Tengrinews.kz — The Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan has given an official interpretation of the provisions of the new Constitution.
The court considered the President’s request for an official interpretation of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 43, paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 72, paragraph 1 of Article 83 and paragraph 3 of Article 84 of the Constitution.
The request raised the question of whether persons holding positions under the Constitution of August 30, 1995, may be elected or appointed to the positions specified in these provisions of the new Constitution.
The Constitutional Court noted that the content of the cited constitutional provisions shows that the restrictions established in them are linked to the fact of a person’s previous election or appointment to the relevant position exclusively under the procedure provided for by the current Constitution and regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with it.
The court also stated that the Constitution does not contain provisions requiring the consideration of terms served in the relevant positions, or facts of election or appointment to those positions, that took place during the period when the 1995 Basic Law was in force.
Therefore, the fact that a person held one of the specified positions during the period when the 1995 Constitution was in force does not in itself constitute a constitutional and legal obstacle, as provided for by the Basic Law, to their election or appointment to the relevant position after the Constitution of Kazakhstan enters into force.
Following consideration of the President’s request, the Constitutional Court gave the following official interpretation:
“Persons who, in accordance with the 1995 Constitution, hold the positions specified in these constitutional provisions may be elected or appointed to the relevant positions after the 2026 Constitution enters into force.”
For the purposes of applying the restrictions established by the cited constitutional provisions, the election or appointment of such persons to the relevant positions after the 2026 Constitution enters into force is considered their first election or appointment.