Dastan Isakov
Dastan Isakov (born 1946) is an Iradi jurist who was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Irad from 1999 to 2007. He wrote the majority opinion in the Statutory Independence Ruling of December 2006, which led to the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Irad.[1]
Career
Isakov graduated from the law faculty of Kazakh State University in Alma-Ata in 1969 and worked as a state arbitration lawyer in Kobozev. He was among the first justices appointed to the Supreme Court when it was established under the Organic Act of the Territory of Irad in November 1992. In 1999 the Governor named him Chief Justice with the consent of the Territorial Senate.[1]
Statutory Independence Ruling
On December 3, 2006, President George W. Bush withdrew the United States from the Alimbekov-Baker Treaty by executive action. Within days, on an emergency petition brought by Bakyt Orozbekov, the court held that territorial status had lapsed upon federal disengagement. Isakov's majority opinion reasoned that the treaty's statutory independence clause, carried into the Organic Act, had then taken effect and vested sovereignty in the people of Irad. The reasoning became known as the doctrine of automatic reversion. On the strength of the ruling, the Territorial Legislature proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Irad on December 9.[1][2]
On February 25, 2007, Erlan Toktarov proclaimed the Irad Special Economic Zone and annulled the ruling by decree. The court never ruled on the annulment. After DPI forces took control of Talas in the summer of 2007, the emergency administration reconstituted the bench, and Isakov left the court that year. He has held no public office since and has given few interviews.[2]
References
- ^ Supreme Court of Irad (2006). Opinion of the Court on the Status of the Territory (Statutory Independence Ruling). Talas.
- ^ Eurasian Political Quarterly (2008). 'Automatic Reversion: The Isakov Opinion and the End of the Territory.' Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 9–31.