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Date of publication: 
25 May 2016

This peer review provides a thorough insight into the current strengths and weaknesses of the Kazakhstan competition regime and sets out recommendations to help improve Kazakhstan's competition framework.

This report assesses the development and application of competition law and policy in Kazakhstan on the basis of the 2008 Laws “On Competition” and “On Natural Monopolies and Regulated Markets”, with a focus on activities between 2010 and 2014.

The report also concludes that the competition regime would benefit in moving from a rather prescriptive application to a more effects based enforcement. There is room for improvement in number of areas such as cartel enforcement, abuse of dominance proceedings, advocacy, institutional design, where reforms of both competition law and the authority aim to align with OECD standards and best practices and with EAEU standards. 

Key recommendations of the report include:

• Focus enforcement exclusively on practices that harm competition;
• Improve detection tools and apply a more stringent standard to prove collusive practices; 
• Encourage the abolishment of the State Register for Dominant Undertakings;
• Focus on unilateral or co-ordinated merger effects and move to a more effects based analysis of mergers;
• Incorporate basic legal rights into the procedural rules, to increase overall transparency of proceedings;
• Align the competition law framework with EAEU standards in order to rectify many of the current weaknesses.

The peer review was discussed and debated by senior officials of worldwide competition authorities and experts during the OECD-Global Forum on Competition held at the OECD headquarters in Paris on 29-30 October 2015. Its recommendations reflect the broad consultations held with key stakeholders in Kazakhstan.

WHAT ARE PEER REVIEWS?

“Peer reviews” are a core element of the OECD work. The mechanisms of peer reviews vary, but it is founded upon the willingness of a country to submit its laws and policies to substantive questioning by other peers.

The process provides valuable insights into the country under study, getting to the heart of ways in which each country deals with competition and regulatory issues, from the soundness of its competition laws to the structure and effectiveness of its competition institutions.

Moreover, these reviews incorporate recommendations for changes in government policy.

GLOBAL FORUM ON COMPETITION

Since 2003, the OECD have conducted on a series of reviews of competition policy and law in several countries around the globe. Kazakhstan was the latest country to undergo a review of its competition regime. Most of these reviews are performed during the Global Forum on Competition which is held every year at the OECD Headquarters in Paris.

View all other previous Global Forum reviews

Access the Forum webpage