KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sergei Vataev, Ilya Kirichenko and Yelena Dvoretskaya-Yussupova, Legit Advocates‚ Bureau
Legit Advocates’ Bureau 77 Kunayev Street, 8th Floor Almaty, A25Y5M5 Republic of Kazakhstan Tel: +7 727 258 3706 Email: info@ak-legit.com Web: www.ak-legit.com; www.litigation.kz
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
International arbitration is also the preferred choice when a Kazakhstan party needs to enforce an award outside Kazakhstan, as the 1958 New York Conven - tion offers broader opportunities for enforcement compared to treaties for the recognition and enforce - ment of court decisions signed by Kazakhstan. 1.2 Key Industries International arbitration is quite popular in Kazakh - stan’s energy (oil and gas) sector. The significant sums involved in contracts related to various oil and gas activities incentivise parties to select international arbitration as a more impartial and comprehensive dispute resolution mechanism, free from the political influence of the state. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The AIFC International Arbitration Centre is becoming increasingly popular due to a combination of factors – geographical proximity, availability of high-quality arbitrators, the exclusive jurisdiction of the AIFC Court (staffed by English judges) over challenges to and enforcement of IAC awards, and the ease of enforce - ability of the awards. Other popular foreign arbitration institutions traditionally include the ICC, the LCIA and the Stockholm Institute. The growing presence of Chi - nese businesses is also contributing to the increasing popularity of CIETAC. 1.4 National Courts There are no special courts in Kazakhstan which deal with arbitration matters.
In Kazakhstan, arbitration as a method for resolving disputes is increasingly gaining popularity; however, businesses traditionally prefer the default option of judicial resolution of disputes. An increase in interest in arbitration occurred with the establishment and active operation of the International Arbitration Centre at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). AIFC, alongside its special legislation based on English law and its dedicated Court (which is also founded on English law principles but functions as a Kazakhstan court), maintains the International Arbitration Centre (IAC), which operates under the supervision and assistance of the AIFC Court. Many disputes in the AIFC, or related to its activities, are settled through arbitration under the IAC Rules of Arbitration and Mediation. As legislation permits parties to opt in and select the IAC as their dispute resolution forum, numerous parties (particularly for - eign entities) also favour arbitration in the IAC as their preferred dispute resolution mechanism. Businesses in Kazakhstan usually opt for international arbitration (ie, arbitration conducted by well-known arbitral institutions outside Kazakhstan) when a fair and impartial resolution of a dispute involving large sums of money by qualified arbitrators takes prec - edence over the relative speed and convenience of local judicial processes.
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