On 28 October 2026, in his State of the Nation Address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed giving Alatau a court system of its own. The key condition for the long-term appeal of any international jurisdiction, he said, is effective justice. The Government must submit amendments to the Constitutional Law “On the Special Legal Regime of Alatau City” to the Kurultai by the end of January 2027.
What was proposed
The Address names two courts:
- an investment court working on the English common-law model will hear commercial cases;
- a Civil Court will handle all other matters related to the city’s special legal regime.
How judges will be appointed, what language proceedings will use and where the line between “commercial” and “everything else” falls will only become clear from the text of the amendments. Until they are adopted, the current procedure applies.
How disputes are resolved today
The current rules are set by Article 74 of the Constitutional Law on the special regime. It covers investment disputes, meaning disputes between an investor and the state: over investment protection, denial of justice, or the city administration’s actions in carrying out an investment project. The parties first negotiate for three months. If that fails, the investor chooses the forum: the courts of Kazakhstan or one of several international arbitrations. The list includes the AIFC International Arbitration Centre, ICSID, the International Chamber of Commerce, the London and Stockholm institutions, and ad hoc arbitration under the UNCITRAL rules.
The new English-law investment court would add a state court that works by rules familiar to foreign business. Until now, that kind of choice was in practice available only to those who went to arbitration.
We covered other features of the regime in our article on Alatau’s special legal regime.
What it means for apartment buyers
Your dispute with a developer is not an “investment” one, at least for now. Under the current law an investment dispute arises between an investor and the state. If you bought an apartment and are unhappy with the timing or quality, that is a dispute with the developer, not with the state. The Address does not say which of the two new courts will take such cases. The answer will be in the amendments, and we will review them as soon as the text is published.
Builders benefit first. English law is a familiar environment for international banks and funds. The clearer the protection of their money, the easier it is for developers to raise financing. For buyers that means more projects and more competition between them, and so more choice.
Overseas buyers gain peace of mind. For someone buying from Seoul, Hong Kong or Dubai, a predictable court with case law is easier to understand than an unfamiliar procedural system. This matters most when the purchase is made through a company, because the dispute may then become a commercial one.
What to check now. Look at the dispute-resolution and governing-law clause in your contract. If it names a specific court or arbitration, make a note of it and check it against the amendments once they are published. If there is no such clause, ask the developer before signing.
Sources: Address of the President of Kazakhstan, akorda.kz (in Russian); Constitutional Law “On the Special Legal Regime of Alatau City”, Art. 74, Adilet (in Russian).