Business
Civil-law companies nationally, English common law inside the AIFC
Ordinary companies are formed under the Civil Code and the Law on Limited Liability Partnerships. The Astana International Financial Centre operates a separate common-law jurisdiction with its own court and arbitration centre.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — AIFC acts apply English common law and equity within the Centre and are outside the national court system entirely.
Governing law
- Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- Law on Limited and Additional Liability Partnerships
- Constitutional Law on the Astana International Financial Centre2015
In practice
The AIFC is the region's most significant legal experiment: its founding constitutional law disapplies Kazakh law within the Centre, its court is staffed by English and Commonwealth judges, and its judgments are enforceable in Kazakhstan as domestic judgments. Outside the Centre, the LLP is the standard vehicle, with no meaningful minimum capital for most businesses. Subsoil, banking and media carry foreign-ownership restrictions, and the Entrepreneurial Code consolidates state support and inspection rules.