2023-04-19 19:10:55
On April 19, the Constitutional Court considered the appeal of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding Article 44 of the Basic Law and made a decision interpreting it. The judicial board was chaired by the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Emil Uskonbayev, and all nine judges who participated in it unanimously supported the decision.
Part 2 of Article 44 of the Basic Law states that “Pensions, social benefits and other social assistance ensure a standard of living not lower than the amount of the subsistence minimum established by law.”
The Constitutional Court noted in its decision that “the amount of pensions, allowances and other social assistance depends on the state of the economy and the capabilities of the state” and found that the above article “is not an obligation to be fulfilled without hesitation.” The judicial collegium believes that what is mentioned in this paragraph of the article “should be considered as a constitutionally approved goal and purpose of the state.”
The Cabinet of Ministers appealed to the Constitutional Court at the February 16 meeting of the Jogorku Kenesh. Deputy Adakhan Madumarov criticized this action and said that the government must fulfill the requirement of the Basic Law that “pensions and allowances shall not be less than the minimum consumption basket”.
The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, while responding to this, stated that this appeal was submitted for the correct interpretation of Article 44 of the Constitution, and only the said court will handle this matter. He attributed the reason that social payments do not reach the living wage to the government and economic conditions. Japarov said that “the living wage changes every year, and it has not been caught up in the USA and Japan.”
Adakhan Madumarov reminded that the current government itself introduced this requirement, and said that if the government cannot fulfill it, it should resign. Akylbek Japarov informed that the executive authority is increasing salaries and social payments depending on the conditions, and there was a dispute in the middle.
The National Statistics Committee, based on the market prices of the first quarter of 2023, issued the living wage as 7,501 soms. Currently, the minimum amount of pensions, allowances and other social assistance is less than this. (Ern)
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