Kazakh parliament adopts amendments envisaging punishment for parents who bring children to rallies
NUR-SULTAN. Oct 24 (Interfax) - The Majilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament, at a plenary session on Wednesday approved amendments proposed by the senate envisaging a fine or administrative arrest of up to ten days for involving minors in mass assemblies conducted in violation of the law, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
The corresponding amendments apply to the law on changes and amendments to some legislative acts on issues relating to state service and corruption prevention. Thus, the law is considered passed by the parliament as a whole and is submitted to the Kazakh president to be signed.
Kazakh senators earlier returned this document to the Majilis, attaching their amendments. In particular, they suggested adding to Article 128 (involvement of a minor in the commission of an administrative offence) of the Code of Administrative Violations a second point, which says that "involving a minor in meetings, rallies, marches, demonstrations, and other forms of expression of public, group, or personal interests and protest conducted in violation of the legislation, and also use of minors in the said forms of expression of public, group, or personal interests and protests lead to a fine in an amount of 100 times the minimal monthly wage or up to 10 days of administrative arrest."
The minimal monthly wage is a monthly calculation indicator. In Kazakhstan it is 2,525 tenge.
According to the explanatory note attached to the law, "there are currently situations when citizens bring their underage children to unauthorized rallies, thus harming the stable physical and mental development of the minors' health."
"In this regard, it is proposed to envisage administrative liability for involving and using minors in unauthorized rallies," the document said.
On the whole, the purpose of the law is to improve the legislation on state service issues by eliminating legal gaps and collisions in the selection of the personnel and state service and realization of anti-corruption measures.
The document sets out a provision that envisages personal disciplinary liability of top officials whose subordinates have committed a corruption offence and have had their guilt proven in court. Disciplinary liability envisages punishment in the form of a reprimand saying the person is not fully fit for his job or dismissal from the post.
The law also simplifies competition procedures and envisages the appointment without competition of people who have completed doctoral programs at leading foreign universities and have experience of working in international organizations. It additionally specifies measures for the provision of social security to state servants.
The official exchange rate on October 23 is 389.75 tenge/$1