Kosshy, Kazakhstan
GRNTI 10.83 Уголовно-исполнительное право. Пенитенциария
The article is devoted to the experience of the Republic of Kazakhstan in reforming the penal system by transferring it from the law enforcement to the civil block. Taking into account the world experience, the transfer of the penal system to a non-law enforcement structure, including one based on public-private partnership, seemed to be the most promising direction of the planned reform to humanize the domestic penal legislation. The main idea was that a Civil Agency, not associated with the tasks of protecting public order and fighting crime, will be able to ensure the planned implementation of the state policy on reforming the penal system. In 2002, correctional facilities were fully transferred to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan. But the events that took place further (a number of armed escapes with human victims) actually showed that the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan did not cope with the task assigned to it, and the goal of reforming the penitentiary system was not achieved. By decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (adopted on 26.07.2011) “On the penitentiary system”, the penal system was again transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Today, the penal system in Kazakhstan actually operates autonomously in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not subordinate to other services and departments. At the same time, according to the author, the transfer of the penal system to a Civil Agency will make it possible to increase the openness of this institution. In addition, this step will provide access to the real situation of human rights in places of detention for the public and supervisory authorities. However, domestic and foreign experience shows that the transfer of the penal system to civil departments, its isolation as a separate body does not guarantee its deep humanization and effective system reforms. Being inside the civil department, it actually continues to work on previously established practices, limiting it with cosmetic changes. Therefore, if the purpose of transferring the penal system or its divisions to other bodies is to comply with international standards and reduce criticism of human rights organizations, then this should not be done without a high-quality study. Based on the research, the author comes to the conclusion that in order to implement reforms in the penal system of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is necessary to: 1) to develop a single comprehensive scientific and practical approach when reforming the penal system; 2) to conduct a qualitative study of the risks that may be associated with decisions taken within the framework of the reform; 3) implementation of foreign and international experience should be carried out only taking into account the specifics of national legislation and the structure of the state’s law enforcement system.
Republic of Kazakhstan, penal enforcement system, reformation of the penitentiary system, humanization of the execution of sentences, penitentiary legislation
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