Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan for

Kazakhstan is partially compliant with this recommendation. 
Recommendation 14
Adopt clear, simple and transparent rules for the lifting of immunity or reduce the scope of 
immunity to ensure that it is restricted in applications to acts committed in the performance of official 
duties.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Members of Parliament, the Chairman and 
judges of the Constitutional Court, other judges and the General Prosecutor enjoy immunity from 
investigation and prosecution during the term of their office. The legislation provided in the course of the 
monitoring does not suggest that these immunities are only applicable to acts carried out in the 
performance of official duties (“functional immunities”).

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26 
According to Article 496 of the Code of Criminal Proceedings, in order to obtain consent to the 
imposition of criminal responsibility, arrest or detention of a Member of Parliament, the Prosecutor 
General of the Republic of Kazakhstan makes a presentation to the Senate or Mazhilis of the Parliament of 
the Republic of Kazakhstan. The presentation is made before presenting accusations to the deputy, issuing 
sanctions for arrest, or deciding the issue of the need of compulsory escort of the deputy to a criminal 
prosecution authority. There are no objective criteria, rules or guidelines applicable to a decision to lift the 
immunity of a Member of Parliament; thus there would appear to be some scope for the consideration of 
political factors in making such a decision.
However, according to Articles 496-499 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the criminal prosecution 
body is entitled to enforce criminal prosecution and arrest the person enjoying immunity from criminal 
prosecution, without receiving permission if he or she is caught in the course of committing the crime or if 
such a person commits a grave or especially grave crime. According to Article 10 of the Criminal Code, a 
grave crime is one punished by imprisonment from five to twelve years under the Criminal Code. Public 
officials enjoying immunity fall under the definition of „public official‟ under Article 311, which provides 
for the punishment up to 7 years imprisonment. According to the legal doctrine of Kazakhstan, this is 
sufficient to classify such type of crime as grave, even if actual punishment for particular crime could 
result in a conviction for considerably less period of time. Therefore the existing legislation allows the 
application of Articles 496-499 in cases of receiving of bribe by a person enjoying immunity.
The authorities have produced the statistical information on the criminal prosecution and conviction of 
judges. Thirteen judges were convicted in 2005, eight judges were convicted in 2006 and three in 2007. 
Criminal Cases have been initiated in respect of seventeen judges. Also Member of Regional Parliament 
was convicted for bribing public official.
The authorities have also provided sufficient information to the effect that the application of special 
investigation methods (SIMs), in respect of persons enjoying immunity, does not constitute an obstacle to 
the detection of corruption. The Prosecutor General permits the application of these measures in such 
cases.