Human rights organisation Feminita denied registration
In September 2020, Feminita submitted an application to the Chair of the Supreme Court for reconsideration of the decision to deny registration to the human rights organisation. It is now pending before the Chair.
On 3 September 2019, the Almaty City Court upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance, dismissing Feminita's claim. The Almaty City Court ruled that the decision of the Medeu District Court of Almaty of 27 May 2019 should remain intact and Feminita’s appeal dismissed.
On 27 May 2019, the Medeu District Court of Almaty city ruled that the decision to suspend the time limit for the registration of the human rights organisation Feminita by the Almaty Department of Justice was legitimate. The organisation has been repeatedly denied registration since January 2018.
The Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita" is a human rights organisation working to protect the rights of women with limited physical and mental abilities, LBTIQ communities and sex workers. The organisation has been trying to register as a legal entity in Kazakhstan since December 2017.
In September 2020, Feminita submitted an application to the Chair of the Supreme Court for reconsideration of the decision to deny registration to the human rights organisation. It is now pending before the Chair.
Previously, on 2 March 2020, Feminita filed an appeal at the Court of Cassation against the 2019 decision of the Almaty City Court to deny of registration to the organisation. On 13 April 2020, the Supreme Court refused the transfer of the case to a cassation review, citing the reasoning in the Almaty City Court’s judgement.
On 3 September 2019, the Almaty City Court upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance, dismissing Feminita's claim. The Almaty City Court ruled that the decision of the Medeu District Court of Almaty of 27 May 2019 should remain intact and Feminita’s appeal dismissed.
Feminita has been repeatedly denied registration as a legal entity in Kazakhstan and was appealing the Medeu District Court’s decision to have the repeated decisions of the Almaty Department of Justice to suspend the registration of Feminita recognised as illegal and to be registered as a legal entity by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Feminita submitted its appeal to the Almaty City Court on 27 June 2019, the appeal hearing was scheduled to be held on 13 August 2019.
On 13 August 2019, Feminita’s legal counsel was not allowed to represent the applicant on the ground that the counsel was not in compliance with the Law On the Professional Activities of Advocates and Legal Assistance. The court hearing was postponed to 3 September 2019.
Feminita’s counsel had been representing Feminita since March 2019 and had applied for his bar membership in early August 2019, expecting to be admitted on 21 August 2019, but the application was denied.
On 3 September 2019, Feminita was represented by a new lawyer.
On 27 May 2019, the Medeu District Court of Almaty city ruled that the decision to suspend the time limit for the registration of the human rights organisation Feminita by the Almaty Department of Justice was legitimate. The organisation has been repeatedly denied registration since January 2018.
The Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita" is a human rights organisation working to protect the rights of women with limited physical and mental abilities, LBTIQ communities and sex workers. The organisation has been trying to register as a legal entity in Kazakhstan since December 2017.
On 27 May 2019, the Medeu District Court ruled that the repeated decisions of the Almaty Department of Justice to suspend the registration of Feminita as a legal entity were legal. According to Kazakh law, organisations ought to be registered as legal entities within a certain period following the submission of an application. However, the deadline can be suspended in case the application does not meet the legal requirements. According to the court’s judgment, the objectives listed in Feminita’s Charter “do not provide for strengthening spiritual and moral values, spiritual culture, prestige and role of the family”, as required of charitable institutions by the law. In its ruling, the court referred to the Law on Charity despite the fact that the registration procedure is regulated by the Law on NGOs and the Law on State Registration of Legal Entities and Registration of Branches and Representative Offices.
On 12 March 2019, Feminita filed a complaint with the Medeu District Court in relation to the decisions of the Almaty Department of Justice suspending the procedure of the organisation’s registration as a legal entity. The decisions were issued on 9 January 2018, 20 February 2018 and 3 January 2019. The documents submitted as part of the registration procedure were returned to the organisation “for correction”.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern about the denial of registration to Feminita, as the legal entity status is essential for the full operation of any human rights organisation. Front Line Defenders believes that this decision is solely motivated by Feminita’s peaceful and legitimate work protecting LGBTIQ and women’s rights.
