…The crisis of the Kazakh judicial system has become acute and reflects thegeneral crisis of the country’s governmental bodies. The judges in the country are appointed directly by the President and their independence is quite limited. Administration of justice is completely subordinated to the power of the executive branch…The environmental group “Green Salvation”, which has a long-standing practice of seeking judicial protection of citizens' environmental rights in the country, points to…challenges impeding access to justice… The perfect illustration of these problems is a lawsuit to protect the rights of Berezovka villagers. The village is located on the border of the sanitary protection zone (SPZ) of the Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field. The field is operated by the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating, B.V. consortium (KPO), which includes companies such as: ENI (Italy), BG Group (UK), Chevron (USA), Lukoil (Russia), and KazMunaiGaz (Kazakhstan). Active development of the field has led to considerable environmental pollution that is detrimental to the health and property of Berezovka residents. However, their repeated requests to the authorities and KPO to resolve the issue of resettlement led nowhere…

[Русский]