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2007 Assessment

Kazakhstan: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Kazakhstan: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Public Access to Information
Indicators		Score
12	Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?	100
13	Is the right of access to information effective?	55

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Do citizens have a legal right of access to information?

12a: In law, citizens have a right of access to government information and basic government records.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Constitution, article 18, part 3 [ LINK ])=en&L1=L1&L2=L1-9

12b: In law, citizens have a right of appeal if access to a basic government record is denied.

Score:

YES

Comments: If access is denied then the case can be brought to court.

References: Constitution, article 18, part 3 [ LINK ])=en&L1=L1&L2=L1-9

Peer Review Comments: The misuse of secrecy regulations is a de facto barrier to recourse on access to information.

12c: In law, there is an established institutional mechanism through which citizens can request government records.

Score:

YES

Comments: The presidential decree should have been substituted by the law, but it is still under discussion.

References: The general mechanism is to go directly or to write directly an address or appeal to the given government body or to the superior agency. If there is no superior agency, it is possible to write an appeal to the court. Also, every government body or official has a specified time to meet with the people and address their complaints.

Constitution, article 18, part 3 and article 33, part 1 [ LINK ])=en&L1=L1&L2=L1-9;

Law on media, article 2 Freedom of Speech, Receipt and Information Dissemination, part 3 and article 25 Grounds for Responsibility for Violating the Legislation on Mass Media [ LINK ];

Criminal Code, article 155 Hindering of the legal professional activity of the journalist [ LINK ] (in Russian);

Presidential decree from June 19, 1995 «On the order of the addresses of the citizens"

Is the right of access to information effective?

13a: In practice, citizens receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The government started so called "e-government" initiative in 2004. People are still are not well aware about it, but this awarness is growing. NGOs made several cases in the courts against the state bodies, when they did not provide the information.

References: Description of e-government initiative, 2004, Electronic Government of Kazakhstan [ LINK ]

Web article. The Institute for Information Freedom Development Kazakhstan's Authorities Will Meet The People Electronically March 23, 2007 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: In comparison with Western European standards, Kazakhstan is still lagging. If viewed from a former Soviet Union or Central Asian perspective, it has made progress.

13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Description of e-government initiative, 2004, Electronic Government of Kazakhstan [ LINK ]

Web article. The Institute for Information Freedom Development Kazakhstan's Authorities Will Meet The People Electronically March 23, 2007 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The formal costs are one matter, and the de facto costs to actually access information are vastly different. Repeated visits to authorities are needed to simply obtain open information. Foreign investments and customs have made significant progress.

Peer Review Comments:

13c: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Web article. The Institute for Information Freedom Development Kazakhstan's Authorities Will Meet The People Electronically March 23, 2007 [ LINK ]

Comparative survey Legal Regulation in the ERRA Countries March 2004. Fourth Annual Meeting of The Regional Association www.erranet.org

Peer Review Comments: A number of sources, including Reporters Without Borders, have outlined the problems with accessing information in Kazakhstan.

13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Appeals are made via courts. There are precedents when newspapers and environmental NGOs made appeals when governmental bodies have not responded on time. The government fee for the court case is 4,115 tenge (US$34).

References: ALLEGATION On Violation of the Right to Receipt of Information by Greensalvation NGO, April 21, 2002 [ LINK ];

Report. Transparency International, 2003 Assessment of Mass Media Participation in The Fight against Corruption (in Russian) [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The Kazakhstan courts are notoriously corrupt and inefficient, thus any application will not be processed quickly.

13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request.

Score:

100

Comments: There is a law on state secrets and it can be used as an official tool to avoid the provision of information

References: ALLEGATION On Violation of the Right to Receipt of Information by Greensalvation NGO, April 21, 2002 [ LINK ];

Report. Transparency International, 2003 Assessment of Mass Media Participation in The Fight against Corruption (in Russian) [ LINK ]