September 30, 2026 – An international panel discussion titled “Professionalization of Legal Representation and the Development of Free Legal Aid Institutions” was held via videoconferencing at the V.M. Lebedev Russian State University of Justice (RSUJ). The event took place under the Action Plan of the CIS Member States’ Base Organization for Training, Retraining, and Advanced Qualifications of Judicial Personnel.

The Republic of Kazakhstan was represented at the international forum by Professors of the Academy of Justice under the High Judicial Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Candidates of Legal Sciences Ruslan R. Sultanov and Yerzhan O. Yegemberdiyev.

Delivering a keynote presentation on “Judicial Representation in Kazakhstan: Balancing Access to Justice and Professional Standards,” the Kazakh delegates shared national insights and raised several critical practical issues, including:

• Enhancing the quality and accountability of legal service provision;
• Preventing and curbing the abuse of procedural rights;
• The permissibility and boundaries of utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in drafting statements of claim and legal positions;
• Technical and legal challenges surrounding the participation of parties in online court proceedings.

During the discussion, participants from CIS member states examined contemporary models and qualification requirements for legal representatives, alongside the balance between legal service professionalization, confidentiality protections, and ensuring broad public access to legal aid.

The exchange of expertise among CIS legal scholars enabled the formulation of unified approaches toward refining legal representation institutions and identified prospective avenues for further inter-institutional cooperation.