-  When did the definition “mediation” appear for the first time?

Before January 2011, the term “mediation” was not in use in the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.  As of the date of this interview, the term “mediation” can be found only in two legislative acts.  These are the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Mediation” and the Law “On Introduction of Amendments and Changes into Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Mediation Issues”.

- Raiding. When did this phenomenon appear in Kazakhstan?

Such human evils as greed, money-grubbing and aspiration to enrich oneself at the expense of another person underlie the phenomenon of raiding. The term “raiding” has come to the modern vocabulary from the English language. “Raiding” is translated as “invasion”, “attack”, “intrusion”, “raid”. Within this meaning, raiding has gone along with the human history from primitive times, when the strongest would take away prey from the weakest, until today when an invader in tandem with administrative resources misappropriates a commercially attractive enterprise.

When you retain a law firm or a lawyer, you often cannot control the budget for legal services. By the end of a project you may find out that the legal fees have doubled if not tripled. This is the fault of both the client and the law firm. How this can be avoided?

Having substantial experience in advising a number of large franchise projects that appeared in the Kazakhstani market over the last years, we take the liberty of giving a number of simple but efficient recommendations to foreign franchisors.

Many international companies work in Kazakhstan as contractors to oil and gas and other mineral resources producers.  Such producers are referred to in the Kazakhstani legislation as “subsoil users”.

Subsoil users are obliged to purchase goods, works and services for their operations through open tenders or one of other methods (such as purchase “from one source” and purchase through requests for proposal – such other methods have limited application).  Contractors of subsoil users are also obliged to follow the same procurement rules.  Legislation contains detailed regulation of the procurement procedures.  The procedure is very formalistic and a potential provider has to strictly follow it, failing which it may be disqualified.

Over the 25 years of independence in Kazakhstan, there have been significant developments in the economy, legislative reforms, investment climate improvement, which have made and are making Kazakhstan attractive for foreign investors to do business and gain profit. Plenty of foreign legal entities and individuals are launching business in Kazakhstan. To do business, one cannot underestimate the importance of making legally correct agreements between foreign companies/individuals and Kazakhstani entrepreneurs. The critical if not the most critical aspect thereof is the choice of applicable law to an agreement.