The head of state has signed a number of laws related to the modernization of the judicial system, including the Law  introducing certain amendments (the "Law") to the Civil Procedure Code (the "CPC") and the Administrative Procedure and Process-related Code (the "APPC"). The Law will enter into force on July 1, 2021, the date on which APPC is also due to become  effective.

We set out below a brief summary of the amendments introduced by the Law to the CPC and the APPC.

Jurisdiction of disputes involving investors under the CPC and APPC

Jurisdiction under the CPC

The Law introduced amendments to the CPC regarding the jurisdiction of investment disputes as well as disputes arising out of the claims of state bodies against investors related to their investment activities. Starting from July 1, 2021, these disputes will be transferred from the jurisdiction of the Court of Nur-Sultan City to the jurisdiction of the Specialized Inter-District Economic Court (SIDEC) of Nur-Sultan City as the court of first instance.

Thus, from the effective date of the Law, the jurisdiction of the mentioned disputes in terms of court instances will be as follows:

1. First instance – the SIDEC of Nur-Sultan City;
2. Appellate instance – the Court of Nur-Sultan City;
3. Cassation instance – the Supreme Court. 

Jurisdiction under the APPC

The Law also introduced amendments to the APPC in relation to the jurisdiction of disputes arising out of investors’ appeals against acts or actions of administrative bodies. From July 1, 2021, onwards, these disputes will be heard by the Specialized Inter-District Administrative Court (SIDAC) of Nur-Sultan City. Currently, such disputes are heard by the Court of Nur-Sultan City under the rules of Chapter 29 of the CPC, which will be repealed upon APPC’s entry into force.  

Thus, from the effective date of the Law, the jurisdiction of the above disputes in terms of court instances will be as follows:

1. First instance – the SIDAC of Nur-Sultan City;
2. Appeals instance – the Court of Nur-Sultan City;
3. Cassation instance - the Judicial Board for Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court .

Thus, the Law established a three-stage system of judicial protection for disputes involving investors.

The moment of entry of the judicial acts into force

Amendments were made to the APPC also with respect to the moment of entry of judicial acts into force. According to them, judicial acts rendered under the APPC come into force as follows:

• First instance – upon expiration of the period for filing an appeal (two months);
• Appellate instance – upon expiration of the period for submitting a cassation appeal (one month). Under the previous wording of the APPC, an act of the court of appeals in a dispute involving the investor would come into force on the day when the court of cassation announced its resolution.
• Cassation instance – on the day when the court of cassation announces its resolution.

In justification of the above changes introduced by the Law, the legislator points out that such changes will help to evenly distribute the workload among the courts as well as benefit the national investment climate.