Citizens have started suing officials more often. According to the Committee on the legal statistics and special accounts of the state office of public prosecutor of Republic of Kazakhstan, in the first half of 2025, approximately 17.2 thousand administrative cases against government agencies or officials were filed in courts of first instance. Compared to January–June of the previous year, this represents an increase of 9.3%. Almost all (99.7%) of such cases are lawsuits challenging certain actions of state companies or specific officials.
Which government agencies do Kazakhstan citizens sue most often? The majority of administrative cases in courts of first instance are filed against akims, akim’s offices, or organizations under the jurisdiction of akimats. In the first half of 2025, Committee reports recorded 5.7 thousand such cases. The year-on-year increase is significant — 23.7%. This indirectly indicates a decrease in the effectiveness of pre-trial conflict resolution between local authorities and the public.
In second place by number of filed lawsuits is the Republican Chamber of Private Bailiffs. Over six months, 4.7 thousand lawsuits were filed due to their unlawful actions and/or inaction. The Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan also entered the top three government agencies most frequently sued by citizens. This “honor” was earned by the subordinate State revenue committee, against which 1.5 thousand lawsuits were filed.
Among the central government agencies against which no lawsuits were filed in the first half of the year are the offices of the Senate and Mazhilis of Parliament, as well as the Constitutional Court.
By type of disputes, the most common are lawsuits against judicial executors (bailiffs). Their share of the total number in the first half of 2025 was 29.4%. In absolute terms, this is slightly more than 5 thousand administrative cases (an increase of 12.7% compared to the same period last year). Second place is occupied by land disputes. Over six months, Kazakhstan citizens filed 1.8 thousand lawsuits against officials due to disagreements over land ownership or lease. The top three most common disputes also include public procurement cases: 1.8 thousand — 54% more than a year earlier. In mid-August, we published a detailed article on why contractors sue government agencies under public procurement contracts.
If we look at the dynamics of lawsuits against government agencies in the first half of 2025, a significant growth can be noted in the number of property disputes (3.2 times), lawsuits in the architecture and urban planning sector (by 33.4%), as well as in the law enforcement sector (by 16.3%).
Overall, in recent years, Kazakhstan citizens have been suing officials much more frequently. Long-term dynamics indicate a twofold increase in the number of lawsuits against akimats and ministries. If in 2021 only 14.5 thousand lawsuits were filed against government agencies, by the end of last year this number had risen to 32.9 thousand lawsuits.
Next, we propose to examine the results of lawsuits against officials. A clarification: not all filed lawsuits are considered in the same period; some may be reviewed later. In addition, some are returned to plaintiffs due to dispute resolution, settlement agreements, or other reasons. For example, in January–June of the current year, out of 17.2 thousand filed lawsuits, only one-third — 5.1 thousand — were reviewed with a decision rendered. In 53.6% of these cases, decisions were made in favor of the plaintiffs. Slightly less than half of the reviewed cases resulted in dismissal of the claims.
Interestingly, the share of cases won against government agencies varies significantly across different state bodies. For example, lawsuits against akimats ended in favor of plaintiffs in 65.7% of cases. In court proceedings with the Prosecutor General's Office, such high chances of winning a dispute do not exist: the share of cases in which the court of first instance ruled in favor of plaintiffs was only 7.7%.
In addition to personal accountability borne by government employees from their leadership for violations of citizens’ or companies’ rights resulting in a lost case, certain officials were punished for errors or unlawful actions directly in court. Procedural enforcement measures, such as fines, were applied to them. Data over several years show that more than 200 officials receive such sanctions from the court annually. In the first half of 2025, such measures were applied to 79 government employees.
