Azerbaijan: activists and advocates criticize increase of court fines and duties

Azerbaijani authorities plan to increase the amounts of state duties for court proceedings and empower judges to fine the parties in trials for lodging "unjustified petitions." The new amendments to the legislation infringe on the defence institute and will become a heavy burden for the population, activists and advocates believe.

On June 25, the package of amendments to the Azerbaijani Codes of Civil and Administrative Procedure, as well as to the law "On State Duty" was considered and adopted in the first reading at the plenary session of the National Assembly (Parliament). The texts of amendments were posted in advance on the Parliament's website and sparked criticism of activists and legal professionals.

In the opinion of Bashir Suleimanly, the head of the Institute of Civil Rights, "the innovations proposed to the legislation worsen the already difficult situation of Azerbaijani citizens with the access to justice." "For the broad population strata, defending their rights and interests in court is becoming an overwhelming task," Mr Suleimanly told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In her turn, Shakhla Gumbatova, an advocate, has noted that the fines imposed for "unjustified petitions" infringe on the defence institute.

"In our country, 99 percent of defence's motions are rejected by judges. Now, they will also have the right to fine advocates. Fines can be used as a tool of pressure on the advocates who run cases with a political context. All this will ultimately result in the elimination of the defence institute in Azerbaijan," Ms Gumbatova has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 26, 2021 at 12:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.