Court press officers in Kazakhstan attend OSCE-supported training seminar

ASTANA, 18 June 2015 – An OSCE-supported training seminar to build the capacity of the court system’s press services in public outreach at the central and regional levels began today in Astana.

The two-day event co-organized by the Office in Astana, the Supreme Court and the International Foundation for Freedom of Speech Adil Soz brought together some 30 court press service representatives, media experts and legal specialists from across the country.

Participants will discuss media relations and interaction between court press services and journalists reporting on judicial issues, most notably in view of the communications strategy developed by the Supreme Court and draft legislation on access to information currently under discussion in Kazakhstan’s parliament.

An OSCE expert along with national media and legal specialists will share best practices in communications between the courts and media, propose ways of responding to legal cases that draw public attention and help court press officers improve their practical skills in delivering public presentations, preparing press releases and other means of communications with mass media.

“Close interaction with journalists and editors, accessibility and openness of spokespersons, their high professionalism, including in-depth knowledge in the area that they help to cover, serve to enhance the credibility of the whole system, improve the image of the judiciary that they represent and contribute to practical implementation of the access to information principle,” said Ambassador Natalia Zarudna, Head of the OSCE Programme Office in Astana.

Akyltay Kasimov, the Chair of the Supervisory Judicial Board on criminal cases of the Supreme Court said: “Today, information transparency is one of the priorities of the Supreme Court, especially in the context of the five institutional reforms outlined by President Nazarbayev. This principle is intended to show that the courts in Kazakhstan are working in accordance with the world standards and effectively ensure the rule of law. Press services should build an effective dialogue with the public and discuss the problematic aspects in the work of the judiciary”.

The event is part of the Office’s activities aimed at promoting access to information and freedom of the mass media.