The Judiciary of Azerbaijan exercises judicial power in Azerbaijan. Although the Azerbaijan constitution nominally guarantees judicial independence, the executive firmly controls prosecutors and judges. Judges and prosecutors collaborate in Azerbaijan to repress political opponents.

Source of the judicial power in Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijan constitution holds that state power in the Republic of Azerbaijan is formed on the principle of separation of powers whereby

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

is implemented by the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

is vested in a

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of Executive (government), executive power, co ...

, and

judicial power The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is administered by

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

The Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court of the Respublic of Azerbaijan - panoramio

The Constitutional Court is composed of 9

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s appointed by Parliament of the Azerbaijan Republic upon the recommendation of the President of Azerbaijan. Generally, a

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

of Azerbaijan having

voting right Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

, higher juridical education and at least 5-year working experience in the sphere of law can be a judge of all courts including the Constitutional Court. The judges is elected for a period of fifteen years. They cannot be elected again. The terms of office of judges expire when they reach the age of 70. However, a judge reached the age of 70 continue to hold office until replaced. The judges of Constitutional Court are independent and only act in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Additionally, the judges of Constitutional Court enjoy immunity. The primary purposes of the Constitutional Court are to realize the supremacy of the Constitution and protect the

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

of all persons. Everyone who claims to be the victim of a violation of his (her) rights or liberties by a decision of the legislative, executive and judiciary or by one of the municipal acts may appeal to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the view of the restoration of his (her) breached human rights and liberties. Judgments of the Constitutional Court are compulsory within the territory of Azerbaijan.

The Supreme Court (Court of third instance or Court of Cassation)

The Supreme Court is the highest instance (ultimate appeal) court on civil (including administrative and economic disputes), criminal, administrative offences cases and other cases previously tried by the general and specialized courts. The Supreme Court is located in Baku and its jurisdiction applies to the whole territory of the country. Following the issuance, all judgments of the Court are disseminated electronically within one month. Number of judges of the Supreme Court is determined by the Judicial Legal Council. The parliament elects the judges upon the recommendation of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. The judges of all courts including the Supreme Court are independent and only act at the Constitution and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

s of the Azerbaijan Republic. Besides, the judges of Supreme Court have the right of immunity. The Supreme Court comprises the Plenary Body and Cassation Chamber. The Court is composed of the President of the Supreme Court, vice-president, Presidents of the Boards and judges. The Court creates civil, administrative-economic, criminal and military sections. Consultative Research Council with the Court functions with the purpose of proper application of legislation, improvement of legislation and preparation of the scientific proposals. The Court has right to submit drafts of laws or resolutions submitted for consideration by Parliament.

Appellate Courts (Courts of second instance)

Appeal court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellate ...

is a higher instance court on civil, administrative and economic disputes, criminal cases and administrative violations. Court of Appeal consists of the Plenary Board, civil panel, administrative-economic panel, criminal panel and military panel. Panels of judges are created at the Boards of the Court of Appeal to deal with the cases. Court of Appeal consists of the President of the court, vice-president, Presidents of the Boards and judges of the chambers. Number of judges of the Court of Appeal is determined by the Judicial-Legal Council. Plenary Board of the Court of Appeal consists of the President of the Court, vice-president and Presidents of the chambers. Members of the Plenary Board of the Court have equal rights within their competence. There are six Courts of Appeal in Azerbaijan: * Supreme Court of the

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

* Baku Appeal Court * Ganja Appeal Court * Sumgait Appeal Court * Shirvan Appeal Court * Sheki Appeal Court

Courts of first instance

District Courts

District (city) court is established in districts, towns (except the towns of district subordination) and city districts of Azerbaijan. As a court of first instance, district (city) courts deal with civil, criminal, administrative and other disputes within their jurisdiction determined by law. The courts are composed of the President of the Court and judges. The vice-president is appointed if number of judges exceed 11. The judge of the Court is ''

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

'' considered as the President of Court if the court has only one judge. Number of judges is defined by Judicial Legal Council.

Specialized courts

Grave Crime Courts

Grave Crime Courts as a court of first instance deal with serious and especially serious crimes defined in

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Court on Grave Crimes is composed of the President and judges. The deputy of the President of the Court is appointed if number of judges exceeds 11. Number of judges and other organizational matters are defined by Judicial Legal Council in accordance with the Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic. There are five Courts of Grave Crimes in Azerbaijan: * Grave Crimes Court of

* Baku Grave Crimes Court * Ganja Grave Crimes Court * Sheki Grave Crimes Court * Lenkoran Grave Crimes Court

Military Courts

The Military Court as a court of first instance deals with the crimes against military service and crimes committed by military persons. The Military Court is composed of the President and judges. The vice-president of the Court is appointed if number of judges is 12 or more. Generally, number of judges and jurisdiction are defined by Judicial Legal Council. The following military courts exist in Azerbaijan: * Military Court of

* Baku Military Court * Ganja Military Court * Lankaran Military Court * Fuzuli-Gubadli Military Court * Tartar Military Court * Agdam Military Court * Gazakh Military Court * Sumgait Military Court

Administrative-economic courts

Administrative-economic court is established in administratively divided territorial areas or in free trade zones of Azerbaijan. Administrative-economic courts as a first instance court render a judgement related to administrative and economic disputes in compliance with their jurisdiction determined by legislation. The President and judges form the Court. When 12 or more judges holds their offices in the Court the vice-president is appointed. Judicial Legal Council defines the number of judges and territorial jurisdiction of the Court. There are 7 administrative-economic courts in Azerbaijan: * Administrative-Economic Court of the

* Baku Administrative-Economic Court No1 * Baku Administrative-Economic Court No2 * Ganja Administrative-Economic Court * Sheki Administrative-Economic Court * Shirvan Administrative-Economic Court * Sumgayit Administrative-Economic Court

Access to the European Court of Human Rights

The Republic of Azerbaijan was admitted to the full membership of

the Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, representing 46 member ...

on 25 January 2001. Since 15 April 2002 Azerbaijan is a party of the

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the ...

. Since the ratification of the convention, the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

of the Court also includes Azerbaijan. Individuals under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan can apply to the European Court of Human Rights if he (she) considers that his (her) human right embodied in the European Convention on Human Rights and Additional Protocols has been violated. Like all member states of the Council of Europe, a judge from Azerbaijan is presented in the European Court of Human Rights.

Judicial-Legal Council

Judicial Legal Council has been created to implement the self-regulating functions of the judiciary. The Council consists of fifteen members 9 of which are judges, at the same time, representatives of advocacy and public prosecution member of the council. The Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan is considered ''

'' to be a President of the council. The council is independent and only act in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Azerbaijan Republic. The Council cooperates with the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, Bar Association of Azerbaijan Republic and scientific institutions. The Council organizes the procedure of selection of new judges, detects the functioning of judges, arranges their transferring and promotion, takes a matter of disciplinary liability of them in hand, and deals with other matters regarding the courts and judges in accordance with their competence.

Awards

Azerbaijan's newly established e-court system (namely the project – Court Pulse – The Management Revolution) was selected from 37 applications of 18 countries and awarded with the "special mention" by Council of Europe within the European "Crystal Scales of Justice Prize".

References

External links

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http://www.supremecourt.nakhchivan.az/index.php/en
{{Judiciaries of Europe