In line for justice: state or arbitration court

11.08.2025

In the realities of modern times, business acquires a “face”. It acquires a character, a mood, because business reflects our need for communication, recognition, popularity. We prefer a coffee shop where we know the barista or the owner himself, even from an Instagram page, we trust a doctor recommended by a friend, we buy goods in a well-known store.

But any partnership agreements, like acquaintances, can be with a minus sign: either you made a mistake and let us down, or your business partner did. What to do if pre-trial negotiations have reached a dead end, and the parties do not see any way to reconcile? The final step in the search for justice is the court. And here the most interesting part begins.

In Kazakhstan, for more than 20 years, there has been an alternative practice for judicial dispute resolution – through the state judicial system and in arbitration court.

With the state court, everything is more or less clear. Step by step: claim, evidence, state duty, consideration, court decision with the right to appeal. Minor variations of this path are set out in the country’s specialized codes and there is no need to retell them.

Let’s look at the arbitration court. Let’s start with the theory: in Kazakhstan, the work of arbitration courts is regulated by the Law “On Arbitration” dated 08.04.2016, which replaced two laws: the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Arbitration Courts” dated 28.12.2004 and the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On International Commercial Arbitration” dated 28.12.2004.
There are two popular questions about the arbitration court: what is it and how does it work. The arbitration court is not a state court. It exists in the forms of permanent or temporary arbitration. The list of permanent arbitration courts is on the websites of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Arbitration Chamber of Kazakhstan. Temporary arbitration is created to resolve a specific dispute. The court may include one or several arbitrators, who are elected by the parties to the dispute themselves. The arbitrator must meet the requirements of the Law “On Arbitration”. If the parties have applied to permanent arbitration, the dispute will be considered according to its rules; if the arbitration is temporary, the parties themselves determine the procedure for consideration. The procedure is approximately the same as in a state court: claim, evidence, response to the claim, consideration and decision on the merits. What to do with an arbitration decision? The same as with a state judicial act: you can appeal, you can issue an enforcement document.

Of course, it is impossible to tell about all the nuances within a short article, but there is good news, even two.

First: there is room for a couple of practical tips. To apply to arbitration, there must be an agreement or a condition in the contract on the jurisdiction of the arbitration court between the parties. Appealing to arbitration is paid, the cost is determined by each arbitration independently, and such payment can be much more expensive than the usual state fee. Before applying to arbitration, check its validity through the websites of the Ministry of Justice and the Arbitration Chamber of Kazakhstan. The competence of arbitration is limited by types of disputes.

Second: if everything is still unclear, but very interesting, or the business partner insists on an arbitration clause in the contract, contact us for advice. We will help, explain, protect.

In general, if we compare very broadly, state and arbitration courts are like state and private clinics. The choice is, of course, yours, but health requires a responsible attitude.