Rule-Making
Starting from the moment of establishing AEQUITAS, its partners and associates have been regularly involved in rule-making activities: drafting of new regulatory legal acts of different levels and improvement of the current legislation.
Yuri G. Bassin was one of the authors of the current Kazakhstan Constitution adopted in 1995. He was on the working groups that drafted the framework legislative acts governing market relations (1992–1998), many of which were adopted as laws or Presidential edicts having the force of law.
In 1994-1999, Yuri G. Bassin and Olga Chentsova, AEQUITAS Managing Partner, worked on such fundamental acts of the market economy of the country as the Civil Code (General and Special Parts), Foreign Investment Law, Privatization Law, Petroleum Law and Subsoil Law.
Olga Chentsova, as one of the leading lawyers in subsoil use, participated in elaboration of the Law on Production Sharing Agreements in Offshore Petroleum Operations (2005) and in the preparation of amendments to the Subsoil and Subsoil Use Law (2006).
In 2000–2001, the firm’s lawyers were engaged to draft the Law on Railway Transport and partook in the EBRD project for the development of the Merchant Shipping Law.
AEQUITAS Senior Counsel, Violetta Kim, was a member of the working group that drafted Kazakhstan’s Law on Arbitration Tribunals and Law on International Commercial Arbitration.
In 2012, as part of development of one of the firm’s areas of practice, AEQUITAS Counsel, Nurlan Sholanov, prepared proposals and comments on the Draft Law on Amendments into Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Introduction of the New Forms of Public-Private Partnership and Expansion of Their Application Scope in close collaboration with Kazakhstan Public-Private Partnership Center JSC.
Starting 2012, AEQUITAS Partners, Olga Chentsova and Larissa Yemelyanova, and Counsel, Nurlan Sholanov, were engaged to work on the Kazakhstan’s environmental legislation improvement project. When working on this project, the firm’s lawyers developed the environmental legislation improvement concept and prepared draft amendments to a number of Kazakhstan’s legislative and subordinate acts, including the Environmental Code, Administrative Code, Tax Code, Subsoil, and Subsoil Use Law.
In 2011–2012, AEQUITAS Partners, Yuliya Chumachenko and Alexandr Chumachenko, prepared and presented comments and proposals to improve the foreign labor engagement permit and migration legislation as a legislative initiative to the Kazakhstan Investors Council. In 2015, AEQUITAS Partners, Yuliya Chumachenko and Larissa Yemelyanova, participated in drafting of proposals concerning Kazakhstan's Labor Code and presented a set of proposals on amendment of the labor legislation for consideration by the governmental working group. Many recommendations were included in the Labor Code 2015. In 2021, AEQUITAS Partner, Yekaterina Khamidullina, being a member of a working group, participated in active discussions of the draft Law on Introduction of Amendments into the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Remote Work.
In 2012–2013, AEQUITAS Counsel, Nurlan Sholanov, was engaged to improve the Kazakhstan legislation regulating the tariff policy issues.
In 2020-2022, AEQUITAS Partner, Yekaterina Khamidullina, was a member of the working group of Kazakhstan Bar Association and Legal Policy Research Center (LPRC) formed to draft the Law on Introduction of Amendments into Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Corruption Control as part of the project "Implementation of a system-based, structured and efficient policy for increasing business integrity and development of corporate management in Kazakhstan in accordance with the OECD standards".
AEQUITAS lawyers were also engaged to draft regulatory legal acts of different levels (decrees of the Kazakhstan Government, acts of other governmental agencies) when supporting the client's projects. Specifically, in 2024-2025, Olga Chentsova and Nurlan Sholanov partook in elaboration of an expert opinion on the issues of provision of the preemptive subsoil use right to certain subsoil user categories according to the Presidential Address to the people of Kazakhstan (September 2023). In the course of discussions taking place in working groups Nurlan Sholanov actively participated in drafting of amendments to the Subsoil Code. He also participated in round tables and conferences on the said issues with representatives of governmental agencies.
For many years, AEQUITAS Partner, Larissa Yemelyanova, has been participating in the work of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical industry Committee of KazBar, Eurasian Business and Entrepreneurship School, and EUROBAK Healthcare Committee. Following the results of discussions she has drafted inquiries and proposals to governmental agencies and organizations on topical issues of regulation of pharmaceutical activities.
Starting 2017, Olga Chentsova has been actively advising on a pro bono basis different animal protection organizations and volunteers, representatives of governmental agencies and lawmakers on the Animal Law issues. She is one of persons who drafted the first Kazakhstan humanitarian Law on Responsible Animal Treatment dated 2021.
Olga Chentsova acted as an expert for a working group of Mazhilis when discussing this draft law at the Kazakhstan Parliament. To date, she is an expert member of the working group of Mazhilis formed to prepare draft amendments to the Law on Responsible Animal Treatment.
