UN PRINCIPLES ON EFFECTIVE INTERROGATION (MÉNDEZ PRINCIPLES) AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPING LEGAL GUARANTEES IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURE IN KAZAKHSTAN

The article analyzes the United Nations Principles on Effective Interviewing, developed under the auspices of the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Méndez (the so-called Méndez Principles), and examines their potential to strengthen legal safeguards in the Republic of Kazakhstan's criminal justice system. The articles are concluded in a comprehensive analysis of the principles of Oon for effective performance ("Mendes principles") and their potential for improving the law guarantees in the final process of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the basis of comparative-legal research of the international experience with development practice recommendations for their adaptation and introduction into the national law system. The study explores the conceptual foundations of these principles, which are based on a scientifically grounded, ethically neutral, and human rights–oriented interviewing model aimed at obtaining reliable information without coercion.

Based on a comparative legal analysis of Poland and Lithuania, the article identifies key outcomes of implementing the Méndez Principles, including a reduction in complaints about the use of violence, increased public trust in law enforcement agencies, and improved admissibility of evidence. The study substantiates the need to adapt these principles to the Kazakhstani legal system, which entails mandatory video recording of all interviews, modernizing training programs for investigators by introducing cognitive interviewing techniques, and strengthening public and institutional oversight of investigative activities.

The authors conclude that the implementation of the Méndez Principles can ensure a balance between the objectives of crime detection and the protection of individual rights, and enhance the efficiency and transparency of criminal proceedings. The adoption of these principles is viewed as an important step toward the formation of a new paradigm of criminal justice in Kazakhstan, grounded in the presumption of innocence, respect for human dignity, and the rule of law.

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