Kazakh parliament passes new Criminal Code
ASTANA. June 11 (Interfax) - The Majilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament, agreed with amendments to a new draft Criminal Code proposed by the upper chamber, the Senate, at a plenary session on Wednesday, an Interfax correspondent reported.
Hence, the document has been adopted by the parliament in general and is to be sent to the president for signing it into law.
The new Criminal Code has been drawn up as part of measures aimed at setting up new criminal law institutions and modernizing the existing mechanisms of criminal defense amid the ongoing transformation of social relations and the emergence of new threats unknown before for ensuring appropriate protection of the person, society, and the state.
First Deputy Prosecutor General Johan Merkel said earlier that the new Criminal Code would significantly toughen liability for terrorist and extremist crimes. Individuals found guilty of such crimes would not be entitled to parole or mitigation of their punishment.
In particular, the document criminalizes the provision of instruction in terrorist activities and involvement in armed conflicts abroad.
The descriptions of 34 new criminal offences have been added to the new Criminal Code and some of the existing descriptions of crimes have been updated.
A number of new articles introduce criminal liability for transnational organized crime, including the establishment of mercenary training bases.
New provisions regarding criminal liability for separatism have also been added to the Criminal Code.
The most significant novelty of the draft Criminal Code is the introduction of a two-stage system of criminally punishable acts, i.e. crimes and criminal infractions. If the new Criminal Code is enacted, criminal infractions would be punished by a broad range of mild types of punishment, primarily compulsory community service.