Status: de facto abolitionist

Legal Framework

An amendment of 21 May 2007 to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan abolished the death penalty in all cases save for acts of terrorism entailing loss of life and for especially grave crimes committed in wartime. The Criminal Code needs to be amended in accordance with this constitutional amendment, as it provides that the following 10 offences carry the death penalty: murder with aggravating circumstances; terrorism; attempt on the life of a person administering justice or preliminary investigations; attempt on the life of the president; state treason; sabotage; planning, preparation, or conduct of aggressive war; use of prohibited means and methods of conducting war; genocide; and mercenary participation in armed conflict.

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Status: de facto abolitionist

Legal Framework

An amendment of 21 May 2007 to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan abolished the death penalty in all cases save for acts of terrorism entailing loss of life and for especially grave crimes committed in wartime. The Criminal Code needs to be amended in accordance with this constitutional amendment, as it provides that the following 10 offences carry the death penalty: murder with aggravating circumstances; terrorism; attempt on the life of a person administering justice or preliminary investigations; attempt on the life of the president; state treason; sabotage; planning, preparation, or conduct of aggressive war; use of prohibited means and methods of conducting war; genocide; and mercenary participation in armed conflict. The death penalty is also envisaged for eight military crimes committed in time of war.(Articles 96 (2), 156 (2), 159 (2), 160, 162 (4), 165, 167, 171, 233, 340, 367 (2), 368 (3), 369 (3), 373 (3), 374 (3), 375 (3), 380 (3), 383 of the Criminal Code, 1998) The Criminal Code provides for alternatives to the death penalty.

Moratorium

In December 2003, a presidential decree placed a moratorium on executions until the full abolition of the death penalty.(Presidential Decree No. 1251 “On the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, 17 December 2003) Subsequent amendments to the Criminal Code provide for the suspension of all executions while the moratorium is in place and set out the status of those individuals who are subject to the moratorium. Everyone who is subject to the moratorium has the right to appeal to the Clemency Commission for commutation of their sentences.(Article 49 of the Criminal Code; Article 166(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code)

Method of execution

Shooting (Art. 49 of the Criminal Code; Art. 167 of the Criminal Execution Code, 1997. The death penalty cannot be executed until one year after all appeals have been exhausted)

Statistics

Death sentences

According to official statistics provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, three individuals were sentenced to death by first-instance courts during the period from 30 June 2006 to 30 June 2007. These convictions are not final, as all appeals stages have not been exhausted. The sentences were applied in cases of deliberate deprivation of two or more lives with aggravating circumstances.

Executions

None

International Safeguards

Pregnant women and minors

Women and individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime cannot be sentenced to death.(Art. 49 (2) of the Criminal Code. This article also stipulates that the death penalty cannot be applied to men who are over the age of 65 at the time the sentence is pronounced)

Fair-trial guarantees

On 11 January 2005, after his visit to Kazakhstan, the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers noted with concern the dominant role prosecutors continue to play in the entire judicial process, which results in a very low number of acquittals, around 1 per cent.(Report of Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, Mission to Kazakhstan, 11-17 June 2004, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2005/60/Add.2) The special rapporteur called for legislative changes to reduce prosecutors’ dominant role throughout the judicial process and to secure, in both law and practice, a balance between the respective roles of prosecutors, defence lawyers, and judges. He also urged the national authorities to ratify the Optional Protocol on the abolition of the death penalty.(Ibid)

Pardon or commutation

All individuals sentenced to death have the right to appeal for commutation of their sentence to life imprisonment or 25 years’ imprisonment.(Art. 49 (3) of the Criminal Code; Art. 31 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code; and Art. 166 (1) of the Criminal Execution Code) Appeals are initially considered by the Clemency Commission. The cases of all individuals sentenced to death are considered regardless of whether the convicted individual submits an appeal for clemency.(Presidential Decree No. 2975 “On provisions for pardoning procedure by the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, 7 May 1996)

Relatives

Relatives are not informed in advance of the date of execution, the body is not returned, and the place of burial is not disclosed to the relatives until at least two years after the burial has taken place. (Art.167 of the Criminal Execution Code)

Relevant International Instruments

Updated: 2007

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