Anis H. Bajrektarevic is a Professor and a Chairperson for International Law and Global

MODERNDIPLOMACY.EU

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Kyrgyzstan has been tinkering with the idea of
introducing juries in cases. Kazakhstan and
Georgia have implemented juries only in mur-
der cases, but have been slow to implement the
system across all levels and types of criminal of-
fenses.[67] Council for Selection of Judges, cre-
ated in 2011 as a product of the 2010
Constitution appoint judges, but are often in-
fluenced by political parties who are involved
in the process.[68]
In July 2012, juries were introduced based on
“an amendment to the Law on Jurors in Kyrgyz
Courts adopted by the national legislature” in
May 2012 in accordance to and codified by the
Kyrgyz Constitution, Article 15.6 and by Article
82.1 which states, “participate in the judicial
process in the cases and in the order specified
by the law.”[69] Available research and primary
sources reveal no implementation of the intro-
duction of jurors into the Kyrgyz legal system.
Compliance with human rights improved and
opposition to independent media outlets are
less suppressed because of the Tulip Revolu-
tion. Kyrgyzstan’s institution of more demo-
cratic and liberal value-based reforms and
Kyrgyzstan’s need for integration regionally and
global Kyrgyz social policy is still in develop-
ment as the country faces intolerance towards
homosexuals (flirting with a law similar to the
Russian law relating to homosexual-friendly
policies), bride kidnapping and labor and gen-
der equality. Kyrgyzstan’s integration into and
participation in many regional organizations
such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO), the Organization for Security and Coop-
eration for Europe (OSCE), and the newer
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will heavily in-
fluence or stump its democratic and legal
prospects for becoming more open, transpar-
ent, and fair in its court proceedings and legal
system.
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