Astana, 27 October. The number of civil cases in Kazakhstan's courts rose by 28.4% in the first nine months of 2026 to more than 605,000, driven by bankruptcy claims, housing and land disputes and contract cases, Supreme Court Chairman Aslambek Mergaliyev told President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Akorda said.
Over the same period the courts heard 24,800 criminal cases, 29,200 administrative cases and 319,000 cases of administrative offences. Almost half of disputes, Mergaliyev said, were settled through mediation and other alternative procedures.
The cassation courts received more than 18,000 complaints. As a result, the number of corrected appellate decisions doubled, from 934 to 1,704. Absolute trust in the judiciary, according to the Bureau of National Statistics, has risen from 55.2% in 2023 to 69.7%. Tokayev stressed the need to keep improving the quality of justice.
What it means: The courts are flooded with civil disputes, above all over debt and housing; the rising number of corrected appellate decisions shows that cassation is finding mistakes in them more often.
Who benefits: Citizens and businesses whose cases were reviewed in cassation. For the courts, a workload up by a quarter puts pressure on the speed and quality of hearings.
Background: Independent cassation courts for civil, criminal and administrative cases have operated in Astana since 1 July 2025: before that, complaints against final decisions were heard by the Supreme Court, which now studies and summarises judicial practice.
