Azerbaijani Judicial System Needs Reforming � Results of Round Table

Baku / 04.07.17 / Turan: The current state of the judicial and legal system of Azerbaijan was discussed at a round table held by the Movement for Democracy and Welfare.

The head of the organization Gubad Ibadoglu described the judicial system as not conforming to the elementary standards and not able to provide guarantees to protect the interests of an individual or a legal entity.

"Under the current system, which does not rely on the rule of law, but relies on telephone law, it is difficult to attract foreign investment. No investor will come to Azerbaijan, where the judiciary depends on the executive, he said.

According to the Transformation Index 2014, the Azerbaijani courts are subject to corruption and influence from the executive branch, which leads to an inefficient system of enforcement of court decisions. In most cases, the weak judicial system is incapable of making a decision based on an impartial, comprehensive and complete examination of available evidence, according to the Nations in Transit of 2014. Companies report that courts are subject to political pressure from government members, influential individuals and companies, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015.

Experts called the main problems of the judicial system of Azerbaijan the weak level of legal education in universities, the incompetence of judges, the shortage of judges and lawyers, the low salaries of judges and lawyers, the weakness of public control and the strong influence of the executive on the judicial system.

In the course of the discussions, the experts came to the opinion that the reform of the judiciary should be a primary step for carrying out reforms in various areas that were announced by the head of state. It was decided to prepare recommendations for the improvement of the judicial and legal system, which will be presented to the public. -0-