Authorities Frightened of Precedent - Lawyer

Baku / 17.11.17 / Turan: The capital's municipality denied a group of lawyers to hold a rally at the Mehsul stadium in the Yasamal district of Baku. The need for the meeting arose after the adoption by the Milli Mejlis and the ratification by President Ilham Aliyev of amendments to the legislation, effectively liquidating the institution of representation.

According to the amendments, from January 1 of the next year only citizens themselves, their close relatives and members of the Bar Association will be allowed to represent citizens in courts.

From the next year, the entrance to the courts will be closed for lawyers. Even before the amendments were adopted, experts noted that the lack of a sufficient number of lawyers would lead to the collapse of the entire legal system of the country. In contrast, the authorities said the number of lawyers will increase after the forthcoming examinations to the Bar in the near future. However, most lawyers did not agree and decided to hold a protest rally by sending a letter to Baku Executive Power Office.

A week later, the capital"s governing body refused the lawyers, arguing that the President approved the amendments, and therefore holding the rally is no longer appropriate, adding that the organizers did not specify the exact number of participants.

One of the organizers of the action, lawyer Khalid Baghirov, told Turan the appeal indicated the maximum number of participants - 5,000 people. Therefore, the true reason for the refusal is the authorities' desire to prevent such a rally. "They do not want lawyers to protest in this form," Baghirov said.

Baghirov added that the further steps of lawyers are currently being discussed. "Now we are discussing a repeated appeal to the City Executive Power Office about holding a rally, as well as other forms of protest. Naturally, we will turn to the court, because the City Executive Power"s refusal is a violation of the freedom of assembly. In addition, we plan to apply to the Constitutional Court, as well as to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with certain aspects of this case," Baghirov added.

The true reason for the refusal, in his opinion, is that the rally was planned by a group of lawyers involved in judicial practice, and the change in legislation affected the interests of this social group.

"The authorities are afraid of this. They think that if today the rights of lawyers are violated, and they can express their protest, then tomorrow doctors, teachers and others will hold rallies," he said, adding that the refusal of the Executive Power will be appealed by the lawyers in various instances.

In accordance with the changes in the legislation, individuals are allowed to participate as a legal representative only at the trial of close relatives. The changes will come into force on January 1, 2018. -0-