The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area De Facto Abolitionist States KAZAKHSTAN29 An indefinite moratorium on executions has remained in place in Kazakhstan since the issuance of a presidential decree in 2003.30 Under the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the application of capital punishment is allowed for two types of crimes: acts of terrorism resulting in death, and especially grave crimes committed in wartime.31 In addition to these constitutional provisions, the new Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which entered into force on 1 January 2015, expands the list of crimes punishable by the death penalty in the following categories: • “crimes against the peace and security of mankind (planning, preparation, starting, or waging a war of aggression; application of prohibited means and methods of conducting a war; violation of the laws and customs of war; genocide; or employing a mercenary); • crimes against the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the state (high treason; attempt upon the life of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation; attempt upon the life of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; sabotage); • crimes against public security and public order (terrorism); and • military crimes (disobedience or other non-execution of an order; resistance to a superior or coercion to violate service duties; violent actions with regard to a superior; desertion; evasion or refusal to perform military service; violation of the rules of combat duty; surrender or abandonment to the enemy of means of warfare).”32 According to the code, the death penalty cannot be applied to persons under the age of 18 or over the age of 63. The death penalty can be commuted, by way of pardon, to imprisonment for life or another term at a special-regime penal colony.33 29  The Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the OSCE did not provide a response to the 2015 ODIHR questionnaire on the death penalty. 30  Kazakhstan Presidential Decree No. 1251 “On the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, 17 December 2003. 31  Article 15 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, amended on 21 May 2007. 32  Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 03 July 2015, Articles 160 (2), 163 (2), 164 (2), 168 (2), 170 (4), 175 (3), 177, 178, 184, 255 (4), 437 (4), 438 (4), 439 (4), 442 (4), 443 (3), 444 (3), and 455. 33  Ibid. 14