Amanzhol Nurmagambetov: During These 20 Years We did not Have any Crisis

• 08.06.2015, 10:25
•  EEU,  "Armedia" and the world,  Interview

"Armedia" IAA presents an exclusive interview with Amanzhol Nurmagambetov, member of the Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Interview was conducted in the framework of "Armenia-Kazakhstan: Cooperation Platforms" project, with the support of Embassy of Kazakhstan in Armenia.

 - 2015 marks the 20^th anniversary of Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Will you, please, tell about the significance of the Basic Law on the development of independent Kazakhstan?

-  On August 30, 1995 with a national referendum the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted, almost two months after the adoption of the Armenian Constitution on July 5. It is already 20 years, this Constitution is working in Kazakhstan. It was developed under the guidance of the Head of State with the participation of leading scientists of the Republic, the major political parties, foreign experts, particularly from France. The Constitution has been successful in terms of regulation of constitutional and legal framework at the present stage.

The first article of the Constitution recognizes the Republic of Kazakhstan a democratic, secular, legal and social state, and a person as its core value. There is a clear separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial bodies. It is written that our country is united, the president does not belong to any branch of the government, he stands over them and coordinates their activities. Fortunately, thanks to the head of the country, and the Constitution, during these 20 years we did not have any crisis either in political, or in other areas.

Тhe second section of the Constitution - "The man and the citizen" is very strong. In 1998, 2007 and 2011, our Constitution was amended, but no conceptual amendment was made and it did not affect this section. The changes were mainly related to the issues of parliamentarism, electoral legislation, the transfer of the powers of the head of state to the parliament.

- The Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan was established on the basis of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan. What is the difference between these two structures, what are the main functions of the Constitutional Council?

- Given the fact that the French Constitution laid the foundations for our Constitution, it was decided to create the Constitutional Council, which was enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The powers of the Council is quite large. I believe that it corresponds to the realities that have developed in our country, and provides a sufficient level of constitutional control in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Here the subjects of appeal are clearly limited: it is the head of the state, the chairmen of the Houses of Parliament (the country has a bicameral parliament), part of the members of both houses, the Prime Minister and the courts.

The Constitutional Council implements prior control before the signing of the president, for example, if the parliament passed a law, sent it to the president for his signature, at the same time the chairman of the Senate and the chairman of the Majilis turn to the Constitutional Council to check the constitutionality of the law. This also includes presidential decrees, resolutions of the Parliament, the interpretation of the Constitution.

- Is there any connection with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia?

- Of course! Firstly, I believe the Armenian Constitutional Court is one of the most qualified courts of post-Soviet space, if not broader. Its president is one of the most respected leaders of the constitutional control, not only among the former Soviet republics, but also in other countries. As far as I know, Mr. Harutyunyan is a member of the governing body of the Venice Commission, he is very highly valued in Russia. By the way, our journal "Constitutional Justice" is also published in Armenia. So we have constant contact, mutual visits, exchange of views. This year you also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Constitution, and our delegation headed by Chairman of the Council visited Armenia to participate in the anniversary events.