International acts as part of the current legislation of Kazakhstan: Influence on the country’s social policy

Abstract

The topic is relevant in the light of the current globalisation processes, which promote intensive interaction between international and national norms. This creates a need for a systematic study of this problem. The purpose of this study was to analyse the practice of using international acts as part of the current legislation of Kazakhstan and to investigate the role of international acts in the legal system of the country. To fulfil this purpose, the methods of analysing regulations, the method of comparative analysis of judicial practice, as well as the historical legal method, systemic, and statistical analysis were used. It was found that international acts have a prominent place in the system of national legislation of Kazakhstan, contributing to the adaptation of the domestic legal order to the standards of the international community. The types of international instruments and the level of their implementation in national legislation were examined, together with the ratification procedure. A study of statistical data for the last three years was carried out on the use of international instruments by the courts. According to the results of statistical analysis, it was found that the court of first instance in both civil and criminal cases is the enforcer of international norms, while the courts of appeal and cassation used international treaties in their decisions in isolated cases. A tendency was noted for a steady decline in the use of international treaties in court judgements starting from 2020 to 2022. The analysis of judicial practice showed a restrained use of international acts in court judgements. Such use can be of various kinds, such as purely formal references and the intended use of the norms that justified a particular decision. It was concluded that even the formal use of a norm of an international act in the reasoning part of a judgement is a positive practice of human rights promotion. This study can be used to further improve the mechanisms of incorporation, implementation, and application of international acts in the legislation of Kazakhstan, as well as a more profound understanding of their impact on law enforcement in the context of global changes