COUNTERING CORRUPTION BY CRIMINAL LAW MEANS Mitskaya, Elena V.

Abstract

Despite a comprehensive fight against corruption, Kazakhstan, having achieved progressive and radical changes in legislation during the years of independence, has not yet been able to achieve significant results in the fight against corruption. The current increase in the number of corruption-related criminal offences, including on the part of high-ranking officials, heads of a number of Kazakh companies, is due to a stronger political will on the part of the head of state to resolutely oppose corruption. This desire allows to pay attention to criminal law measures, which occupy an important place in the complex of measures to combat the systemic vice of the state, which threatens national security. This study is devoted to assessing a possible correction of the Criminal Law of Kazakhstan to strengthen the fight against corruption by criminal law measures. Particular attention is paid to the problematic and unexplored introduction of new legal constructions into the criminal law. The author makes a reasonable conclusion that for a more effective implementation of anti-corruption policy it is necessary to remove the restrictive understanding of the subject of the bribe by property benefit only, to enshrine unjustified enrichment, thus eliminating the limited repressive power of criminal law on corruption manifestations. At the same time, it is proposed to use the domestic resources of criminal law to combat corruption, and appropriate proposals are made to amend the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan. The proposed changes, in the author's opinion, allow one to hope that they will ultimately serve the useful purpose of Kazakhstan's anti-corruption policy and also open the ground for an informed discussion on further anti-corruption efforts.