Legal Culture and Legal Consciousness in Kazakhstan: an Analysis of the Annual Reports of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Legal Acts
Summary: 1. Introduction. – 2. Methodology. – 3. Evolution of Legal Culture and Legal Consciousness in Kazakhstan. – 4. Literature Review. – 5. Findings and Discussion. – 5.1. Complaints as Indicators of Legal Culture and Legal Consciousness. – 5.2. Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings and Rights of Convicts. – 5.3. Legal Education and Public Engagement. – 5.4. Analysis of Key Legal Acts in the Context of Legal Culture and Legal Consciousness in Kazakhstan. – 6. Conclusion.
Background: Legal consciousness and legal culture are interrelated but different concepts. Legal consciousness is a set of ideas, views, beliefs and feelings of people regarding law, legality and justice. It reflects the attitude of society or an individual toward the law. Legal culture is a broader concept that includes not only the level of legal consciousness but also the degree of implementation of legal norms in society, as well as the lawful behaviour of citizens. The development of legal awareness and legal culture is necessary for the construction of a legal state and the observance of democratic principles. Examining these elements is important for evaluating how effectively policies fulfil human rights obligations and identifying key directions to improve justice and equity.
Methods: The study utilised document and legal analysis approaches. It examined the legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan by analysing the annual reports of the Ombudsman for Human Rights from 2019 to 2023, as these provide authoritative assessments of human rights, legal awareness, and access to justice in Kazakhstan. Additionally, the study analysed current legislation and policy documents relevant to legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan, including the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Concept for the Development of Legal Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030, and the National Plan for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
Results and Conclusions: The study revealed the dynamics of public legal consciousness and the challenges of adjusting national policies to global human rights standards. The findings were categorised into three main themes: complaints as indicators of legal culture and legal consciousness; human rights in criminal proceedings and rights of convicts; and legal education and public engagement. As the findings indicate, human rights violations during pre-trial investigations, allegations of coercion, and mistreatment of convicts remain significant concerns in ensuring access to justice in Kazakhstan. These results highlight gaps in institutional accountability and policy implementation, stressing persistent difficulties in protecting human rights within the criminal justice and judicial systems. An analysis of key legal acts in the context of legal culture and legal consciousness revealed that the development of a strong legal culture in Kazakhstan requires a number of reforms aimed at increasing the level of legal education of the population, institutional accountability, and effective implementation of laws. The study concludes that to promote legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan, it is imperative to address identified systemic issues through legal reforms, public education, and institutional strengthening.
Abstract
Background: Legal consciousness and legal culture are interrelated but different concepts. Legal consciousness is a set of ideas, views, beliefs and feelings of people regarding law, legality and justice. It reflects the attitude of society or an individual toward the law. Legal culture is a broader concept that includes not only the level of legal consciousness but also the degree of implementation of legal norms in society, as well as the lawful behaviour of citizens. The development of legal awareness and legal culture is necessary for the construction of a legal state and the observance of democratic principles. Examining these elements is important for evaluating how effectively policies fulfil human rights obligations and identifying key directions to improve justice and equity.
Methods: The study utilised document and legal analysis approaches. It examined the legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan by analysing the annual reports of the Ombudsman for Human Rights from 2019 to 2023, as these provide authoritative assessments of human rights, legal awareness, and access to justice in Kazakhstan. Additionally, the study analysed current legislation and policy documents relevant to legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan, including the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Concept for the Development of Legal Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030, and the National Plan for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
Results and Conclusions: The study revealed the dynamics of public legal consciousness and the challenges of adjusting national policies to global human rights standards. The findings were categorised into three main themes: complaints as indicators of legal culture and legal consciousness; human rights in criminal proceedings and rights of convicts; and legal education and public engagement. As the findings indicate, human rights violations during pre-trial investigations, allegations of coercion, and mistreatment of convicts remain significant concerns in ensuring access to justice in Kazakhstan. These results highlight gaps in institutional accountability and policy implementation, stressing persistent difficulties in protecting human rights within the criminal justice and judicial systems. An analysis of key legal acts in the context of legal culture and legal consciousness revealed that the development of a strong legal culture in Kazakhstan requires a number of reforms aimed at increasing the level of legal education of the population, institutional accountability, and effective implementation of laws. The study concludes that to promote legal culture and legal consciousness in Kazakhstan, it is imperative to address identified systemic issues through legal reforms, public education, and institutional strengthening.
About Authors
Darkhan Bakirov
PhD Candidate, Faculty of Humanities and Law, Turan University, Kazakhstan
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3836-1998
Co-author, responsible for conceptualization, supervision, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing-original draft, writing – review and editing.
Nurmukhamed Myrzatayev*
PhD, Faculty of Law, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5397-0332
Corresponding author, responsible for conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, visualization, writing-original draft, writing – review and editing.
Kairly Ospanov
PhD, Faculty of Law, Academy of Design and Technology "Symbat", Kazakhstan.
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0854-2174
Co-author, responsible for investigation, methodology, writing-original draft.
Akzira Zhangaziyeva
PhD, Faculty of Business and Law, Yessenov University, Kazakhstan
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3529-9300
Co-author, responsible for investigation, formal analysis, writing-original draft
Saule Suleimenova
Doctor of Legal Sciences, Faculty of Law, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6754-9255
Co-author, responsible for investigation, formal analysis, writing-original draft.
Competing interests: No competing interests were disclosed.
Disclaimer: The authors declare that their opinion and views expressed in this manuscript are free of any impact of any organizations.
Copyright: © 2025 Darkhan Bakirov, Nurmukhamed Myrzatayev, Kairly Ospanov, Akzira Zhangaziyeva and Saule Suleimenova. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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АНОТАЦІЯ УКРАЇНСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ
Дослідницька стаття
ПРАВОВА КУЛЬТУРА ТА ПРАВОВА СВІДОМІСТЬ У КАЗАХСТАНІ: АНАЛІЗ ЩОРІЧНИХ ЗВІТІВ УПОВНОВАЖЕНОГО З ПРАВ ЛЮДИНИ ТА НОРМАТИВНО-ПРАВОВИХ АКТІВ
Дархан Бакіров, Нурмухамед Мирзатаєв*, Кайрли Оспанов, Акзіра Жанґазієва та Сауле Сулейменова
АНОТАЦІЯ
Вступ. Правова свідомість та правова культура – це взаємопов’язані, але різні поняття. Правова свідомість – це сукупність ідей, поглядів, переконань та почуттів людей щодо права, законності та справедливості. Вона відображає ставлення суспільства чи окремої особи до права. Правова культура – це ширше поняття, яке містить не лише рівень правосвідомості, але й ступінь впровадження правових норм у суспільстві, а також правомірну поведінку громадян. Розвиток правової свідомості та культури необхідний для побудови правової держави та дотримання демократичних принципів. Вивчення цих елементів важливе для оцінки ефективності політики виконання зобов’язань щодо прав людини та для визначення ключових напрямків зміцнення справедливості та рівноправ’я.
Методи. У дослідженні використовувалися методи документального та правового аналізу. Було вивчено правову культуру та правову свідомість у Казахстані за допомогою аналізу щорічних звітів Уповноваженого з прав людини за 2019–2023 роки, оскільки вони містять авторитетні оцінки стану прав людини, правової свідомості та доступу до правосуддя в Казахстані. Крім того, у статті було проаналізовано чинне законодавство та програмні документи, що стосуються правової культури та правової свідомості в Казахстані, зокремаКонституцію Республіки Казахстан, Концепцію розвитку правової політики в Республіці Казахстан до 2030 року та Національний план дій щодо прав людини та верховенства права.
Результати та висновки. У статті було виявлено динаміку суспільної правової свідомості та проблеми адаптації національної політики до світових стандартів у сфері прав людини. Результати дослідження були розділені на три основні теми: скарги як показники правової культури та правової свідомості; права людини в кримінальному судочинстві та права засуджених; а також правова освіта та залучення громадськості. Як показують результати дослідження, порушення прав людини під час досудового розслідування, заяви про примус та жорстоке поводження із засудженими залишаються суттєвою проблемою у забезпеченні доступу до правосуддя в Казахстані. Ці результати висвітлюють прогалини в інституційній підзвітності та реалізаціїполітики, наголошуючи на постійних труднощах у захисті прав людини в межах системи кримінального правосуддя та судовій системі. Аналіз ключових нормативно-правових актів у контексті правової культури та правової свідомості показав, що розвиток сильної правової культури в Казахстані вимагає низки реформ, спрямованих на підвищення рівня правової освіти населення, інституційної підзвітності та ефективного впровадження законів. У статті було зроблено висновок, що для сприяння правовій культурі та правовій свідомості в Казахстані вкрай важливо вирішувати виявлені системні проблеми за допомогою правових реформ, освіти громадськості та зміцнення інституцій.
Ключові слова: правова культура, правова свідомість, Казахстан, права людини, Уповноважений з прав людини.
Publication history
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Date of submission: 06 Feb 2025Date of acceptance: 16 Apr 2025
Online First publication: 18 Jun 2025
Last Publication: 17 Aug 2025
Whether the manuscript was fast tracked? - No
Number of reviewer report submitted in first round: 4 reports
Number of revision rounds: 1 round with major revisions
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How to cite it?
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Bakirov D, Myrzatayev N, Ospanov K, Zhangaziyeva A and Suleimenova S, ‘Legal Cultureand Legal Consciousness in Kazakhstan: an Analysis of the Annual Reports of the
Ombudsman for Human Rights and Legal Acts’ (2025) 8(3) Access to Justice in Eastern
Europe 278-302 <https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-8.3-a000105>
DOI https://doi.org/10.33327/AJEE-18-8.3-a000105
Managing editor – Mag. Bohdana Zahrebelna. English Editor – Julie Bold.
Ukrainian language editor: Lilia Hartman.
