On February 12, the Ecological Society “Green Salvation”, the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, and the Nationwide Public Association “Shanyrak” issued a complaint to the Appellate Board on Civic Affairs for the Astana City Court. The complaint was submitted in connection with the fact that, on January 30, the judge of the Almaty District Court of Astana City decided that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the… Specialized Interregional Economic Court of Astana City!
At a press conference on January 27, 2009, the plaintiffs reported that the lawsuit was filed on June 19, 2008 in the interests of the village of Berezovka (Western Kazakhstan Oblast). For nearly half a year and under various pretexts, Astana’s city courts—including the Specialized Interregional Economic Court—refused to accept the lawsuit. However, on December 11, 2008, the Board on Civic Affairs of the Astana City Court satisfied the plaintiff’s complaint and issued a decision to review the lawsuit on its merits in the Almaty District Court of Astana City.
The trial session took place on January 30, 2009. At the assigned time, the judge proceeded to review the case, verified the authority of the parties, heard their explanations on the merits of the lawsuit, received the plaintiffs’ petition to call in the General Public Prosecutor, and then retreated to the deliberation room to decide upon a verdict. But instead of a verdict, the judge issued a determination to return the lawsuit to the plaintiffs, stating that the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Specialized Interregional Economic Court!
Disagreeing with the judge’s determination, the plaintiffs submitted a complaint to the Astana City Court, with the request:
– to rescind the judge’s determination as an illegal decision, handed down without consideration of the circumstances of the case, and in violation of the December 11, 2008 decision from the Board on Civic Affairs of the Astana City Court;
– to require the judge to review the case on its merits and to issue a verdict in accordance with the requirements of the law.
Information on future case developments will be published on our website.
Translated by Michelle Kinman.