ABOUT LOBBYING IN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of lobbying in the legislative process in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article reviews the attempt to pass the "On Lobbying" law and its accompanying bill from 2009-2012. These bills aimed to eliminate departmental pressure and the promotion of corporate interests at the expense of public interests. Deputies considered these bills for two and a half years. The article also examines the activities of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in conducting examinations of draft laws and developing draft normative legal acts. We conducted an analysis of international experience in the legal regulation of lobbying, as well as national legislation on lobbying in the legislative process, which allowed us to formulate relevant conclusions and proposals. Other scholars consider the peculiarities of legislative regulation of lobbying activities depending on the Anglo-Saxon or continental legal model. The analysis of national legislation on lobbying in the legislative process allows for the formulation of the following conclusions and recommendations. Lobbying in democratically developed countries is an established institution of socio-political life. In Kazakhstan's current legislation, various laws contain provisions that can be attributed to elements of the lobbying institution in legislative activities. To a certain extent, we can refer the provisions on petitions to the institution of lobbying. A petition is a collective message, response, or proposal sent to a government body.  The Administrative Procedural Code has been supplemented with Chapter 12-1 "Petition" (Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 02.10.23 No. 31-VIII). The Kazakh legal system promotes transparency in the development and passage of normative legal acts. Citizens, public organizations, including political parties, and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to express their positions on any bill. There is no prohibition on lobbying in the legislative process in Kazakhstan. The adoption of the law will not significantly change the established process of drafting and discussing bills over the years. However, the adoption of a separate law or amendments to the current legislation will reduce corruption risks.