Situations often arise in which citizens, having become parties to court proceedings, disagree with a court’s decision or consider the judgment to be unfair. 

A court decision that has not yet entered into legal force may be appealed in appellate proceedings, and an appellate petition may be filed by the prosecutor. The right to appeal a court decision belongs to the parties and other persons participating in the case. 

The right to file an appellate petition is vested in the prosecutor who participated in the consideration of the case. 

An appeal may also be filed by persons who were not involved in the proceedings but whose rights and obligations were determined by the court’s decision. 

An appeal and an appellate petition by the prosecutor shall be filed through the court that rendered the decision and shall be submitted to the court together with copies corresponding to the number of persons participating in the case.

An appeal and an appellate petition by the prosecutor may be filed within one month from the date on which the decision is rendered in its final form, except in cases provided for by the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – the CPC). For persons who did not participate in the court proceedings, the time limit shall be calculated from the date on which a copy of the decision is sent to them. 

What must be indicated in an appeal?

An appeal and an appellate petition by the prosecutor shall contain:

1. name of the court to which the appeal or appellate petition by the prosecutor is addressed;
2. name of the person submitting the appeal or the appellate petition by the prosecutor;
3. decision subject to appeal or to review upon the prosecutor’s appellate petition, and the name of the court that rendered such decision;
4. indication of the grounds on which the court decision is alleged to be unlawful or unfounded, as a rule with reference to the applicable laws and the case materials;
5. an indication of the part of the decision whose legality is to be reviewed, and a statement of the modifications requested by the person filing the appeal or by the prosecutor in the appellate petition;
6. a list of documents attached to the appeal or to the prosecutor’s appellate petition;
7. the date of filing and the signature of the person submitting the appeal or the prosecutor’s appellate petition. If the appeal is signed by a representative, a power of attorney or other document evidencing the representative’s authority shall be attached, unless such document is already contained in the case file.

Where an appeal or a prosecutor’s appellate petition is submitted in electronic form, it shall be authenticated by the digital signature of the person submitting it or of the representative thereof. Electronic copies of documents shall be attached to an appeal or a prosecutor’s appellate petition submitted in electronic form.

An appeal and a prosecutor’s appellate petition may not contain claims that were not raised before the court of first instance.

In what cases may an appeal be returned to the person who filed it?

An appeal and a prosecutor’s appellate petition shall be returned to the person who filed them in the following cases:

1. failure to comply within the prescribed time limit with the judge’s instructions set out in the ruling leaving the appeal or the prosecutor’s appellate petition without movement;
2. request by the person who filed the appeal or by the prosecutor who submitted the appellate petition;
3. if the time limit for review has expired and the appeal or the prosecutor’s appellate petition does not contain a request for its reinstatement, or if reinstatement of the time limit has been refused;
4. if the appeal or the prosecutor’s appellate petition has been filed or signed by a person who is not entitled to file or sign it.

 A ruling on the return of an appeal or a prosecutor’s appellate petition shall be issued by the court no later than five working days:

1. in the case provided for in subclause 1) of part one of Article 407 of the CPC, from the date of expiry of the time limit set by the court;
2. in all other cases, from the date of receipt of the appeal or the prosecutor’s appellate petition.

 A private complaint may be filed against a ruling on the return of an appeal or a prosecutor’s appellate petition, and a petition may be submitted by the prosecutor.

Judicial acts of local and other courts that have entered into legal force may, subject to compliance with the appellate procedure for their appeal, be reviewed in cassation by the Supreme Court.

Judicial acts in the following categories of cases are not subject to review in cassation:

1. considered under the simplified proceedings provided for in Chapters 12 and 21-1 of the CPC;
2. concluded by a settlement agreement, a dispute (conflict) resolution agreement reached through mediation, or a dispute resolution agreement reached through a participatory procedure;
3. relating to the pecuniary interests of individuals where the amount of the claim is less than two thousand monthly calculation indices, and of legal entities where the amount of the claim is less than thirty thousand monthly calculation indices;
4. terminated due to the withdrawal of the claim;
5. concerning the restoration of citizens’ solvency and debt restructuring, as well as cases involving disputes arising within rehabilitation and bankruptcy proceedings, including the invalidation of transactions concluded by the debtor or by a person authorized by the debtor, the recovery of the debtor’s property, and the collection of receivables under claims filed by a financial, bankruptcy, or rehabilitation administrator.

Judicial acts of local and other courts that have entered into legal force may be reviewed in cassation, in the absence of compliance with the appellate procedure for their appeal and in the cases referred to in part two of this Article, upon a protest lodged by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan or his or her deputies, the Chief Military Prosecutor, or the Chief Transport Prosecutor, subject to the existence of the grounds provided for in part six of Article 438 of the CPC.

Judicial acts of local and other courts that have entered into legal force may, in the event of non-compliance with the appellate procedure for their appeal, except for judicial acts in cases specified in subclauses 1), 2), 3), and 4) of part two of the CPC, as well as judicial acts of the courts of first and appellate instances referred to in subclause 5) of part two of the CPC can be subject to cassation review upon a protest by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the grounds provided for in Article 427 of the CPC.

What must be included in a cassation appeal?

1. name of the court or official to whom the cassation appeal or petition is addressed;
2. name of the person filing the cassation appeal or petition for the lodging of a protest, and of the person in whose interest it is filed, including his or her place of residence or location and procedural status in the case;
3. a list of the persons participating in the case, indicating their places of residence or locations;
4. an indication of the courts that examined the case at the first and appellate instances, and of the substance of the decisions adopted by them;
5. an indication of the judicial act subject to review or protest;
6. an indication of the manner in which the rules of substantive and procedural law were violated, and of the relief sought by the person filing the cassation appeal or the petition for the lodging of a protest;
7. where a petition for the lodging of a protest is filed on the grounds provided for in part six of Article 438 of this Code, the petition shall specify the exceptional nature of the grounds for the review of the judicial acts;
8. in a cassation appeal or a petition for the lodging of a protest filed by a representative, reference shall be made to the provision of law on which the claims are based.

If a cassation appeal or a petition for the lodging of a protest is filed in the interest of a person who did not participate in the case, it shall specify which rights of that person have been violated by the challenged judicial act.

If a cassation appeal has previously been filed with the court of cassation and was returned, the appeal shall specify the reasons for its return.

A cassation appeal or a petition for the lodging of a protest shall be signed by the person filing it. Where a cassation appeal or a petition for the lodging of a protest is filed in the form of an electronic document, it shall be authenticated by means of the digital signature of the person filing it or of his or her representative. A power of attorney confirming the authority of the representative shall be attached to the cassation appeal or the petition for the lodging of a protest. Electronic copies of documents shall be attached in electronic form to a cassation appeal or a petition for the lodging of a protest filed in the form of an electronic document.

A document confirming payment of the state duty in the amount established by the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Taxes and Other Mandatory Payments to the Budget” (Tax Code) shall be attached to a cassation appeal challenging a judicial act.