International Law and International Treaties Applicable in Kazakhstan
What the exam tests
This domain tests the place of international law in Kazakhstan's legal order, treaty ratification, application by courts and key treaty regimes.
Core rules
- Article 4 of the Constitution makes ratified international treaties part of the law. If a ratified treaty sets rules different from a domestic law, the treaty rules apply.
- Treaties are applied directly when they are self-executing and create rights or obligations for courts; otherwise implementing legislation is needed.
- Kazakhstan is party to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: pacta sunt servanda, good-faith performance and interpretation in good faith.
- Kazakhstan participates in the UN, CIS, EAEU, SCO and human rights treaties; EAEU law has direct effect within its scope.
- Extradition and mutual legal assistance are based on treaties and national law; dual criminality is generally required.
Worked example
A ratified treaty grants a litigant a shorter procedural deadline than the CPC. The judge must check whether the treaty is ratified and self-executing. If so, the treaty rule prevails over the ordinary law in that specific conflict; the judge applies the treaty and explains the hierarchy.
Traps
- Assuming every signed treaty automatically prevails over domestic law.
- Forgetting that a treaty cannot override the Constitution.
- Applying an unratified treaty as binding law.