Legal Regulation

The emergence of mediation in Kazakhstan was associated with the adoption of the law on mediation, which became the main legislative act in this area.

Peculiarities of Mediation in Kazakhstan 

Facilitative mediation is the basis of mediation in Kazakhstan. The procedure itself is voluntary. The cases of compulsory recourse to the mediator are not established by law. Also, a court does not have the right to direct disputing parties to the mediator on its own initiative.

For the parties that have resolved their dispute by the virtue of mediation procedure, it is possible to return the state duty paid by them when applying to the court.

There is also the possibility of compulsory enforcement of mediation agreements.

Mediators can have the status of a professional or unprofessional mediator.

Sphere of Application

Mediation in Kazakhstan can be applied to disputes arising from civil, labor, family and other legal relationships involving both individuals and legal entities, as well as in criminal cases and in executive proceedings.

Mediation Agreement

As for the mediation agreement, in Kazakhstan it is referred to as an agreement on the settlement of a dispute (conflict) and from the moment of signing by the parties the dispute acquires the status of a transaction. Moreover, if this agreement is not voluntarily fulfilled by any of the parties, the other party has the right to resort to compulsory execution in a simplified form.

Status of a Mediator

A mediator in Kazakhstan may be a person who has reached the age of 25, having a higher education, trained under a program established by the Government, and recorded with the register of professional mediators or a retired judge (professional mediators). Also, the mediator may be a judge in conciliation proceedings or a person who has reached the age of 40 and is recorded with the register of non-professional mediators of the local executive authority (non-professional mediators).

The mediator in Kazakhstan is an independent person and has a witness immunity (the mediator cannot be questioned about the information that he became aware of during mediation).