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 25 December 2000 “About the Judicial System and the status of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, I DECREE:

1. To form the republican state enterprise “The Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan” (hereinafter – the Academy).

2. To give the Academy a special status of a higher educational institution.

3. The main areas of activity of the Academy to determine:

1) implementation of educational programs of postgraduate education;

2) implementation of retraining, advanced training of judges and judicial system employees;

3) implementation of scientific activities.

4. The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan in collaboration with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

1) ensure the transfer of the property of the Institute of Justice of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Academy;

2) take other measures resulting from this Decree.

5. Approve the attached amendments and additions to some decrees of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

6. Control over the implementation of this Decree shall be entrusted to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

7. This Decree shall enter into force from the date of signature.

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan                                                                                           N.A. Nazarbayev

In Kazakhstan, special attention has always been paid to judicial education. Professional development of judges since 1959 was conducted by the Ministry of Justice, and from 1994 to 1997 by the Kazakh State Law Academy.

The beginning of the formation of a special educational institution was in 2001. The Institute for Advanced Training of Judges and Judicial System Employees under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan was founded By the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1557 dated 4 December 2001. The Institute was headed by the ex-chairman of the Supreme Court of the Kazakh SSR, and then of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Doctor of Law, Professor Tamas Kalmukhambetovich Aitmukhambetov. The Institute started functioning on January 1, 2002, where about 300 judges took advanced training courses in the first year.

As a result of the reorganization, the Institute was conferred  the status of a Judicial Academy under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 1008 dated 30 September 2003. Later, in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 31 May 2005 No. 1583 “On measures to further improve the training, retraining and advanced training of personnel of government agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, it began to function as an Institute of Justice as part of the Academy of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In May 2015, the National Plan-100 concrete steps to realize the five institutional reforms of the Head of State N. Nazarbayev was published, the 18th step of which provided for the separation of the Institute of Justice from the structure of the Academy of Public Administration in order to strengthen the relationship between training and judicial practice and its functioning under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In pursuance of the National Plan, on February 18, 2016, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 198, the republican state enterprise “The Academy of Justice under the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan” was established, which was granted a special status of a higher educational institution.

The Presidential Decree defines the main activities of the Academy:

1) implementation of educational programs of postgraduate education;

2) implementation of retraining, advanced training of judges and judicial system employees;

3) implementation of scientific activities.