KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Sergei Vataev, Ilya Kirichenko and Yelena Dvoretskaya-Yussupova, Legit Advocates’ Bureau
As a result, parties choosing the AIFC as the seat of arbitration are subject to a distinct legislative frame - work, with supervisory jurisdiction exercised by the AIFC Court. 2.2 Changes to National Law There have been no significant legislative changes affecting arbitration in Kazakhstan during the past 12 months. The principal legislative framework, includ - ing the Law on Arbitration and the AIFC Arbitration Regulations, has remained unchanged. Recent developments have instead been driven by the continued development of arbitration practice, particularly within the AIFC framework, and by the increasing use of arbitration in cross-border com - mercial transactions. It should be noted, however, that with the entry into force of the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted by a national referendum on 15 March 2026, Kazakhstan has abandoned the prin - ciple of primacy of international treaties, placing the country’s Constitution and its laws at the top of the hierarchy. The new Constitution also specifically authorises the Constitutional Court to decide on the issue of whether the decisions of international organisations and their bodies comply with the Constitution; it also empowers the Prosecutor General to raise these issues before the Constitutional Court. It is not yet entirely clear what consequences this will have for arbitration at present. Some concerns were expressed that these provisions could be used to challenge decisions made by international arbitration bodies that are unfavour- able to the state. At the time of writing this chapter, there are no other draft laws that could significantly alter the current arbi - tration framework.
relates to a dispute that is capable of settlement by arbitration. The writing requirement may be satisfied by a docu - ment signed by the parties, by an exchange of cor - respondence or electronic communications, or by an exchange of statements of claim and defence in which the existence of the arbitration agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other. The arbitration agreement must also comply with the mandatory provisions of the Law on Arbitration, including the statutory restrictions on the arbitrability of certain categories of disputes. Arbitration agree - ments seated in the AIFC are governed by the AIFC Arbitration Regulations, which largely follow the approach of the UNCITRAL Model Law. 3.2 Arbitrability As a general rule, disputes arising out of civil law relationships are capable of settlement by arbitration under Kazakhstan law unless expressly excluded by legislation. The Law on Arbitration excludes certain categories of disputes from arbitration. These include disputes arising from personal non-property relationships, bankruptcy and rehabilitation proceedings, and cer - tain disputes involving public authorities, state-owned entities, natural monopolies and consumers, where arbitration is restricted by law. In addition, Kazakhstan law imposes specific requirements for the inclusion of arbitration clauses in contracts involving certain public-sector entities. A different approach applies to arbitrations seated in the AIFC. The AIFC Arbitration Regulations do not contain the statutory restrictions on arbitrability found in the Law on Arbitration and instead largely follow internationally recognised arbitration principles. 3.3 National Courts’ Approach Where an arbitration agreement is governed by Kazakhstan law, national courts assess its validity and enforceability in accordance with the Law on Arbitra - tion and the applicable provisions of the Civil Proce - dure Code.
3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability
An arbitration agreement is enforceable under Kazakh - stan law provided that it is concluded in writing and
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