KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sergei Vataev, Ilya Kirichenko and Yelena Dvoretskaya-Yussupova, Legit Advocates’ Bureau
Legit Advocates’ Bureau 41 Kazybek Bi Street, 5th Floor, Almaty, A32X5B5 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
significantly enhanced the attractiveness of the IAC for both regional and international disputes. For disputes involving exclusively domestic parties, litigation before the state courts generally remains the default dispute resolution mechanism, reflect - ing established commercial practice and procedural familiarity, and a lack of awareness among poten - tial parties to the dispute. Nevertheless, arbitration clauses are increasingly incorporated into contracts in construction, infrastructure, mining, energy, finance, international trade, and other sectors involving foreign investment or cross-border commercial activity. As Kazakhstan continues to develop the AIFC as a regional financial and dispute-resolution hub, and as cross-border commerce in Central Asia expands, the role of international arbitration is expected to grow further. Although arbitration has not replaced litigation as the dominant mechanism for resolving commer - cial disputes, it is now firmly established as an inte - gral component of Kazakhstan’s legal framework for resolving complex international commercial disputes. 1.2 Key Industries International arbitration in Kazakhstan remains most prevalent in sectors involving substantial foreign investment and high-value projects, particularly min - ing, oil and gas, energy, construction and infrastruc - ture. These sectors typically involve complex con - tractual arrangements, long-term investments and multinational counterparties, making arbitration a preferred dispute resolution mechanism.
Although litigation in state courts remains the primary means of resolving commercial disputes in Kazakh - stan, international arbitration has become a well- established mechanism for resolving cross-border commercial disputes and high-value investment pro - jects. In practice, arbitration is most commonly used in transactions with a foreign element, where parties seek a neutral forum, procedural flexibility, confidenti - ality, and the enhanced enforceability of awards under the 1958 New York Convention. Kazakhstan parties continue to refer significant inter - national disputes to leading foreign arbitral institu - tions, including the ICC, the LCIA, SIAC, the SCC and increasingly CIETAC, the last of these particularly where transactions involve Chinese counterparties. At the same time, the International Arbitration Cen - tre (IAC) of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has established itself as an important regional forum for resolving international commercial disputes. The IAC occupies a distinct position within Kazakh - stan’s arbitration landscape. Unlike arbitral institutions operating under the national Law on Arbitration, arbi - trations seated within the AIFC are governed by the AIFC Arbitration Regulations. They are subject to the supervisory jurisdiction of the AIFC Court. The com - bination of a legal framework based on the principles of English common law, an independent judiciary and access to internationally recognised arbitrators has
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