CIVIL LAW AND CIVIL PROCEDURE

The System of Property Rights to Subsoil and Subsoil Plots: Problems of Legal Regulation and Ways of Improvement in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article analyzes the system of property rights in the field of subsoil use in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the context of the constitutional novelty establishing that subsoil belongs to the people. The legal nature of subsoil use rights, as well as other proprietary rights to subsoil and subsoil plots, including trust management rights and state ownership exercised in the interests of the people, is examined. The methodological framework of the study is based on dialectical, formal-legal, and comparative legal methods, which made it possible to comprehensively assess the current legislation and doctrinal approaches. The study reveals a number of systemic gaps, including the absence of legal regulation of servitudes over unallocated subsoil plots, the uncertainty of the legal regime governing the use of underground space for the construction of metro systems, pipelines, and other infrastructure facilities, as well as a conflict between the geometric definition of subsoil and the legal regime governing the extraction of commonly occurring minerals for non-commercial purposes. The necessity of adjusting the geometric approach to defining subsoil or establishing a clear delimitation between surface and subsoil rights is substantiated. The study proposes supplementing the system of property rights with servitudes and introducing a special right of subsoil use for purposes not requiring a license. The practical significance of the research lies in the development of specific recommendations for improving the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Subsoil and Subsoil Use,” aimed at eliminating legal uncertainty and ensuring a balance between public and private interests in the field of subsoil use.