Astana, 29 October. The Ministry of Justice, in a consultative document on a draft new law “On Justice Bodies”, has acknowledged insufficient oversight of private court bailiffs: complaints about enforcement proceedings made up 42.5% of the 215,827 appeals received by the ministry and its regional bodies in 2025, the KazTAG agency reported.
The ministry itself handled 35,273 of those appeals. Of the complaints about enforcement, 60.6% concern the recovery of money and 29.4% socially significant cases. “The facts identified in reviewing them — untimely action, insufficient oversight of private bailiffs, formal handling of complaints and failure to analyse the circumstances of cases fully — point to the need to further improve oversight and response mechanisms,” the document says.
The ministry also noted that 35% of appeals were forwarded to other state bodies because they fell outside the remit of justice bodies. “Almost every third appeal concerns matters outside the competence of justice bodies,” the document says. Another 25.6% of appeals concern the registration service and legal services, including the work of notaries.
The ministry put the draft law up for discussion in October. It argues that the remit of justice bodies is scattered across many sectoral laws — on legal acts, enforcement, notaries, the bar, forensic expertise and intellectual property — and proposes a single law with a common list of areas of work. It wants digital transformation enshrined as a separate area, with every process reviewed and simplified before it is automated, and outdated and duplicating rules removed. Which specific oversight measures for private bailiffs the law will contain is not clear from the published information.
What it means: The ministry itself has admitted that complaints about private bailiffs are handled formally and late, and is preparing a new law under which oversight of them should become stricter and the work of justice bodies clearer to citizens.
Who benefits: Debtors and creditors — if oversight is tightened, complaints about bailiffs will be examined on their merits. For private bailiffs stricter supervision means more inspections. Judging by publications, the document does not yet name specific measures.
Background: Private court bailiffs appeared in Kazakhstan under the 2010 law “On Enforcement Proceedings and the Status of Court Bailiffs” and over time took over most recoveries: loan debts, alimony, fines. They work under licence and are paid from the sums recovered; they are supervised by the Ministry of Justice and the Republican Chamber of Private Court Bailiffs. The current law “On Justice Bodies” was adopted in 2002.
