Legislative and Regulatory Framework of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The legislative framework domain tests whether a candidate can locate the applicable rule, rank competing sources, and say precisely when a norm starts to bind the company. Questions are scenario-shaped: a ministerial order clashes with a code, or an act was adopted but never published.
Ranking the sources
The Constitution has supreme legal force; ratified international treaties prevail over laws. Below them sit constitutional laws, then codes, then ordinary laws, then subordinate acts - presidential decrees, government resolutions, ministerial orders, akimat decisions. Where a code and an ordinary law conflict on the same subject, the code prevails. A normative act restricting rights, imposing duties or establishing liability must be officially published before it can be applied; registration with the Ministry of Justice alone is not enough.
Effect in time
Acts do not operate retroactively where they worsen the position of persons, create new duties, or establish or tighten liability. A norm improving a position may be given retroactive effect only if the act says so expressly.
Regulating entrepreneurial activity
The Entrepreneurial Code (No. 375-V of 29 October 2015) sets the principles of state regulation, the risk-based approach to control and the boundaries of inspections; permits and notifications follow Law No. 202-V. Draft normative acts affecting business pass through regulatory impact analysis, and acts can be challenged through the Business Ombudsman.
Worked example
A ministry order dated 10 June raises penalties and states it applies from 1 January. May the company be fined for February? No - the order is subordinate and tightens liability, so retroactive application is prohibited; and if it was registered but not published, it has not entered into force at all.
Traps
Confusing adoption with entry into force; assuming a decree and a code rank equally; citing an act that has lapsed; overlooking that a registered but unpublished act binds nobody.