Phenomenon of the Institute “Non-Procedural Contacts” in the Activities of a Judge (According to the Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan)

Introduction. The formulation of the research problem is associated with the presence of a number of questions related to the understanding of the institute “non-procedural contacts” both within the framework of professional (official) and other activities of judges. The purpose of the study is to analyze the provisions of the Basic Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Judicial System and the Status of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On the Supreme Judicial Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, the Code of Judicial Ethics, in the context of studying the phenomenon of “non-procedural contacts”. The objective of the study is to analyze the organizational and legal location of the institution of “non-procedural contacts” in the legal framework of the Republic of Kazakhstan, its formal and actual prospective legislative location in the legal “fabric” of the Republic of Kazakhstan and, as a result, the possibility of preventing future facts of non-procedural behavior and minimizing various consequences for both the judicial system of the country and the security of society as a whole. Methods. The study was conducted using a set of methods, including legal analysis based on the study of official documents, regulatory legal acts and legal provisions governing judicial activity in the Republic of Kazakhstan. These methods contributed to a deep analysis of issues related to the use of “non-procedural contacts” by some unscrupulous judges in their professional judicial activities and to identify possible consequences for the legality and fairness of judicial decisions. Results. Conclusions were formulated that the legal position of the term “non-procedural contacts” in Article 4 of the Code of Judicial Ethics of the Republic of Kazakhstan is not entirely justified. Considering that today the Code of Judicial Ethics of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 21, 2016 is not a “full-fledged” regulatory legal act adopted in accordance with the established legal procedure, but is recognized as an act adopted at the VII Congress, in fact, of the republican public association “Union of Judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan” and does not have actual legal force. Discussion and Conclusion. Thus, the authors propose to enshrine the definition of “non-procedural contacts” in the current Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This proposal is aimed at the official and legislative definition of the place of the institute of “non-procedural contacts” in the legislative framework of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the first step for the organizational and legal recognition of such a phenomenon in the activities of judges and its potential minimization for judicial and national security.