SIGNUM Lawyers Discussed Opportunities for Reconciliation Procedures During Enforcement Proceedings

On June 26, 2020, judges, prosecutors, practicing lawyers, and representatives of the Regional Chamber of the Private Bailiffs had a chance to discuss on-line “Reconciliation Procedures During Enforcement Proceedings,” a pilot project of the Almaly District Court No. 2 of Almaty.

According to the court statistics for the last three years, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three complaints have been filed against private bailiffs for their illegal actions or non-actions.

Therefore, a mechanism for out-of-court settlement of disputes related to the activity of the private bailiffs was sought to solve the problem.

Several foreign countries have adopted similar practices. For example, in France, a special bailiff mediation center operates under the National Chamber of Bailiffs; Belgian legislation provides for bailiffs a possibility to be a mediator in civil, labor, family, and other categories of disputes.

The following algorithm of actions is proposed within the framework of this project:

a)\tUpon receipt of complaints, the judges shall summon the representative of the Regional Chamber of Bailiffs as a third party and send a copy of the complaint to the Dispute Resolution Commission of the Chamber during the preparation of the case;

b)\tThe Dispute Resolution Commission shall review the complaint within three working days and make a resolution. The interested parties and bailiffs whose actions are at question shall participate in the review;

c)\tIn case the claim was denied by the Commission, the court shall consider the case according to the regular procedures.

Bauyrzhan Sharibaev, an Of-Counsel at SIGNUM Law Firm, fully supports the idea of the pilot project, noting that the introduction of pre-trial settlement of disputes in cases of appealing against actions (non-action) of the private bailiffs will:

• Expand the scope of reconciliation procedures and increase the role of mediators;

• Create an incentive of the parties to the enforcement proceedings in the out-of-court settlement of the dispute;

• Reduce the caseload on district judges;

• Expand the powers of the Regional Chamber of Private Bailiffs in the city of Almaty and increase the efficiency of monitoring of the private bailiffs’ activities;

• Reduce the term of enforcement proceedings.

A discussion of this pilot project continues. Interested parties are planning to prepare a Memorandum between the court and the Regional Chamber of the Private Bailiffs in Almaty, a draft Regulation on the Dispute Settlement Commission of the Chamber of the Private Bailiffs, and widespread media coverage of the project.

The SIGNUM team will be actively involved in this project.