LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION
Courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Currently, the judicial system of Kazakhstan consists of district courts and courts assigned equal status; oblast courts and courts assigned equal status; and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The Code of Civil Procedure provides for a three-tiered judicial system comprising courts of original jurisdiction, courts of appeal and courts of cassation.
District courts are subdivided into specialized courts, interdistrict economic courts, interdistrict courts and administrative courts assigned equal status, military courts and interdistrict juvenile courts.
In anticipation of the new Administrative Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan coming into effect from 1 July 2021, there will start to operate new administrative courts, while the existing specialized interdistrict administrative courts will be renamed to courts for administrative offences.
The city courts of Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Chymkent, and the Military Court of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan are assigned an equal status with oblast courts.
Judicial power is exercised through civil, criminal and other forms of proceedings established by law. In the events required by law, criminal proceedings are held before a jury.
As a general rule, matters falling under the jurisdiction of first instance courts are considered by district (city) courts and courts assigned equal status.
However, this rule has a number of exceptions, e.g. the Nur-Sultan City Court, being a first instance court, considers and settles investment dispute cases, except for the cases subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as disputes between investors and government authorities over investors’ activities involving (i) a foreign entity (or a branch/representative office thereof) running business in Kazakhstan, or (ii) a foreign-invested entity incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan fifty or more percent of voting shares/interests/stakes in which are held by a foreign investor, or (iii) an investor holding an investment contract with the Kazakhstan Government.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan considers and settles, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the court of original jurisdiction, the following civil cases:
1) recourse against decisions and actions/omissions of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan and recourse against decisions and actions/omissions of the Central Referendum Commission; and
2) investment disputes one of the parties whereto is a major investor.
The term ‘investment dispute’ means a dispute arising from contractual relations between investors, including major investors, on one side, and government authorities, on the other side, in connection with the investors’ investment activities.
An individual or legal entity whose investments into the Republic of Kazakhstan exceed two million-fold monthly calculation index is classified as a major investor.
Therefore, Kazakhstan has a special jurisdiction for investment disputes which are referred to district courts of Nur-Sultan, the Nur-Sultan City Court and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Specialized interdistrict economic courts consider civil matters in property and non-property disputes between unincorporated sole traders and incorporated companies, as well as corporate disputes.
A corporate dispute is a dispute between a business organization, association (union) of business organizations, association (union) of business organizations and/or sole traders, a non-profit organization having the status of a self-regulating organization in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and/or its shareholders/participants/members, including the former shareholders/participants/ members (“corporate disputes”), in relation to:
1) setup, reorganization and liquidation of a legal entity;
2) ownership of shares in joint stock companies, participation interests in the charter capital of business partnerships, coop shares, encumbrances and rights pertaining thereto, including invalidation of transactions therewith, except for the disputes arising in connection with the division of inherited property or division of community property of spouses which includes shares in joint stock companies, participation interests in the charter capital of business partnerships and/or coop shares;
3) claims for damages caused to a legal entity by certain actions/omissions of officers, founders, shareholders, members and other parties;
4) invalidation of transactions and/or enforcement of implications of such invalidated transactions;
5) appointment or election, termination or suspension of powers and authorities of persons who have been or are members of the legal entity’s management body, as well as disputes related to their responsibilities and liabilities, and disputes arising from civil law relations between such persons and the legal entity in connection with the exercise, cessation and/or suspension of their powers and authorities;
6) issue of securities;
7) maintenance of registers of securities holders reflecting the rights pertaining to shares and other securities, as well as disputes related to placement and/or circulation of securities;
8) official deregistration of shares emission;
9) convocation and conduction of a general meeting of shareholders of a legal entity and resolutions adopted thereby; and
10) appeal against decisions and/or actions/omissions of management bodies of a legal entity.
Specialized interdistrict economic courts also consider the cases connected with the restructuring of financial organisations and non-financial organisations belonging within a bank conglomerate as a parent company, when provided by Kazakhstan laws, and the cases connected with debt restructuring, rehabilitation and bankruptcy of individual entrepreneurs/legal entities and liquidation thereof without bankruptcy proceedings.
Specialized district and administrative courts assigned equal status resolve matters connected with the challenging of resolutions adopted by the government agencies (officials) authorized to resolve administrative violation matters.
Military courts resolve civil matters arising when military personnel of the Armed Forces, other forces and military formations and citizens called for military training challenge actions/omissions of officials and military administration authorities. Military courts may resolve other civil matters if one of the parties to the dispute is a military officer, military administration authority or military unit.
Specialized interdistrict juvenile courts hear and adjudicate civil cases relating to disputes on: determination of the place of residence of minors; determination of the manner of communication between minors and their parents and removal of a child from the custody of other persons; determination of the place of residence of a child leaving Kazakhstan for permanent residence with one of the parents; termination (restriction) or restoration of parental rights; child adoption and cancellation thereof; assignment of minors to special education organizations or special treatment education organizations; custody and care (guardianship) over minors; paternity examination of a minor and recovery of alimony from the father; applications on restriction or deprivation of minors from fourteen to eighteen years old of the right to dispose of their income; recognition of underage children sui juris (emancipation); paternity test and recovery of child support in proportionate or fixed amount; protection of labour and housing rights of underage children; and compensation of damages jointly caused by underage children and full-aged people, including those which involve fully or partially disabled adults.
Civil litigations in a court of original jurisdiction are resolved by a single judge who is acting on behalf of the court.
Matters in courts of appeal and cassation are, usually, resolved by a panel of the judges of the court (at least three) and, in certain cases, by a single judge.
Judgments of a court of original jurisdiction may be appealed with appellate and, in certain cases, with cassation courts.
Judgments of a court of original jurisdiction become effective upon expiration of the term set out for filing an appeal against such judgments, unless they have been appealed.
Generally, complaints and prosecutor’s applications may be filed within one month after the final court judgment.
When a complaint or prosecutor’s application is brought on appeal, the judgment of the court of original jurisdiction (if not cancelled) shall enter into force on the date of the ruling issued by the court of appeal.
Valid acts issued by local and other courts, subject to appellation proceedings, and judicial acts issued by a specialized panel of judges of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan may be reviewed in cassation proceedings by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A cassation petition or protest against a judicial act issued by a local court may be filed within six months from its effective date.
Please note that not all judicial acts may be appealed in courts of cassation.
For example, judicial acts issued in relation to cases closed based on settlement agreements or agreements on dispute/conflict settlement through mediation or participative proceedings, cases connected with property interests of citizens (if the claimed amount is below 2,000 MCIs) and entities (if the claimed amount is below 30,000 MCIs), cases closed due to abandonment of claims, and some other cases are not subject to cassation appeal.
The ruling of a court of cassation enters into force on the date of its reading.
In exceptional cases, a judgment of a judicial panel of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as cassation authority, may be reviewed on the grounds that such judgment may result in severe irreversible consequences to life or health or to the economy and security of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if the issued judgment infringes the rights and legitimate interests of general public or other public interests, or if the issued judgment violates the consistency of interpretation and application of legal provisions by courts.
Effective judgments, rulings and resolutions may be reviewed upon discovery of newly discovered facts and new evidence on the grounds provided for by the Kazakhstan Code of Civil Procedure.
Claims filed with courts of original jurisdiction are charged a state duty at the following rates:
1) for property disputes: 1% of the claimed amount from private individuals and 3% of the claimed amount from legal entities;
2) for non-property disputes – 50% of the monthly calculation index established by the republican budget law for the current year.
Any cassation appeals filed with courts of cassation are also charged a state duty at the rate of 50% of the state duty applicable to non-property claims and, in relation to property claims, at the rate of 50% of the state duty assessed on the basis of the disputed amount. Appeals of judicial acts are exempt from state duty.
At any stage of civil proceedings, as well as at the stage of judicial act enforcement, parties are afforded the opportunity to settle their dispute through an amicable agreement or any other agreement provided for by Kazakhstan civil procedure rules.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan has implemented an electronic court room project ensuring mobile, transparent and accessible judicial service.
The electronic court room is a ‘single window’ access to all electronic services provided by Kazakhstan courts through which mooters can file with Kazakhstan courts any claims, responses thereto, appeal or cassation petitions, and any other procedural documents in digital form.
To make such filing procedure legal the Kazakhstan civil procedure legislation was introduced certain amendments allowing for electronic filing of claims and other procedural documents.
In the event of a failure to voluntarily enforce a court judgment, the procedure of compulsory enforcement by authorized government bodies (local divisions of the Committee for Enforcement of Judicial Acts of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Departments for Enforcement of Judicial Acts for Oblasts and the cities of Nur-Sultan and Almaty, and private bailiffs acting within certain areas) will apply.
Private bailiffs undertake to enforce any of the executive documents provided for by the Kazakhstan Law On Enforcement Proceedings and the Status of Bailiffs of 2 April 2010, except the following:
1) recoveries from the government;
2) recoveries from a legal entity fifty or more percent of voting shares/ interests/stakes in which are held by the government or its affiliates;
3) recoveries from natural monopolies and companies dominating a commodity or service market;
4) recoveries in favour of the state, if the recovered amounts exceed thousands of MCIs;
5) forfeiture on property or assignment of property in favour of the state; and
6) eviction, quartering, demolition, land seizure and other proceedings conducted on behalf of the state.
Executive documents issued with regard to the aforementioned cases are enforced by public bailiffs.
When enforcement of a judgement is performed by a private bailiff, the bailiff’s fees are paid from the funds recovered from the debtor and the fee rates range between 3% and 25% of the recovered amount or property value depending on the category of a case and the recovered amount. Kazakhstan law provides for administrative and criminal liability for a gross failure to enforce a court judgment.
In Kazakhstan all procedural activities of courts and enforcement proceedings are regulated primarily by the following legal acts:
- Code of Civil Procedure of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 377-V of 31 October 2015;
- Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 231-V of 4 July 2014;
- Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Enforcement Procedure and Status of the Court Enforcement Officials No. 261-IV З of 2 April 2010;
- Penal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 234-V of 5 July 2014; and
- Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 235-V of 5 July 2014.
Arbitration
General Information
Arbitration is a widely used alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The main advantages of arbitration over court include (i) confidentiality of proceedings, (ii) time and cost effectiveness, (iii) integrity and impartiality, (iv) choice of arbitrators, rules, language, venue and governing law, and (v) enforceability of arbitration awards in 168 jurisdictions.
In Kazakhstan, arbitration procedure is regulated by Arbitration Law No. 488-V of 8 April 2016 (the “Arbitration Law”). Kazakhstan has acceded to many international conventions concerning international commercial and investment arbitration, in particular: (i) New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958, (ii) European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration 1961, and (iii) Washington Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention).
Kazakhstan arbitration courts can be permanent or ad hoc, i.e. arbitrations set up for resolution of certain disputes. A permanent arbitration court may be created by a citizen and/or legal entity in compliance with Kazakhstan law. An ad hoc arbitration court is created by contesting parties for the resolution of their dispute, and operates until the ultimate settlement of such dispute or referral of the arbitration to court adjudication.
The Arbitration Chamber of Kazakhstan was established in 2016 in the form of a not-for-profit voluntary association of permanent arbitration courts and arbitrators called to facilitate, promote and support arbitration activity in Kazakhstan.
The exact number of Kazakhstan permanent arbitration courts is unknown but, to the best of our knowledge, the figure hovers around 40 or 50.
Arbitrators and arbitration panels called to resolve disputes referred thereto must be independent in their decision-making and rule out any interference in their work on the part of government authorities and other organisations, unless otherwise provided for by the Arbitration Law.
Arbitration Agreement
Any dispute may be referred to arbitration, provided that parties thereto have an arbitration agreement in relation to the dispute which has already arisen or may arise between the parties in connection with particular civil relations.
When a dispute has already been referred to court, the parties thereto may sign an arbitration agreement prior to the relevant court judgment, in which case the court issues ruling to dismiss the application without prejudice.
Different types of arbitration agreement:
1) arbitration clause, i.e. a section of a contract that deals with the parties' rights and options in the event of a legal dispute over the contract and provides for the referral of a dispute to arbitration;
2) arbitration agreement, i.e. a separate agreement between the parties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not, in a certain area of activities; and
3) arbitration memorandum, i.e. a separate (from the master contract) memorandum between the parties to refer the dispute which has already arisen between them to arbitration.
An arbitration agreement, irrespective of its type, is a civil contract regulated by the general provisions of the Kazakhstan Civil Code applicable to any civil transactions/ deals.
An arbitration clause, even when incorporated into the body of the master contract, is deemed to be a free-standing agreement with its own legal fate. The abrogation or amendment or invalidation of an arbitration clause, per se, does not result in the termination or amendment or invalidation of the master contract and, vice versa, the master contract metamorphoses do not exert any effect on the arbitration clause.
An arbitration agreement to resolve a dispute in (i) a contract the terms of which were determined by a party thereto in a predetermined or another standard form which could be accepted by the other party only through the accession to the proposed contract in its entirety (accession agreement), or (ii) a loan agreement between a commercial organisation and a citizen (other than a sole trader), - is deemed to be valid only if such contract is executed after the cause of action arises.
An arbitration agreement must be executed in a written form or another form which would be deemed akin thereto, in particular:
1) exchange of various documents (including electronic documents and documents identifying the parties and the essence of their intents) between the parties; and
2) exchange of statements of claim and defence in which a party claims the existence of such agreement and the other party does not object thereto.
Any reference in a contract to a document that determines the procedure for referral of a dispute to arbitration would also be deemed as an arbitration agreement if the contract is executed in writing and the arbitration agreement is incorporated therein by reference.
An arbitration agreement may be terminated by consent of the parties the same way as it was executed. An arbitration agreement may not be terminated at the sole discretion of either party.
Competence of Arbitration
Any disputes arising out of the following civil relations between citizens and/or corporations may be referred to arbitration by mutual consent of the parties:
1) property relations; and
2) personal non-property relations.
Arbitration does not have jurisdiction over the following disputes:
1) any disputes arising out of personal non-property relations and not associated with property relations whatsoever;
2) any disputes affecting the interests of underage persons;
3) any disputes affecting the interests of persons duly recognised as fully or partially incapacitated;
4) any disputes connected with rehabilitation or bankruptcy;
5) any disputes between natural monopolies and their customers;
6) any disputes between government agencies; and
7) any disputes between quasi-government organisations.
Besides, arbitration court may not consider disputes between natural persons and/or legal entities of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on one side, and legal entities in which at least fifty percent of voting shares/interests are directly or indirectly held by the government, on the other side, without a prior written consent of the relevant sector authority (when a dispute relates to state property) or local executive authority (when a dispute relates to municipal property).
When a dispute arbitration needs the involvement of a government agency/authority such dispute must meet the following criteria:
1) the dispute must fall under the auspices of civil arbitration [a government agency/ authority may enter into civil relations either (i) on its own behalf (e.g. agreements for sale and purchase of office furniture or facilities, vehicles, stationery, etc.), or (ii) on behalf of the Government [when the relations arise in the area of subsoil use or borrowings];
2) the other party to the dispute must be a citizen and/or corporation; and
3) the disputing parties must have an arbitration agreement [when the other party to the dispute is a Kazakhstan citizen and/or corporation, they must, in pursuance of Article 8.10 of the Arbitration Law, obtain a prior consent of the competent authority].
Arbitrators
Any individual who (i) is not directly or indirectly concerned or interested in the outcome of the case, (ii) is not affiliated with the parties, (iii) has granted their consent to the performance of arbitrator’s duties, (iv) has reached the age of 30, (v) has a university degree, and (vi) has at least 5-year experience in the relevant occupation, - may be chosen/appointed as an arbitrator.
When a dispute is resolved by a sole arbitrator, such arbitrator must have a diploma in professional legal practice. When a dispute is resolved by a number of arbitrators, at least the presiding arbitrator must have a diploma in professional legal practice.
The parties may agree to appoint arbitrators from among either Kazakhstan citizens or foreign nationals or stateless persons.
Certain additional qualification requirements to arbitrator candidates may be determined either by the parties themselves or by the rules of the permanent arbitration court.
None of the following individuals may be chosen/appointed as an arbitrator:
1) an individual who has been chosen or appointed as a judge in accordance with the Kazakhstan statutory procedure;
2) an individual who has been duly recognised as fully or partially incapacitated;
3) an individual who has unexpunged or unspent convictions;
4) a civil servant, member of Kazakhstan Parliament or deputy of maslikhat who performs his duties on a rolling or full-time basis and who is compensated out of the national budget; and
5) a military servant.
Arbitration Costs
The costs of arbitration include:
1) fees of the arbitrators;
2) expenses incurred by the arbitrators in connection with their involvement in arbitration proceedings, including the expenses for transportation to the venue of the arbitration, accommodation and meals;
3) fees of engaged experts and translators/interpreters;
4) expenses incurred by the arbitrators in connection with the in-situ review and examination of documentary and material evidence;
5) expenses incurred by witnesses;
6) fees of the winning party’s attorney payable by the losing party; and
7) expenses for organisational and logistical support of arbitration proceedings.
A permanent arbitration court determines arbitrators’ fees on the basis of the schedule set out in the rules of such permanent arbitration court.
In an ad hoc arbitration court, arbitrators’ fees are determined either by an agreement between the parties or by the ad hoc arbitration court itself in accordance with the rules thereof.
An arbitration court allocates arbitration costs between the parties either in accordance with the relevant agreement between the parties or pro rata with satisfied or dismissed claims.
Setting Aside an Award
An arbitral award is final and is not subject to substantive review. An award may be set aside on any of the following grounds: (i) procedural irregularities, (ii) no arbitration agreement, (iii) non-arbitrability of a dispute, or (iv) infringement of public policy. An award may be set aside in Kazakhstan only if such award was issued by a Kazakhstan arbitration court.
All grounds for setting aside arbitration awards may be subdivided into two categories, in particular:
1) (i) an application from a party to the arbitration proceedings claiming that the arbitral award relates to a matter neither covered nor regulated by the relevant arbitration agreement; (ii) a party to the arbitration proceedings has been adjudged incapable, or the arbitration award is legally invalid under the governing law chosen by the parties or, if such governing law has not been chosen by the parties, under Kazakhstan law; (iii) a party to the arbitration proceedings has failed to furnish their explanations to the arbitration panel due to the lack of a proper notification of an arbitrator appointment or the arbitration proceedings or otherwise; (iv) the arbitration panel or arbitration procedure conflicts with the agreement between the parties; (v) there is a final and effective judgment/award/ ruling/ determination with respect to the dispute between the same parties, on the same subject and for the same causes that adjudicates/awards/rules/ determines to close the proceedings due to the withdrawal of the plaintiff’s claims; and
2) there is a court ruling which states that the arbitration award violates public policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, or that the dispute in relation to which the award was issued may not be the subject of arbitration under Kazakhstan law.
“Public policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan” means the fundamental principles of the legal system enshrined in Kazakhstan legislative acts. The public policy reservation may not be applied merely for the reason of differences between the political and economic systems, but it may be applied when the laws of a foreign jurisdiction contravene the fundamental principles of the Kazakhstan legal system and can produce legal effects inadmissible from the perspective of Kazakhstan justice.
A motion to set aside an award should be filed with a court in the manner prescribed by the Kazakhstan Code of Civil Procedure within one month from the date of receipt of such award by the party filing the motion. When considering a motion to set aside an award or a denial of a writ of enforcement, the court is not allowed to substantially review the arbitration award.
Enforcement of an Arbitration Award
An arbitration award is deemed to be binding and, upon filing of a written petition for enforcement thereof, must be enforced in accordance with the Kazakhstan Code of Civil Procedure.
The general rule is that an arbitration award is final and is not subject to substantial review. Therefore, a writ of enforcement may be denied only on the grounds set out in Article 57.1 of the Arbitration Law which can be subdivided into two categories that are, in principle, consistent with the grounds provided for by the New York Convention.
The first category of the grounds relates to various procedural legal facts or sets of facts the presence or absence of which may be used as the grounds for denying recognition or enforcement of an arbitration award. The second category relates to factual assessment circumstances underlying an arbitration award that may be used as the grounds for denying recognition of an arbitration award. The list of the grounds is deemed to be exhaustive.
Foreign arbitration awards are enforced in Kazakhstan in accordance with the national law of civil procedure. In particular, Article 504 of the Kazakhstan Code of Civil Procedure provides that a writ of enforcement shall be issued or denied in the manner prescribed by Chapter 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure which regulates the enforcement of awards issued by Kazakhstan arbitration courts.
Kazakhstan International Arbitration Court
We recommend that our clients in choosing an arbitration court refer their disputes to the Kazakhstan International Arbitration Court (IAC).
The IAC is a leading arbitration court in Kazakhstan and throughout the Central Asian region who deals with the resolution of disputes not only under Kazakhstan law but also under the laws of jurisdictions chosen by contesting parties.
The IAC is presided by a leading Kazakhstan scientist, LL.D., member of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor M.K. Suleimenov who guided the development of the Kazakhstan Civil Code.
The IAC has 172 highly skilled arbitrators, 80 of which are Kazakhstan nationals and 92 are foreign experts from Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Czechia, China, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Italy, India, Japan, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Russian, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, UAE, USA and Uzbekistan.
The overwhelming majority (71%) of disputes resolved by the IAC arbitrators involve foreign corporations from Australia, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Belarus, Belgium, British Virgin Islands, China, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Lichtenstein, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, South Korea, Switzerland, UAE, United Kingdom, USA, and other.
The parties applying to the Kazakhstan International Arbitration Court are recommended to use the below standard arbitration clause in their contracts and agreements. Contesting parties may agree to refer a dispute to arbitration even when such dispute is being considered by a national court, unless it has been adjudicated already.
"Any dispute and/or disagreement arising out of or in connection with this contract/agreement are subject to final resolution by the Kazakhstan International Arbitration Court in accordance with its Rules currently in force.
The Arbitration Court shall consist of [one/three] arbitrators.
The place of the arbitration proceedings shall be __________________ (please specify the place).
The language of the arbitration proceedings shall be ___________ (please specify the language).
This contract/agreement is governed by the substantive law of _________________________ (please specify the jurisdiction)."
Astana International Financial Centre Court
Recently, in pursuance of the Constitutional Law On Astana International Financial Centre of 7 December 2015, Kazakhstan launched the Astana International Financial Centre (the “AIFC”) which is a territory within the city of Nur-Sultan, with limited borders and a special legal regime determined by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The AIFC Court is one of the AIFC’s bodies which is separate and independent from the Republic of Kazakhstan judicial system.
The AIFC Court consists of two tiers: a Court of First Instance, which includes a specialist division known as the Small Claims Court; and a Court of Appeal.
The Chairman and judges of the AIFC Court are appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in consultation with the Governor of the AIFC.
Currently, the AIFC Court is staffed mainly by former UK judges having extensive experience in dispute resolution.
The AIFC Court does not have jurisdiction in respect of criminal and administrative proceedings and has exclusive jurisdiction in relation to:
1) hearing and adjudicating on any disputes between AIFC participants, AIFC Bodies and/or their foreign employees;
2) hearing and adjudicating on any disputes relating to operations carried out in the AIFC and regulated by the law of the AIFC; and
3) hearing and adjudicating on any disputes transferred to the AIFC Court by agreement of the parties.
The AIFC Court rules provide for a small claims procedure which envisages expedited and simplified process for the review of claims the value of which does not exceed US$150,000.
The AIFC Court operations are regulated by the Resolution of the AIFC Management Council On the Court of the Astana International Financial Centre based on the principles, legislation and precedents of the law of England and Wales and the standards of leading global financial centres.
Besides, in adjudicating disputes, the AIFC Court is bound by the acting law of the AIFC and may also take into account final judgements of the AIFC Court in related matters and final judgements of the courts of other common law jurisdictions.
Decisions of the AIFC Court of Appeal are final and not subject to appeal, and are binding on all natural and legal persons.
Any lawyer all over the world may represent parties to a dispute tried in the AIFC Court.
Decisions of the AIFC Court are to be enforced in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the same way, and on the same terms, as decisions of the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To enforce a decision of the AIFC Court, a translation of the decision into the Kazakh or Russian language, in accordance with the procedure determined by AIFC Acts, is required.
The official language of the AIFC is English to be used in all AIFC-regulated areas of public relations throughout the entire territory of the AIFC.
Accordingly, all legal proceedings in the AIFC are conducted in English and, if requested by parties, are translated into Kazakh or Russian.