CHAPTER 2
HUMAN DIGNITY AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Article 8 — Human Dignity
Human dignity is inviolable.
The state shall respect and protect human dignity as the foundation of all rights and freedoms.
No law, act, or emergency measure may abolish or degrade human dignity.
The state shall provide effective remedies, including judicial review, for violations of human dignity.
Article 9 — Direct Effect of Rights
Human and civil rights and freedoms are directly applicable.
They bind the legislature, executive, judiciary, and all public authorities.
Everyone has the right to judicial protection of their constitutional rights.
Article 9a — Enforcement, Standing, and Expedited Review
Any person claiming that a public authority has violated a constitutional right has standing to bring an individual constitutional complaint before a competent court and to petition the Constitutional Court where this Constitution so provides.
The Constitutional Court shall have jurisdiction to decide individual constitutional complaints and abstract review requests concerning the compatibility of laws and administrative acts with fundamental rights. The Court shall adopt expedited procedures for cases involving deprivation of liberty, imminent irreparable harm, mass or systemic rights violations, or questions of exceptional public importance.
Courts and the Constitutional Court shall be empowered to order interim and provisional measures, including immediate release, stay of enforcement, suspension of unlawful administrative acts, or other urgent relief necessary to prevent irreparable harm. Interim measures shall be considered and, where appropriate, ordered within seventy‑two hours of application; final decisions shall be given within thirty calendar days absent exceptional circumstances.
Legal standing shall include natural and legal persons, registered civil‑society organizations acting in the public interest, the Ombudsman, the independent equality body, the Data Protection Authority, and other constitutional bodies expressly authorized by law.
Constitutional law shall provide procedures for expedited enforcement, service, and execution of judicial and constitutional remedies, and shall prohibit unreasonable procedural barriers to effective relief.
Article 10 — Right to Life
Everyone has the inherent right to life.
The death penalty is prohibited in all circumstances except as expressly provided in Articles 2(3) and 5(3) of this Constitution for the crimes of unconstitutional seizure of power and violation of territorial integrity.
Where the death penalty is constitutionally permitted under paragraph 2, it may be imposed only by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction following full due process, the right to appeal, and the right to petition for clemency under procedures established by constitutional law.
The state shall protect life through law and public policy.
Article 11 — Prohibition of Torture
No one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
No exceptional circumstances, including war or emergency, may justify torture.
Evidence obtained by torture or coercion is null and void.
Article 12 — Equality Before the Law
All persons are equal before the law and the courts.
Any form of discrimination is prohibited.
The state shall take measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination.
Constitutional law shall establish an independent equality body to receive discrimination complaints, monitor implementation, and recommend remedies.
Victims of discrimination shall have the right to effective remedy before independent courts or competent bodies.
Article 13 — Personal Liberty and Security
No person may be arrested, detained, imprisoned, abducted, or otherwise deprived of liberty except under law and by order of a court.
A person may be detained without prior court order only in cases expressly established by law and only for the shortest period strictly necessary.
Every detained person shall be informed immediately, in a language they understand, of the legal grounds for detention and of their rights.
Every detained person has the right to a lawyer from the first moment of detention.
Every detained person shall be brought before a judge without delay and within the period established by constitutional law.
Any person deprived of liberty has the right to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before a court, and the court shall decide without delay.
Unlawful detention shall give rise to immediate release and the right to compensation.
Article 14 — Due Process and Fair Trial
Every person has the right to have their case heard by an independent, impartial, and competent court established by law.
Court proceedings shall be fair, public, and conducted within a reasonable time, except in narrowly defined cases established by law to protect minors, private life, legally protected secrets, or national security.
Every person charged with an offense shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment of a court.
No person shall be compelled to testify against themselves or to confess guilt.
Every accused person has the right to know the charge, to have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense, to be represented by a lawyer, to examine evidence, and to challenge witnesses.
Criminal liability is personal. No person may be punished for the act of another.
No person may be convicted for an act or omission that was not a criminal offense at the time it was committed.
No heavier penalty may be imposed than the one applicable at the time the offense was committed.
A law reducing criminal liability or punishment has retroactive effect.
A final judgment may be reviewed only in the cases and under the procedures established by law.
Article 15 — Privacy and Data Protection
Everyone has the right to respect for private and family life, home, communications, and personal data.
Collection, storage, and use of personal data shall be permitted only on lawful grounds and under judicial supervision.
Surveillance is permitted only by court order.
Personal data of citizens and residents of the Qazaq Republic shall be stored primarily on the territory of the Republic and under the jurisdiction of the Republic.
Transfer, duplication, backup, mirroring, remote hosting, or other placement of such personal data outside the territory of the Republic is prohibited, except in cases expressly established by constitutional law.
No foreign state, foreign authority, foreign corporation, foreign organization, or foreign-controlled entity has the right to access personal data.
Surveillance, interception of communications, access to personal data, digital monitoring, and other intrusive measures are permitted only by court order.
Every person has the right to know what personal data concerning them is held by public authorities, to demand correction of inaccurate data, to demand deletion of unlawfully held data, and to challenge unlawful collection, storage, use, or transfer before a court.
Evidence or data obtained in violation of this Article shall be inadmissible, except where needed to prove grave violations of constitutional rights by public authorities.
Article 15a — Data Protection Authority
An independent Data Protection Authority (DPA) shall be established by constitutional law as an autonomous constitutional institution to supervise compliance with Article 15.
The DPA shall have powers to: a) investigate complaints and initiate inquiries; b) order corrective measures, deletion, or blocking of unlawfully processed data; c) mandate data localization or suspension of unlawful cross‑border transfers where constitutional law allows; d) require independent audits and technical remediation; e) impose proportionate administrative fines and sanctions within the limits established by law; f) publish decisions and annual reports.
The DPA’s decisions shall be subject to prompt judicial review. The DPA shall be institutionally independent, adequately funded by the state budget, and its leadership appointed and removed only under transparent, merit‑based procedures established by constitutional law.
Article 16 — Freedom of Speech, Thought, Conscience, and Religion
Every person has the right to freedom of speech, expression, thought, conscience, opinion, belief, and religion.
Freedom of speech and expression shall not be restricted, censored, licensed, or punished.
No law shall abridge freedom of speech, of the press, of peaceful expression, of artistic expression, of academic expression, or of political speech.
No person shall be compelled to disclose their opinions, beliefs, conscience, religion, political views, or lawful associations.
The state shall make no law establishing any religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or compelling religious observance.
The exercise of religion or expression may not include: a) direct and intentional incitement of imminent violence; b) true threats of unlawful violence against persons; c) participation in criminal conspiracy, armed insurrection, or terrorist activity; d) coercion that deprives another person of constitutional rights.
Political criticism of the state, government, Parliament, courts, public officials, religion, ideology, history, or public policy shall not be prohibited or punished merely because it is offensive, radical, unpopular, or hostile.
Prior censorship, prior restraint, ideological licensing, and administrative suppression of expression are prohibited.
No emergency, martial regime, security claim, or administrative act may be used to abolish the essential freedom of speech and political expression guaranteed by this Article.
Any restriction on expression, belief, or religion shall be by law, necessary, proportionate, and subject to prompt judicial review. Administrative decisions affecting these freedoms shall be reasoned and appealable.
Criminal sanctions for expression or religious conduct may be imposed only by law for narrowly defined offenses and shall require the same procedural safeguards as criminal prosecution. Administrative sanctions shall be proportionate, provided by law, and contestable before an independent court.
Journalists, media organizations, and persons acting in bona fide public‑interest reporting shall be entitled to specific procedural protections, including protection of sources, a fair process before sanctions, and access to expedited judicial review. Prior restraint shall be prohibited except where an independent court issues a narrowly tailored order consistent with this Article.
Article 17 — Freedom of Information
Every person has the right to seek, receive, access, and disseminate information.
Public information held by state bodies shall be open by default, except where restriction is strictly required by law and is necessary to protect national security, personal privacy, legally protected secrets, or the rights of others.
Every person has the right to timely access to public documents, records, and decisions affecting public affairs.
Refusal to provide public information shall be reasoned in writing and subject to judicial review.
State bodies shall maintain systems of active publication of laws, budgets, decisions, procurement, statistics, and other public information in accessible digital form.
Article 17a — Information Commissioner and FOI Enforcement
An independent Information Commissioner shall be established by constitutional law to enforce the right of access to public information under Article 17.
The Commissioner shall have powers to: a) receive and adjudicate complaints about refusals to disclose public information; b) order disclosure and set reasonable deadlines for compliance; c) impose administrative sanctions for unlawful refusal to disclose information within the limits established by law; d) publish binding decisions and annual transparency reports.
Decisions of the Commissioner shall be subject to expedited judicial review. Courts shall prioritize appeals against refusals of public information and shall provide interim orders where delay would cause irreparable public harm. Constitutional law shall set short appeal deadlines (not exceeding fourteen calendar days for initial judicial review).
Article 18 — Freedom of Assembly and Association
Citizens have the right to peaceful assembly, meeting, demonstration, march, picket, and protest without prior permission. Law may require only advance notification for the purpose of public safety, traffic coordination, and protection of the rights of others.
Citizens have the right to form political parties, labor unions, professional associations, civic organizations, and other lawful associations. Such associations shall operate freely, democratically, and in loyalty to the Constitution.
No association may pursue the violent overthrow of the constitutional order, armed insurrection, terrorism, private paramilitary activity, or the deprivation of the constitutional rights of others.
Restrictions on assembly or association may be imposed only by law, only in a democratic society, and only where strictly necessary and proportionate to prevent imminent violence, protect the constitutional rights of others, or preserve constitutional order against direct unlawful attack.
No restriction may be imposed merely because an assembly, protest, union, party, or association is critical of the government, unpopular, radical, or politically inconvenient.
Any prohibition, dispersal, suspension, or dissolution of an assembly or association shall be subject to prompt judicial review.
Article 19 — Political Rights
Citizens have the right to vote and to be elected in free, equal, direct, and secret elections conducted by periodic universal suffrage.
Every citizen who has attained the age established by constitutional law has the right to participate in elections, referendums, initiatives, recall procedures, and other forms of direct democracy established by this Constitution.
Citizens have the right to participate in the governance of the Republic directly and through freely elected representatives.
Citizens have equal access to public service and public office on the basis of merit, competence, and law.
No citizen shall be deprived of electoral rights except by a final court decision and only in the cases expressly established by constitutional law.
Any limitation of electoral rights shall be exceptional, proportionate, individually reasoned, and subject to judicial review.
Electoral rights shall not be limited on the grounds of political opinion, peaceful opposition activity, criticism of the government, religion, language, ethnicity, social origin, or other discriminatory grounds.
The state shall ensure the effective exercise of political rights through transparent electoral administration, equal campaign conditions, accessible voting procedures, and impartial protection of electoral integrity.
Article 20 — Economic and Social Rights
Every person has the right to work, to freely choose a lawful occupation, to just and favorable conditions of work, to safe and healthy working conditions, and to fair remuneration sufficient for a dignified life.
No person may be subjected to forced labor, except in the cases expressly established by constitutional law and consistent with human dignity and judicial guarantees.
Workers have the right to rest, reasonable limitation of working hours, weekly rest, paid leave, and protection against unjust dismissal in accordance with law.
Workers have the right to form and join labor unions, to bargain collectively, and to strike under conditions established by law in a manner consistent with democratic order and the rights of others.
The Republic is a social state and shall guarantee social protection sufficient to preserve human dignity and a minimum decent standard of life.
Every person has the right to social security in cases of disability, illness, unemployment, old age, loss of livelihood, caregiving responsibilities, and other cases established by law.
Families, children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, and other persons in vulnerable social circumstances are entitled to special protection by the state.
The state shall take legislative, budgetary, and administrative measures to reduce poverty, prevent extreme deprivation, and ensure access to essential means of subsistence.
Private property, inheritance, and freedom of lawful enterprise are guaranteed.
Property shall serve not only private interest but also the public good under conditions established by law.
Expropriation is permitted only by law, only for a genuine public necessity, only where no less restrictive lawful means exist, and only with prior, fair, and effective compensation, except in cases of emergency strictly defined by constitutional law.
The amount, legality, and public necessity of expropriation shall be subject to full judicial review.
The state shall promote fair competition, prevent monopolization, and prohibit unlawful economic domination harmful to society and democracy.
Constitutional law shall ensure that economic and social rights are enforceable by law and subject to effective remedies for their denial.
Within twelve months of entry into force of this Constitution, the Government shall adopt and publish a minimum social and health services package necessary to give effect to Articles 20–21, including indicative timelines, budgetary costings, and implementation milestones.
The Government shall report annually to Parliament on the implementation of socio‑economic rights, budgeting for minimum packages, and progress toward targets. The independent audit institution shall review compliance and publish findings. Parliament shall hold public hearings and may require remedial budgetary measures where implementation is inadequate.
Persons and civil‑society organizations shall have standing to seek judicial review of failure to implement core minimum obligations affecting fundamental rights, and courts shall be able to order proportionate remedial measures, including budget reallocation where legally permitted and necessary to prevent grave or systemic denial of rights.
Article 21 — Education, Health, and Environment
Every person has the right to education. Preschool, primary, and secondary education in public institutions shall be accessible, compulsory at the basic level, and free of charge under conditions established by law. The state shall ensure equal access to quality education regardless of income, place of residence, disability, language, social status, or other circumstances. Higher, vocational, and lifelong education shall be developed and supported by the state on the basis of merit, equality of opportunity, and public need.
Parents and legal guardians have the right and duty to ensure the education of children in accordance with the Constitution and law.
Education shall be directed toward human dignity, freedom, civic responsibility, scientific knowledge, constitutional loyalty, and respect for the rights and freedoms of others.
Every person has the right to health protection and to accessible medical care.
The state shall guarantee a basic universal system of health care and shall take measures to prevent disease, protect public health, and ensure access to essential medical services throughout the territory of the Republic.
No person shall be denied emergency medical assistance.
The state shall take special measures for maternal health, child health, disability support, mental health, epidemic response, and health protection in remote and underserved areas.
Every person has the right to an environment favorable to life, health, and human dignity.
The state shall protect land, water, air, forests, biodiversity, and other natural resources in the interests of present and future generations.
Every person has the right to receive reliable environmental information and to seek judicial protection against environmental harm.
Public authorities and private actors shall be legally responsible for unlawful environmental damage, concealment of environmental danger, and conduct creating serious risk to life or health.
The state shall pursue sustainable development and ecological security as constitutional duties.
The state shall establish judicial and administrative mechanisms to enforce the rights to education, health protection, and a healthy environment, and violations shall be subject to effective remedy.
Constitutional law shall require the Government to adopt measurable benchmarks, timelines, and an independent monitoring framework for education, health, and environmental protection, with annual public reporting to Parliament and the Constitutional Court where systemic constitutional breaches are alleged.
Article 22 — Right to Civic Defense and Arms
Citizens have the right to participate in the defense of the Republic through military service, reserve service, territorial defense, civil-defense structures, and other forms of lawful national defense established by constitutional law.
Participation in civic defense shall be based on the principles of legality, voluntary service in peacetime, democratic civilian control, professional training, and loyalty to the Constitution.
No citizen may be compelled to participate in unlawful armed activity, partisan formations, private militias, or actions contrary to the Constitution or international law.
The state shall establish a system of reserve and territorial defense training available to eligible citizens under conditions of equality, public accountability, and safety.
Citizens participating in civic defense remain bound by the Constitution, the law, and the rights and freedoms of others.
The detailed organization of military service, reserve service, territorial defense, civil defense, training obligations, exemptions, and legal guarantees shall be established by constitutional law.
Citizens have right to possess firearms as part of a regulated civic-defense and reserve-militia system.
Civilians shall not possess weapons of war, including heavy weapons, crew-served weapons, explosive weapons, military ordnance, automatic battlefield weapons, armored combat systems, and other weapons whose destructive power, method of use, or military purpose makes them unsuitable for civilian possession.
Conditions for possession include mandatory training, psychological fitness certification, registration, and safe storage.
Abuse of this right entails constitutional and criminal liability.
Detailed regulation shall be established by constitutional law.
Constitutional law shall establish procedures, oversight, and remedies sufficient to ensure that the organization and regulation of civic defense and firearms are transparent, accountable, and subject to independent review.
Unlawful deprivation of civic‑defense rights or firearms rights shall be subject to judicial or administrative remedy. Applications alleging unlawful deprivation shall be eligible for expedited judicial consideration where liberty, safety, or proportionality of enforcement is at stake.
Article 23 — Limitation of Rights
Rights and freedoms may be limited only by law and only when strictly necessary in a democratic society.
Any limitation must satisfy legality, necessity, proportionality, and judicial review.
The following are non-derogable: a) human dignity; b) right to life, except as the death penalty is constitutionally permitted under Articles 2(3) and 5(3) following full judicial process as provided by Article 10(3); c) prohibition of torture; d) judicial protection; e) presumption of innocence.