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After Azerbaijan gained independence, comprehensive reforms were carried out in the country's legal system. Under the leadership of the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, the judicial-legal reform transformed the legal system inherited from the former Soviet Union into one based on democratic principles.

As a result of the reforms in the legal system, a new three-tier independent judicial system comprising first instance, appellate, and cassation courts was established.

Considering that access to justice significantly depends on the structure of the judicial system, particularly the functioning of specialized and regional courts, institutional reforms in this area were continued through decrees signed by the country's president, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, on January 19, 2006, and July 15, 2010, aimed at modernizing the judicial system.

In line with the president's directives to improve access to courts for people living in regions, in 2006, six regional appellate courts and three additional local economic courts were established to replace the republican appellate and economic courts.

In 2010, instead of a single court for grave crimes across the republic, five new regional grave crime courts were created, and the military court system was improved.

At the same time, one of the most significant events in the development of our judicial-legal system was the establishment of the administrative justice institution for the first time. Since 2011, seven administrative courts, covering all regions of the country, have started functioning, playing an important role in protecting human rights and freedoms violated by administrative bodies.

Given the blockade situation of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic during the reforms, new courts were established there to create favorable conditions for the population. The Supreme Court of the Autonomous Republic began fully functioning as an appellate court.

The President's decree "On Deepening Reforms in the Judicial-Legal System" dated April 3, 2019, marked a new phase of judicial reforms in our country, further strengthening the judiciary and advancing the development of the judicial system.

In line with the measures outlined in that decree, and among other significant steps, new regional commercial and administrative courts were established by the President's decree on July 19, 2019, to ensure that disputes related to entrepreneurial activities are handled more swiftly and by judges with deeper legal knowledge and experience.

These courts began operating on January 1, 2020.

Currently, the administration of justice in the Republic of Azerbaijan is carried out by the following courts within the judicial system of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

• District (city) courts;
• Grave crimes courts;
• Military courts;
• Administrative courts;
• Commercial courts;
• The Supreme Court of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic;
• Appellate courts;
• The Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan.