Every profession matters
Astana hosted a series of events supported by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana, aimed at strengthening regional professional dialogue, advancing gender-sensitive justice and supporting the next generation of justice professionals.
The platform brought together representatives of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Judicial Council, the Parliament of Kazakhstan, judicial and law enforcement institutions, academia, civil society, international organisations and the International Association of Women Judges. The programme opened with the "Women in Justice" breakfast, devoted to developing an Alliance of Women in Justice in Central Asia.
Its centrepiece was the three-day intensive course "Young Professionals in Justice". It brought together 27 young professionals aged 25 to 32 from across Kazakhstan — newly appointed judges, court staff, law enforcement officers, advocates and practising lawyers — alongside experts from Central Asia and beyond.
The programme combined dialogue with experienced colleagues and practical training: the rule of law and access to justice, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and personal data protection, gender-sensitive justice, judicial ethics, legal reasoning, communication and conflict management.
The opening session was devoted to networking and career prospects, addressing a single question: what career path leads to becoming a successful advocate, prosecutor or judge?
The conversation was candid — not about titles, but about professional crossroads and the cost of the choices made:
Does it matter to an advocate where a client's income comes from? Does judicial office mean power? Is it true that you can only pass selection for the bench once you have resolved things within yourself? Is it possible to be both a good wife and a judge? Is a prosecutor only there to accuse? Can an investigator succeed in a competition for judicial office? Are judges answerable for the misconduct of their children?
Justices of the constitutional and supreme courts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan shared their experience, together with representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office, the Republican Bar Association and the Supreme Judicial Council of Kazakhstan. A substantial part of the session was given over to questions from participants — and it was in that exchange that the liveliest answers emerged.
The session was moderated by Dana Tokmurzina, former judge and Managing Partner at Fortune Partners.
The events were held under the project "Improving the Efficiency of the Justice System in Kazakhstan". For us, taking part in initiatives like this is part of our work with the professional community. Young lawyers are rarely told honestly what a career in justice is actually built on. These conversations are needed.
