Newsroom
OSCE welcomes opening of judiciary training institute in Kazakhstan
ALMATY 26 March 2002
ALMATY, 26 March 2002 - The OSCE Centre in Almaty welcomes the official opening of the judiciary training institute. The Center sees the establishment of the institute under the Supreme Court as a great step forward in Kazakhstan's efforts to improve the court system of the country.
The OSCE has always underlined the importance of the independence of the judiciary and the professionalism of judges, since the court system is one of the key institutions of every democratic state. The judges must ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law, and their professionalism is indispensable for economic development and, consequently, for a sound investment climate.
In this spirit of the OSCE's Moscow Document of 1991, the Centre in Almaty and OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have worked together with the Kazakh Supreme Court in the past. The OSCE supported a number of seminars and organized a study trip to a similar centre in Bulgaria for several staff members of the institute in 2001. It also helped with the acquisition of books and computers for the institute.
The OSCE Centre in Almaty wishes the new institute success and hopes that it will contribute to the ongoing reform of the judicial system in Kazakhstan.
The Moscow Document of 1991 contains the following obligations:
"(19) The participating States
(19.1) - will respect the internationally recognized standards that relate to the independence of judges and legal practitioners and the impartial operation of the public judicial service including, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(19.2) - will, in implementing the relevant standards and commitments, ensure that the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed and enshrined in the constitution or the law of the country and is respected in practice, paying particular attention to the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, which, inter alia, provide for
(iv) ensuring that judges are properly qualified, trained and selected on a non-discriminatory basis."
The OSCE has always underlined the importance of the independence of the judiciary and the professionalism of judges, since the court system is one of the key institutions of every democratic state. The judges must ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law, and their professionalism is indispensable for economic development and, consequently, for a sound investment climate.
In this spirit of the OSCE's Moscow Document of 1991, the Centre in Almaty and OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights have worked together with the Kazakh Supreme Court in the past. The OSCE supported a number of seminars and organized a study trip to a similar centre in Bulgaria for several staff members of the institute in 2001. It also helped with the acquisition of books and computers for the institute.
The OSCE Centre in Almaty wishes the new institute success and hopes that it will contribute to the ongoing reform of the judicial system in Kazakhstan.
The Moscow Document of 1991 contains the following obligations:
"(19) The participating States
(19.1) - will respect the internationally recognized standards that relate to the independence of judges and legal practitioners and the impartial operation of the public judicial service including, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(19.2) - will, in implementing the relevant standards and commitments, ensure that the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed and enshrined in the constitution or the law of the country and is respected in practice, paying particular attention to the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, which, inter alia, provide for
(iv) ensuring that judges are properly qualified, trained and selected on a non-discriminatory basis."