The 1st Forum of Azerbaijani Judges was held in Baku

The forum, attended by more than 400 judges, as well as members of the Judicial and Legal Council, aimed to inform the legal community and society about the judicial and legal reforms underway in our country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the forum, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Judges Union Ramiz Rzayev stated that strengthening and developing the judiciary, modernizing the material and technical base of courts, and improving the social protection of judges have always been in the focus of special attention of the head of state: "Today, we are pleased to state that as a result of the reforms consistently implemented in the judicial and legal system in our country, great achievements have been made in the protection of human rights, bringing justice to modern standards, and increasing the independence and efficiency of the judiciary. The number of our young judges who have acquired skills that meet the requirements of the modern era is increasing each year."

Inam Karimov, Chairman of the Supreme Court and the Judicial and Legal Council, spoke in his speech about the judicial and legal reforms implemented in the country. He noted that these reforms have contributed to increasing the authority of the judiciary: "The Judicial and Legal Council, taking into account the importance of staffing the judicial corps with a new generation of young lawyers in order to improve the quality of justice in the country, has achieved a more flexible nature of this process by first of all improving the selection procedure for candidates for judges. The work of staffing the courts of higher instance with professional staff is also ongoing. In this context, about 60 experienced judges have been promoted to the courts of higher instance. Over the past short period of time, about 140 candidates for judges have been selected and appointed to various courts of first instance, which has allowed the number of judges to reach the highest level for the first time - 628 people.

The Chairman of the Supreme Court emphasized that the issue of improving the working conditions of judges in Azerbaijan is also in the spotlight.

The forum then continued with panel discussions.

The discussions focused on the work done in the judicial and legal field, the reforms carried out, modern challenges and upcoming issues. Discussions were also held on the implementation status of justice in specific areas.

The forum also included a ceremony to present the "Judge of the Year" award established by the Union of Judges of Azerbaijan in various nominations. Thus, the Chairman of the Criminal Collegium of the Supreme Court Hafiz Nasibov was awarded the “Judge of the Year” award “for long-term effective activity in the field of administration of justice”, the Judge of the Supreme Court Elshane Valiyeva for “effective activity in the training of candidates for judges and acting judges”, the Judge of the Supreme Court Zaur Aliyev, the Judge of the Shirvan Court of Appeal Orkhan Ismayilov, the Judge of the Nasimi District Court Nail Abbasov for “contribution to the development of legal science in the field of administration of justice”, the Judge of the Supreme Court Sayyad Karimov, the Chairman of the Civil Collegium of the Baku Court of Appeal Rafael Eyvazov  for “contribution to the formation of the uniformity of judicial practice”, and the Judge of the Baku Court of Appeal Tural Gojayev for “contribution to the development of the “Electronic Court” information system.

In addition, Asad Mirzaliyev, a member of the Board of the Azerbaijan Judges Union, was awarded “For effective activity in the field of public activity of judges”, and 4 volunteers of the “Femida Volunteers” organization were awarded “For effective organization of volunteer activity in the judicial and legal system”.

A Conference of Judges was also organized within the framework of the forum. Elections to the Judicial and Legal Council were held at the conference. By unanimous vote of the conference members, Ilkin Abdullayev, Chairman of the Khankendi City Court, was elected a judge representing the courts of first instance, and Azer Jafarov, a member of the Judicial and Legal Council as a representative of the legal community.

At the same time, the annual report of the Azerbaijan Judges Union was presented and Bahram Mammadli, a judge of the Commercial Collegium of the Supreme Court, was elected a member of the Board.