The law closes the road to Baku for Armenian lawyers

Baku/07.01.21/Turan: The Chamber of Lawyers of Armenia announced its intention to send its lawyers to the trial of Armenian militants in Azerbaijan. According to the Armenian media, the Armenian lawyers want to apply to the Azerbaijani Bar Association with request to provide legal assistance to the citizens of the country where their trial is taking place, as well as identify and substantiate possible violations.

"The lawyers are concerned that the Azerbaijani side will prevent Armenian lawyers from providing legal assistance to Armenian prisoners. The Chamber of Lawyers will appeal to the relevant structures of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Bar Association and international structures to ensure the arrival of Armenian lawyers in Azerbaijan, ensure their safety and provide legal assistance to citizens of Armenia”.

Is it possible for Armenian lawyers to participate in the trials of a group of Armenian citizens accused of committing terrorist and other criminal acts in Azerbaijan?

The chair of the Bar Association, Anar Bagirov, told Turan that the department had not received such an appeal.

“Obviously, this is populism. Lawyers study the legislation before expressing any opinions. I assure you that the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia, the persons who have made such statements, are well aware that according to the Azerbaijani law "On advocates and advocacy," foreign advocates in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan are allowed to consider cases only on the basis of mutual consent in accordance with international treaties, which side is the Republic of Azerbaijan. And we do not have such an agreement with Armenia, there are no diplomatic relations in general,” he said.  He noted that even with such an agreement, according to the norms of international law, only lawyers of a foreign state can advise.

“They cannot defend anyone in court. No lawyer in the country can do this, it is impossible. What do the Armenian lawyers want to say, deliberately expressing such an opinion? It is clear that this is cheap populism. If they said that we are preparing for a flight into space, it would look more convincing than not only such statements,” said the head of the collegium.

Bagirov stressed that Azerbaijani lawyers in all cases provide and will provide high-quality legal assistance to everyone, regardless of religion, nationality, language. “No one in Azerbaijan has problems with the conclusion of an agreement with a lawyer, with the provision of legal assistance at the expense of the state. Azerbaijani lawyers participate in the trial of Armenian saboteurs and there they fulfill their professional duty with dignity. "

Lawyer Alasgar Mammadli said that advocacy in Azerbaijan applies only to lawyers who are members of the Azerbaijani Bar Association. The Article 4 of the Law on Advocates and Advocates' Activity sets out the framework for this. Those who are not members of the Bar Association cannot directly defend any person in legal proceedings. A person has the right to defense, but he must choose a defense lawyer from among Azerbaijani lawyers.

The expert also noted an exception. "As an exception, a third-party lawyer can participate in the process, but only if the main defender is an Azerbaijani lawyer. That is, a person can, at will, additionally invite a person representing him, who wants to provide him with legal assistance. However, this person cannot act as a defender in the process," Mammadli said. —0—