The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan held a hearing on an application submitted by a citizen seeking a review of the constitutionality of the first part of paragraph 1 of Article 93 and paragraph 1 of Article 94 of the Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which regulate the granting of benefits based on certain honorary titles and awards for motherhood.
The Applicant’s Position
The applicant believes that Soviet-era awards for giving birth to and raising children should be taken into account when granting benefits on an equal footing with the corresponding awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In her view, despite the similarity of the award criteria to those for the «Kүміс алқа» (Silver Pendant), the Order of Maternal Glory, Third Class, and the Medal of Motherhood, First Class, are excluded from the list of recognized awards under the Social Code, unlike other awards. According to the applicant, this distinction affects the principle of equality and the constitutional rights of citizens.
Circumstances of the Case
By Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR dated 26 April 1971 and 30 October 1975, the applicant was awarded the Medal of Motherhood, Second Class, for giving birth to and raising five children, and the Medal of Motherhood, First Class, for giving birth to and raising six children.
In court, she sought to have the First-Class Medal recognized as equivalent to the «Күміс алқа» award, to be granted the corresponding benefit, and to receive compensation for moral damage. The courts of first instance and appeal dismissed her claims.
Participants in the Hearing
The hearing was attended by representatives of the Qurultai, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, the National Human Rights Centre, the Ministry of Justice, the Institute of Legislation and Legal Information, the Institute of Parliamentarism, as well as an expert.
Judge-Rapporteur — B.M. Nurmukhanov.
The final decision of the Constitutional Court will be published in accordance with Article 65 of the Constitutional Law on the official website of the Constitutional Court, as well as in the newspapers Egemen Qazaqstan and Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
