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N NUR-SULTAN, as the capital of Kazakhstan is now known, there is a small corner of England. The gleaming court of the Astana International Financial Centre, an investment zone opened in 2019, is led by a British chief executive, and served by nine British judges, who wear gold-and-black gowns trimmed with blue of the republic’s flag. Their chief justice, Lord Mance, was the deputy president of the Supreme Court. They apply law closely modelled on that of England and Wales, and a streamlined version of London’s procedural rules. Kazakhstan’s judiciary is weak, but these judges’ independence is guaranteed by the constitution. The court’s electronic system for filing bundles is as whizzy as any in the world. “They want this to be seen as rooted in all the qualities of London, effectively transplanted there,” says Andrew Spink
Video: Daniel Barnett / YouTube
Solicitors and barristers have said the suggestion by The Times newspaper that some employment judges are inexperienced is ‘idiotic’ and have sought to assure tribunal users that the system is an effective way of resolving employment disputes.
In the video posted on employment barrister Daniel Barnett’s YouTube channel, employment law experts criticised The Times’ reporting earlier this week and reassured claimants and employers awaiting legal proceedings that employment tribunal judges are experienced and neutral.
Jeremy Scott-Joynt, a barrister at Outer-Temple Chambers, said: “’Inexperienced’ is an idiotic word to use when we’re taking about employment lawyers with two or three decades of experience. Every judge has to start somewhere.”