On the ratification of the Treaty between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China on the Provision of Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters

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Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 30, 1995 No. 2309.

In accordance with article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 10, 1993 "On the temporary delegation of additional powers to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and heads of local administrations", I hereby decree:

1. To ratify the Treaty between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China on the Provision of Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters, signed in Beijing on January 14, 1993.

2. This Decree shall enter into force from the date of publication.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

Contract

between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China

The Republic of Belarus on Legal Assistance in

civil and criminal cases

(unofficial text)

The Republic of Kazakhstan and the People's Republic of China, hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Parties, in order to cooperate in the field of legal relations based on respect for sovereignty and reciprocity, have decided to provide each other with legal assistance in civil and criminal matters and, to this end, have agreed as follows::

Chapter I

General provisions

Article 1

Legal protection

1. Citizens of one Contracting Party shall enjoy in the territory of the other Contracting Party the same legal protection of their personal and property rights as citizens of the other Contracting Party. They have the right to apply to courts, judicial authorities, prosecutor's offices and other institutions whose competence includes civil and criminal cases and may initiate petitions and carry out other procedural actions under the same conditions as citizens of the other Contracting Party.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to legal entities established in the territory of each of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its national legislation.

3. The term "civil matters" used in this Agreement includes marital, family and labor matters.

4. This Agreement shall also apply to commercial and economic matters, with the exception of the provisions of the third chapter of this Agreement.

Article 2

The order of relations in the provision of legal assistance

1. When requesting legal assistance in civil and criminal matters, the Contracting Parties shall communicate with each other through their central offices, unless otherwise provided by this Agreement.

2. The central institutions specified in paragraph 1 of this article include: on the part of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan; on the part of the People's Republic of China - the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China, the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office of the People's Republic of China and the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China.

3. In the event of a change in the headquarters, the Contracting Parties shall immediately notify each other in writing through diplomatic channels.

The footnote. Article 2 – as amended by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 05/27/2024 No. 87-VIII.

Article 3

Scope of legal assistance

Legal aid covers:

1. Execution of orders for the delivery of documents, conducting an expert examination,

on-site inspection, collection of evidence and other procedural procedures

actions in civil and criminal cases provided for by this Law.

By agreement.

2. Recognition and enforcement of court decisions in civil cases.

3. Other assistance defined by this Agreement.

Article 4

The form of the request for legal assistance

1. An order for the provision of legal assistance shall be executed in writing, in accordance with

which must be specified:

1) the name of the requesting institution;

2) the name of the requested institution;

3) the name of the case in which legal assistance is requested;

4) the names and surnames of the participants in the process referred to in the assignment, their nationality, gender, year and place of birth, occupation and permanent place of residence or place of residence, for legal entities - their name and location;

5) the names and addresses of their authorized representatives;

6) the content of the instruction, and in criminal cases also a description of the actual circumstances of the crime committed, its legal qualification and the provisions of the relevant legislative acts.

2. The order and other documents must be sealed with the official seal of the requesting institution of the Contracting Party.

Article 5

Execution of the order

1. If, in accordance with the national legislation of the requested Contracting Party, the execution of the order does not fall within the competence of the courts and other competent institutions of that Party, the order may be returned with an indication of the reasons for the refusal.

2. If the requested institution of the Contracting Party is not entitled to execute the order, it is obliged to send the specified order for execution to the competent institutions of the requested Contracting Party, as well as notify the requesting institution of the other Contracting Party.

3. If the requested institution of the Contracting Party is unable to execute the order due to the inaccuracy of the address indicated in the order, it is obliged to take appropriate measures to clarify the address or require the requesting institution of the Contracting Party to provide additional information.

4. If it is not possible to specify the address or execute the order for other reasons, the requested institution of the Contracting Party must notify the requesting institution of the Contracting Party and state the reasons preventing the execution of the order, as well as return all documents sent by the requesting institution of the Contracting Party.

Article 6

Notification of execution results

1. The requested institution is obliged, in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 2 of this Agreement, to notify the requesting institution in writing of the results of the execution of the order, as well as to send documents confirming the execution.

2. The document confirming the execution must indicate the date of receipt, the signature of the recipient and the signature of the person who executed the order. If the recipient refuses to receive, the reasons for the refusal to receive must also be indicated.

The document confirming the execution of the order must be sealed with the official seal of the requested institution that executed the order.

Article 7

Languages

When providing legal assistance, each of the Contracting Parties uses its official language, accompanied by a certified translation of all documents into the official language of the other Contracting Party, either into English or Russian.

Article 8

Handing over documents and performing individual tasks

procedural actions through diplomatic channels

representative offices or consular offices

On behalf of the competent authorities, diplomatic missions or consular offices of one of the Contracting Parties accredited to the other Contracting Party may serve judicial and non-judicial documents to their own citizens and interview them. However, these actions may not contain coercive measures and contradict the national legislation of the host country.

Article 9

Guarantees for witnesses, victims and experts

1. A witness, victim, or expert who appears on a summons from a court or other competent institutions of the requesting Contracting Party, transmitted through the requested Contracting Party, regardless of his nationality, may not be held administratively or criminally liable in the requesting State, or deprived of his liberty in any form for an offense committed by him before crossing the State border or in connection with with his testimony, actions as an expert, or other actions related to the case that is the subject of the proceedings.

2. A witness, victim or expert shall lose the guarantees provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article if he does not leave the territory of the requesting Contracting Party after 15 days after receiving notification from it that his presence is no longer necessary, except in cases when he cannot leave the territory of the requesting Contracting Party in a timely manner due to circumstances beyond his control..

3. The call referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be transmitted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 2 of this Agreement. The call must not contain a threat of coercive measures.

Article 10

Expenses related to the provision of legal assistance

1. The Contracting Parties shall provide legal assistance free of charge, with the exception of payment for expert services.

2. The costs of travel, meals and accommodation of a witness, victim or expert who appears on call in the territory of the requesting Contracting Party shall be borne by the requesting Contracting Party. The summons must specify which payments the mentioned persons are entitled to receive. At the request of the mentioned persons, the competent institutions of the requesting Contracting Party are obliged to pay them the corresponding expenses in advance.

Article 11

Refusal of legal aid

If the requested Contracting Party considers that the provision of legal assistance is detrimental to its sovereignty, security, public order or contradicts the basic principles of its national legislation, it may refuse to provide legal assistance by informing the requesting Contracting Party of the reasons for the refusal.

Article 12

Legislation applied in the provision of legal assistance

1. The requested institution shall apply the national legislation of its State when providing legal assistance.

2. When providing legal assistance, the requested institution may also apply, upon request, the procedural rules of the other Contracting Party, unless they contradict the basic principles of the national legislation of the requested Contracting Party.

Article 13

Exchange of legal information

Upon request, the Contracting Parties shall provide each other with information on current or past legislation and judicial practice.

Chapter II

Legal assistance in civil cases

Article 14

Scope of legal assistance

The Contracting Parties will, on a reciprocal basis, serve judicial and non-judicial documents upon request, interrogate participants in the process, witnesses and experts, conduct an expert examination, on-site inspection, recognize and execute court decisions, including taking measures to track down debtors to recover alimony, as well as perform other procedural actions.

Article 15

Payment of court costs

1. A citizen of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall pay court costs on equal terms and in the same amount as the citizens of this Contracting Party.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to legal entities established in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties in accordance with its national legislation.

Article 16

Full or partial exemption from payment

court costs

1. A citizen of one of the Contracting Parties in the territory of the other Contracting Party shall be exempt, in whole or in part, from paying court costs on equal terms and to the same extent as citizens of that Contracting Party.

2. A citizen of one of the Contracting Parties, requesting full or partial exemption from payment of court costs, must submit documents issued by the competent authorities at his place of residence or at his place of residence certifying his identity, family and property status. If the applicant does not have a place of residence or residence in the territory of the Contracting Parties, he may submit the specified documents issued or certified by the diplomatic mission or consular institutions of his State.

3. The court making a decision on a request for full or partial exemption from payment of court costs may request the authority that issued the document for additional clarification.

Article 17

Decisions to be recognized and enforced

1. The Contracting Parties are obliged, in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, to recognize and enforce in their territories judicial decisions rendered and entered into force in the territory of the other Contracting Party, as well as decisions that are subject to recognition but do not require enforcement after the entry into force of this Treaty.

2. The term "judicial decisions", used throughout the text of this Agreement, means:

in the Republic of Kazakhstan - a decision, ruling, resolution of a court (judge), including an arbitration court (judge), an amicable agreement in civil and arbitration cases, as well as a verdict regarding compensation for damages in a criminal case;

in the People's Republic of China, a court verdict, a ruling, an act of application in a civil case, and a verdict regarding compensation for damages in a criminal case.

Article 18

Petition for recognition and enforcement of a court decision

1. An application for recognition and enforcement of a court decision shall be submitted by the applicant to the court that issued the decision and forwarded by the latter to the court of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 2 of this Treaty. The applicant may file a petition directly to the court of the other Contracting Party.

2. An application for recognition and enforcement of a court decision must be accompanied by the following documents:

1) a copy of the judgment certified by the court; if there is no clear indication that the decision has entered into force and can be enforced, one copy of the court's document on this must also be attached.;

2) a court document on the execution of a part of the decision in the territory of the requesting Contracting Party;

3) a document certifying that the party who did not participate in the process was served with a notice of summons to court in accordance with the procedure established by law, and in case of her incapacity, that she had a proper representative.;

4) a certified translation of the application referred to in this article and the documents attached thereto.

Article 19

The procedure for recognizing and executing a court decision

1. The recognition and enforcement of a court decision is carried out by the court of the Contracting Party to which the application is addressed, in accordance with the procedure established by the national legislation of that Contracting Party.

2. The court to which the petition is addressed shall consider the said decision only for compliance with the requirements of this Agreement.

3. With respect to a decision on which a request for recognition and enforcement has been received, the court that received the request may, if necessary, require the court that issued the decision to provide additional materials.

Article 20

The legal force of recognition and enforcement

The recognition and enforcement by a court of one Contracting Party of a court decision of the other Contracting Party shall have the same effect as the recognition and enforcement of a court decision of that Contracting Party.

Article 21

Refusal to recognize and enforce the decision

Recognition and enforcement of a court decision may be refused in one of the following cases::

1) if, in accordance with the national legislation of the Contracting Party where the decision was rendered, this decision has not entered into legal force, it is not enforceable.;

2) if, in accordance with the national legislation of the Contracting Party to which the application for recognition and enforcement of the judgment has been filed, the case falls within the exclusive competence of the court of the requested Contracting Party.;

3) if, in accordance with the national legislation of the Contracting Party whose institution made the decision, the notice of summons to court was not served to the party who did not participate in the process, or if there was no proper representative.;

4) if, in the same legal dispute between the same parties, a court of the requested Contracting Party has already rendered a decision that has entered into force, or it is under consideration there, or a decision of a third State in this case has already been recognized as having entered into force.;

5) if the recognition or enforcement of the decision may prejudice the sovereignty, security or public order of the Contracting Party to which the application is addressed.

Chapter III

Legal assistance in criminal matters

Article 22

Scope of legal assistance

The Contracting Parties undertake to execute, upon request, instructions in criminal matters on the interrogation of witnesses, victims, experts, suspects and accused; conducting a search, examination, inspection and other procedural actions related to the collection of evidence; on the transfer of material evidence and documents, valuables obtained by criminal means, as well as on the delivery of procedural documents related to with the criminal case proceedings; inform each other about the results of the trial.

Article 23

Handing over documents and performing individual tasks

procedural actions

1. The procedure for handing over documents and performing certain procedural actions related to the collection of evidence in criminal cases is determined by Articles 4-6, 8 of this Treaty.

2. When sending the above instructions, the following should be indicated: the circumstances of the commission of the crime, its classification and the provisions of the relevant legislative acts.

Article 24

Transfer of money and material assets,

criminally obtained

1. A Contracting Party, on the basis of a request from the other Contracting Party, must transfer to this Contracting Party money and other material assets obtained by criminal means in the territory of the other Contracting Party, however, such transfer must not infringe on the rights of the Contracting Party or third parties to these assets.

2. In the event that the above-mentioned money and other tangible assets are necessary for conducting judicial proceedings in other unresolved criminal cases in the territory of the requested Contracting Party, this Contracting Party may temporarily suspend their transfer.

Article 25

Refusal to provide legal assistance in criminal cases

The requested Contracting Party, in addition to the grounds provided for in Article 11 of this Treaty, may refuse to provide legal assistance in criminal matters on one of the following grounds::

1) the act specified in the order does not constitute a crime under the national legislation of the requested Contracting Party.;

2) the suspect or accused indicated in the assignment is a citizen of the requested Contracting Party and is located in the territory of the requesting Contracting Party.

Article 26

Notification of the initiation and results of the trial

criminal proceedings

The Contracting Parties are obliged to provide each other with information on the initiation of criminal proceedings against citizens of the other Contracting Party and, if necessary, on the verdict passed by their court against citizens of the other Contracting Party.

Article 27

Information about previously committed crimes

The Contracting Parties provide each other, upon request, free of charge, information on criminal records necessary for the consideration of a criminal case against a person who has previously been convicted by a court of the other Contracting Party.

Chapter IV

Other provisions

Article 28

Validity of documents

Documents that have been drawn up or certified by a court or other competent institution of one Contracting Party are valid if they have the official seal of the relevant competent institution of that Contracting Party. In this form, they may be accepted by a court or other competent institution of the other Contracting Party without legalization.

Article 29

Forwarding of civil status documents

and other documents

Pursuant to this Agreement, the competent institutions of any Contracting Party, upon requests received through diplomatic channels, shall forward to the other Contracting Party, free of charge and with translation into English or Russian, certificates of civil registration, education, seniority information and other documents relating to the personal rights and property interests of citizens of the other Contracting Party.

Article 30

Removal of items and transfer of sums of money

The provisions of this Agreement and its execution may not prevent both Contracting Parties from complying with their laws and regulations on the export of items and the transfer of sums of money abroad.

Article 31

Dispute resolution

Disputes arising over the interpretation or performance of this Treaty must be resolved through diplomatic channels.

Chapter V

Final provisions

Article 32

Entry into force of the Agreement

This Agreement shall enter into force after the Parties have completed all legal procedures provided for by their national legislation that allow the agreement to enter into force, and the mutual exchange of written notifications through diplomatic channels, on the 30th day after receipt of the last notification.

Article 33

Amendment and addition of the Agreement

The Contracting Parties shall consult through diplomatic channels on amendments and additions to the text of this Treaty and shall be obliged to carry out legal procedures in accordance with their national legislation.

Article 34

Termination

This Agreement is open-ended and will expire six months after either Contracting Party sends a written notification through diplomatic channels of its termination.

This Agreement was signed in Beijing, 14/I 1993 in two copies, each in Chinese and Kazakh, with a translation into Russian, both texts having the same validity.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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