Almaty roundtable focuses on introduction of jury trials in Kazakhstan

ALMATY, 17 March 2005 - Over 80 Kazakh and foreign experts today discussed the practical and theoretical issues regarding the introduction of jury trials in Kazakhstan at a roundtable in Almaty, co-organized by the OSCE.

The participants considered two legislative proposals on juries, one proposed by the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan and the other by the working group of the National Commission on Democracy and Civil Society under the President. Recommendations from the meeting were due to be submitted to the Parliament and the Government.

Russian experts, including a prosecutor, judges, attorneys and scholars, shared their experience of jury trials since they were introduced in 1993.

"Their experience provides many good examples of how jury trials can contribute to building a better system of justice, such as putting into practice true equality of arms, which provides equal opportunity for parties in the judicial process," said Cynthia Alkon, Head of the Rule of Law Unit at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Discussion about the choice of a jury trial model in Kazakhstan has been dynamic and vigorous, said Alkon: "We are happy to continue to assist in the discussion about what model of jury trial will best protect the rights of the citizens of Kazakhstan."

Participants discussed the need to fully implement the Constitutional provisions by introducing jury trials, the historic roots of lay participation in traditional Kazakh society, independence of jurors as a means to ensure adversarial proceedings and equality of arms, the role of defence lawyers and the prosecutor in jury trials.

The event was jointly organized by the ODIHR and the OSCE Centre in Almaty, the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan, the Ombudsman's Office and the Union of Advocates. It was supported by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden and Norway.