On the ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates on the Provision of Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters

Home / RLA / On the ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates on the Provision of Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters

Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 15, 2010 No. 336-IV

To ratify the Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates on the Provision of Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters, concluded in Abu Dhabi on March 16, 2009.

President  Of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev

Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates on the provision of legal assistance in Civil and Commercial matters

(Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Entered into force on September 22, 2012)

The Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates, hereinafter referred to as the "Parties", wishing to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries based on mutual respect for sovereignty and mutual interests and contributing to the strengthening of fruitful assistance in the legal and legislative fields, recognizing the need to expand legal assistance in civil and commercial matters, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

1. Citizens of one Party in the territory of the other Party shall enjoy the same legal protection and have the right of access to the courts and judicial authorities of the other Party under the same conditions as citizens of the other Party. 2. The provisions of the preceding paragraph of this Article shall also apply to legal entities located and established in the territory of each of the Parties in accordance with their national legislation.

Article 2

Citizens of one Party have the right in the territory of the other Party, in accordance with the national legislation and procedures of the latter, to be exempt from paying court fees or reduced on the same terms and to the same extent as citizens of the other Party.

Article 3

The Parties shall exchange information on the current legislation and legal practice in their respective countries related to the implementation of this Agreement.

Article 4

1. Within the framework of this Agreement, the Parties shall take measures to provide legal assistance in civil and commercial matters in accordance with their national legislation. 2. Legal assistance in accordance with this Agreement is provided by: a) sending subpoenas and other court documents; b) transferring evidence upon request or by proxy; c) recognition and enforcement of court decisions and settlement agreements.

Article 5

1. In accordance with this Agreement, requests are executed and accepted through the central authorities of the Parties.: For the Republic of Kazakhstan, the central authority is the Ministry of Justice; for the United Arab Emirates, the central authority is the Ministry of Justice. 2. In order to implement this Agreement, the central authorities exchange information with each other through diplomatic channels. 3. The Parties shall notify each other through diplomatic channels of any changes and additions related to the central authorities.

Article 6

1. Unless otherwise provided, all official documents must be certified by the court or other competent authorities that issued them. 2. All requests and relevant documents sent as part of the provision of legal assistance must be accompanied by a translation into the official language of the Requested Party or into English. 3. If the Requested Party considers that the documents and information provided by the Requesting Party are insufficient to fulfill the request, it may, in accordance with this Agreement, request additional information from the requesting Party.

Article 7

1. The service of a summons and other court documents is carried out in accordance with the procedures provided for by the national legislation of the Requested Party or by a special method determined by the Requesting Party, unless this method contradicts the national legislation of the Requested Party. 2. The summons and other court documents sent in accordance with this Agreement are equivalent to documents sent within the territory of the Requesting Party. 3. The provisions of Article 5 of this Agreement shall not interfere with the right of the Parties to serve subpoenas and other court documents to their citizens in the territory of the other Party through their diplomatic or consular missions. In these cases, the delivery procedure does not entail the responsibility of the Party in whose territory the delivery was made.

Article 8

The request for the service of the summons and other court documents must contain all the details regarding the first and last name, place of residence or work of the recipient of the summons and a list of documents to be served to the recipient. There should be a corresponding reference in the agenda regarding the special delivery method.

Article 9

1. A request for the service of a summons and other court documents that complies with the provisions of this Agreement may not be rejected, except in the case when the Requested Party considers that the execution of the request may prejudice its sovereignty, security or public order. 2. The delivery of a summons and other court documents may not be refused with reference to the fact that the request does not contain sufficient legal grounds in the case for delivery. 3. If the service has not been performed, the Requested Party must immediately notify the Requesting Party of the reasons.

Article 10

1. The competent authority of the Requested Party shall issue the requested documents in accordance with its national legislation and the rules applicable in this regard. No payment is charged for the issuance of documents. 2. The requesting Party shall bear the costs of delivery according to a special method requested by that Party.

Article 11

1. The responsibility of the Requested party is limited to the delivery of court documents to the recipient. 2. The delivery of the summons and other court documents is confirmed by the signature of the recipient or a certificate issued by the Requested party, which indicates the recipient's name, date and procedure of delivery, and in the case when delivery cannot be carried out, the relevant reasons are indicated. 3. A copy of the summons or a certificate certifying receipt of the documents, signed by the recipient, shall be sent to the Requesting Party through the central authority.

Article 12

1. The judicial authorities of one Party, in accordance with the provisions of the national legislation of that Party, may request evidence in civil and commercial cases by requesting the competent judicial authorities of the other Party. 2. For the purposes of this Agreement, the transfer of evidence includes: a) the transfer of testimony; b) the results of identification or review of the requested documents and records. 3. The request must contain: a) the competence of the judicial authority requesting evidence; (b) The subject of the dispute on which evidence is being sought and all information necessary in this regard; (c) the names and addresses of the parties to the dispute; (d) the evidence requested; and (e) the names and addresses of the persons to be questioned. 4. If necessary, the request should be accompanied by a list of questions to the witnesses or other interested persons questioned on the subject of the dispute, or a list of requested documents in connection with each evidence or testimony.

Article 13

Judicial procedures carried out in order to obtain evidence in accordance with this Agreement shall have the same legal force as if they were carried out by the competent authorities of the Requesting Party.

Article 14

1. The requested Party shall execute the request in accordance with the provisions of its national legislation. 2. The requested Party follows any special procedure or procedure that is specifically specified in the request, if they do not contradict its national legislation and practice. 3. The request must be executed as soon as possible. 4. The requesting party, at its discretion, shall be informed of the time and place of the proceedings so that the parties to the case or their representatives, if any, can participate in it. The information is sent directly to the parties or their representatives at their known location in the territory of the Requested Party, when requested by the Requesting Party. 5. If the request is executed, the documents confirming the execution and any evidence are sent to the Requesting Party. 6. In each case of non-fulfillment or partial fulfillment of the request, the Requesting Party is immediately notified of the reasons for non-fulfillment.

Article 15

1. The requested party may refuse to execute the request only in two cases: a) execution of the request is outside the jurisdiction; b) execution of the request may prejudice sovereignty, security, public order or contradict its national legislation. 2. The execution of a request may not be refused solely on the grounds that, according to the national legislation of the Requested Party, the subject matter of the proceedings requires its exclusive jurisdiction or does not give the right to conduct it.

Article 16

1. The execution of a request and the receipt of evidence by the Requested Party shall not entail any compensation payments, costs or expenses for the Requesting Party, regardless of their description. However, the requested Party has the right to seek compensation for: (a) any costs and expenses paid to witnesses, specialists or interpreters; (b) any costs related to ensuring the presence of witnesses who did not wish to appear voluntarily; (c) any payments and costs related to the use of special procedures upon request. 2. If it becomes obvious that the execution of the request will lead to significant costs, the Parties consult to determine the conditions for its execution.

Article 17

1. Each Party, in accordance with its national legislation, recognizes and/or executes decisions rendered by the courts of the other Party in civil, commercial and civil cases, as well as decisions rendered by criminal courts in civil cases. 2. The term "judicial decision" used in this Agreement means any decision taken in legal proceedings by the competent court of the Parties.

Article 18

Ownership of immovable property is determined by the courts of the Party at the location of the property.

Article 19

In cases, with the exception of cases related to real estate, the courts of the Party have jurisdiction in the following cases:: a) if, at the time of the commencement of the proceedings, the defendant has a place of residence or resides in the territory of this Party; b) or the defendant, at the time of the commencement of the proceedings, has a legal entity or a branch of a commercial or industrial nature, or works for profit in the territory of this Party, and the proceedings are related to this activity; (c) Either by explicit or indirect agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant, the contractual obligations in connection with which the proceedings are initiated are fulfilled in the territory of that Party; (d) or in the case of a non-contractual obligation, the harm was committed in the territory of that Party; (e) the defendant explicitly or indirectly accepted the jurisdiction of the court.

Article 20

Based on the subject matter of the provisions of this Agreement, the court of a Party, when recognizing and executing a court decision, is limited to the facts set forth in this court decision by the court of the other Party in accordance with its jurisdiction, except in the case of a court decision in absentia.

Article 21

A court decision is not recognized or enforced in the following cases:: 1) if it is not final and cannot be enforced; 2) or it is issued by an incompetent court; 3) or it may damage sovereignty, security or principles of public order, or contradicts constitutional rules or current national legislation in the Requested Party; 4) or it violates the rules regarding the legal representation of persons without legal capacity or limited in it in the Requested party; 5) or it was rendered in absentia and the absent party was not properly notified in accordance with the rules applicable in his State; 6) or the dispute between these Parties on this subject was previously suspended or a court decision was rendered and entered into force, provided that the relevant court was competent to hear and make this decision.. Or a court of a third State has issued a judicial decision on the same subject in respect of these Parties, recognized by the Requested Party.

Article 22

Procedures related to the recognition or enforcement of a court decision should be subject to the national legislation of the Requested Party.

Article 23

1. When recognizing or executing a court decision, the competent judicial authority of the Requested Party does not review the case and confines itself to the conviction that the court decision complies with the conditions provided for in this Agreement. 2. When executing a court decision, the competent judicial authority of the Requested Party, if provided for by its national legislation, shall take the necessary notification measures in accordance with the procedure established in its territory. 3. The execution of a court decision may be carried out in whole or in part, if this is provided for in the court decision itself.

Article 24

A request for recognition or enforcement of a court decision is accompanied by the following: a) an official copy of the court decision; b) a certificate stating that the court decision is final and enforceable, except where this is indicated in the court decision itself; c) in the case of a court decision made in absentia, a certified copy of summonses or other documents certifying that the defendant was duly summoned; d) a document confirming that an incapacitated or legally disabled Party was promptly represented in court proceedings.

Article 25

1. A settlement agreement reached by the Parties and approved by the competent court of one of the Parties in accordance with its national legislation shall be recognized and executed in the territory of the other Party after an examination that it does not contain any provisions contrary to constitutional norms or current legislation, sovereignty, security or public order in the Requested Party. 2. The party requesting recognition or enforcement of the settlement agreement shall submit a certified copy of the settlement agreement and a court certificate confirming the degree of its satisfaction.

Article 26

A request for recognition and enforcement of a court decision may be sent by the Requesting Party directly to the competent court of the Requested Party.

Article 27

Court decisions that are recognized or enforced have the same force as court decisions made in the territory of the Requested Party.

Final provisions

Article 28

The provisions of this Agreement do not affect the rights and obligations of the Parties with respect to other international treaties to which they are parties.

Article 29

Any dispute arising from the interpretation and implementation of this Agreement shall be resolved through consultations through diplomatic channels.

Article 30

1. This Agreement is subject to ratification and the instruments of ratification are subject to exchange. This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth (30th) day after the exchange of instruments of ratification. 2. This Agreement may be amended in writing through diplomatic channels, which will enter into force in accordance with the ratification procedures provided for this Agreement. 3. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. Each Party may withdraw from it at any time by giving six (6) months notice prior to withdrawal. In this case, the actions initiated in connection with the implementation of this Agreement must be executed and completed in accordance with its provisions.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective States, have signed this Agreement.

Done in Abu Dhabi on March 16, 2009, in two copies in the Kazakh, Arabic and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any discrepancies in the interpretation of this Agreement, the English text will prevail.

For the Republic of Kazakhstan For the United Arab Emirates Emirates

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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