The right to life and the abolition of the death penalty in Kazakhstan: the path from moratorium to international obligation

Abstract

The article provides a legal analysis of the evolution of Kazakhstan’s model of protecting the right to life in the sphere of abolition of the death penalty. The purpose of the study is to show how a temporary domestic restriction in the form of a moratorium was transformed into a binding international and constitutional standard. The research is based on formal legal, historical legal, comparative legal, and documentary methods. It is demonstrated that the 2003 moratorium suspended executions, but did not remove the institution of capital punishment from the Constitution and criminal legislation. Special attention is paid to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which turned the policy of abolition into an international legal obligation. The article substantiates that Article 20-1 of the Law on International Treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Law of 29 December 2021, aligning sectoral legislation with the Protocol, became the key instruments of implementation. It is established that the constitutional reform of 2022 completed the transition from restricted use of capital punishment to its full prohibition, while the subsequent repeal of the moratorium decree eliminated normative dualism. The conclusion is that the Kazakh experience demonstrates a consistent link between international ratification, legislative transformation, and constitutionalization of the right-to-life standard; the materials of the fourth UPR cycle confirmed international recognition of this reform.