The Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan held a meeting chaired by Maulen Ashimbayev, Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Deputies reviewed a number of industry-specific laws and ratified international agreements.
During the meeting, the deputies reviewed and approved the Law "On Amnesty in Connection with the Adoption of the New Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan," as well as the accompanying laws "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Enforcement Proceedings and the Status of Bailiffs and the Prevention of Offenses" and "On Amendments and Additions to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offenses."
"The package of laws approved today was developed in pursuance of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's directive to implement criminal and administrative amnesties in connection with the adoption of the new Constitution. The laws define the categories of cases that will be dismissed or citizens will be exempted from punishment. Sentences will be reduced in a number of categories. It is important to note that this administrative amnesty will be the first in our country's history. The laws approved by the Senate are an important step toward embracing the humanistic and progressive values of the Basic Law in our society," the Senate Speaker noted.
Deputies also ratified a number of international agreements, including the Laws "On the Withdrawal of the Reservation and Declaration of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of Specialized Agencies" and "On the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Regime of the Kazakh-Uzbek State Border." Senators also approved the Laws "On the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the UN on the Establishment in the Republic of Kazakhstan of the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan" and "On the Ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the UN regarding the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan." These documents are aimed at creating a legal basis for the implementation of joint programs in the areas of sustainable development, climate resilience, inclusive economic growth, social policy, and humanitarian cooperation, focused on the needs of the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan.
"Kazakhstan is consistently strengthening cooperation with United Nations agencies. In recent years, at the initiative of the Head of State, long-term international projects in this area have been implemented. One of these is the creation of the UN Regional Center for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan. The Parliamentary Commission for Monitoring the Implementation of National Sustainable Development Goals and Targets also makes a significant contribution to this work. The special center established in Almaty is important for the sustainable development of countries in the region. We hope that the steps taken will contribute to strengthening regional cooperation," said Maulen Ashimbayev, commenting on the laws.
The next set of questions concerned the consideration of relevant laws on gas supply and electricity, digitalization and personal data protection, road traffic and the regulation of advanced transport technologies, wildlife, forestry and hunting, and beekeeping.
For example, the Law "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Gas Supply and Electric Power" provides for state regulation of the price of liquefied petroleum gas used for heating apartment buildings, mechanisms for distributing liquefied petroleum gas by returning unused fractions to producers, and attracting investment for the construction of pumped-storage power plants.
Furthermore, as noted by the deputies, a number of amendments to improve the social and legal protection of military personnel are being introduced by the Law "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Improving the Legal Status of Military Personnel, Defense, and Military Service."
During the meeting's agenda discussion, special attention was paid to a law initiated by Senate deputies aimed at supporting mechanical engineering. The Law "On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Development of Mechanical Engineering and Transport" covers key measures for the development of the automotive industry, the creation of industry clusters, the development of SEZs and industrial zones, and dual education.
"The law on the development of mechanical engineering and transport is intended to provide a powerful boost to the development of domestic mechanical engineering. The amendments define the status of 'industrial clusters' formed around strategic enterprises and specify the measures of state support for them. The document introduces effective incentives for local manufacturers and streamlines the requirements for participants in special economic zones. All these provisions, taken together, are aimed at giving new impetus to the development of mechanical engineering in the country," said the Speaker of the Chamber, thanking the deputies who initiated the law.
In addition, other laws were considered and approved by the Senate. Among them is the Law “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Digitalization, Personal Data Protection, Road Traffic and Regulation of Advanced Technologies in Transport,” which is designed to ensure the active implementation of advanced technologies in the transport industry, promote the digitalization of road safety and improve the quality of training of vehicle drivers, as well as strengthen national cybersecurity.
The senators also approved the Laws “On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the issues of improving enforcement proceedings”, “On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the development of the telecommunications market and data processing centers” and “On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of livestock breeding and beekeeping”, implying the improvement of the activities of the relevant areas and industries.
The Laws “On introducing amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of wildlife, forestry and hunting and entrepreneurship” and “On introducing amendments and additions to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Kazakhstan” are, in turn, aimed at tightening liability for violation of the requirements for the use of wildlife and hunting rules. Thus, the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offenses is supplemented with a new article providing for administrative liability for violation of the requirements for the installation and operation of automated systems for monitoring emissions into the environment. This measure will ensure transparent and continuous monitoring of industrial emissions.
(Press Office of the Senate, 74-72-27. Photo by: N.Baibullin)
