The Quasi-Judicial Function of Aksakal Courts: Living Voices from the Regions of the Kyrgyz Republic

Abstract

The court of aksakals is an out-of-state dispute resolution body in Kyrgyzstan, which operates based on a special law. Aksakal courts are established in each village (aiyl), its members are elected from among the most authoritative local citizens. When resolving a dispute, the courts of aksakals use the law, norms of ethics, based on the traditions and customs of the people of Kyrgyzstan. The status of aksakal courts, their place in the state political system, the scope of their competence, as well as their relationship with the local population, have dynamically changed in line with the changes in Kyrgyz society that have occurred over 30 years since the aksakal courts were mentioned in the first Constitution of Kyrgyzstan.

This author relies on field research data, describes the practice of considering the most typical property and family disputes by aksakal courts, the approaches of these courts to resolving conflicts between parties, examining evidence, working with various social regulators, applying public censure and other public measures. The author analyses the advantages and disadvantages of resolving disputes in the aksakal court, as well as the risks of excessive bureaucratization of dispute settlement and loss of the aksakal courts’ identity.

On the one hand, the courts of aksakals have an exceptional status in comparison with other public bodies, which is expressed in a solid regulatory framework, state support and funding, and a great need of the population for the development of non-state forms of justice. On the other hand, the exclusion of aksakal courts from the judicial system development programs, the narrowing of their competence, and the exclusion of small gravity criminal cases from aksakal courts’ jurisdiction indicate both the weak interest of the state in strengthening the courts of aksakals’ status, and the misunderstanding
of these courts’ development model.