Kazakhstan's Supreme Court issuing first normative resolution on the Administrative Procedure Code

As is well known, the Supreme Court, following an analysis of judicial practice, adopts normative resolutions to ensure that the courts correctly and uniformly apply legal norms.

Since the enactment of the APPC, the Judicial Panel for Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan has issued a number of reviews containing an analysis of judicial practice of various categories of administrative disputes.

On 17 December 2024 the first Normative Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the APPC was published, which regulates the issuance and content of judicial decisions on administrative cases.

This Normative Resolution includes a number of aspects that businesses engaged in a dispute may find quite interesting, which we summarize below:

• More detailed requirements for the reasoning section of the decision are established, specifically stipulating that “the reasoning part of the decision must indicate the evidence on which the court's conclusions are based, with a precise indication of the time interval on the audio- or video recording of the court hearing and/or the volume number and page of the administrative case materials.”
• Clarifications are provided on decisions that may be issued depending on the type of administrative claim. For example, regarding a claim of coercion, the court may compel the defendant to adopt a favorable act in line with the court’s legal position if it finds that refusing to accept such act is unlawful. Moreover, if the court determines that the refusal to adopt an administrative act contradicts the law or violates the claimant’s rights, the court may additionally specify in the operative part of the decision the content of such act and the deadline for its adoption. In this case, the decision replaces the administrative act until it is officially adopted. When considering a claim for recognition, the courts will verify whether the claim substantiates the plaintiff’s legal, material and moral interest in establishing the existence of a legal relationship. It is clarified that claims for the performance of an action may be filed to prevent administrative actions that may occur in the future.
• The right of courts to involve experts in providing explanations has been clarified. For example, in investment disputes, courts may request expert opinions from the International Council of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The legal community is eagerly awaiting the adoption of further normative resolutions on application of the APPC. In particular, the adoption of a normative resolution dedicated to the principles of administrative procedures and administrative court proceedings would be very useful.

If you have any questions regarding the Normative Resolution on judicial decisions on administrative cases, we are happy to advise.