The legal fee is to be increased - SURVEY

Azerbaijan ranks at a low stage among the countries of the Council of Europe in terms of per capita legal fee. It was stated in the latest report of the Council of Europe European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ). According to the report, funding for the prosecutor's office in European countries averages 11.7 euro per person. In Azerbaijan, this figure is 3.4 euro. That is, there is difference of about 3 times. According to the courts, the per capita budget is 40.7 euro in Europe, 5.1 euro in our country and it means that, this is about 8 times lower. The legal fee is 0.1 euro per capita, which is 26 times different from the European indicators. Thus, this amount is 2.6 euro in European countries.

What is the reason for this sharp difference and what steps should be taken to eliminate it?

President of the CEPEJ, Judge of the Baku Court of Appeal Ramin Gurbanov told e- huquq.az that the legal fee should be increased. According to him, this may increase the interest of lawyers in cases within the framework of free legal fee.

“One of the factors influencing the quality of legal fee is the funding allocated to this field. As a result of the reforms, the legal fee has been increased in certain amount in Azerbaijan. At present, positive dynamics is observed in this field, there is growth. But comparisons show that this amount should be further increased. The growth must continue so that lawyers are more willing to provide free legal fee. That is, the legal fee should be attractive to them and they should be more enthusiastic when there is work under free legal fee, " R. Gurbanov said.

As for how much the amount can be increased, Gurbanov said that relevant comparisons and analysis should be made in this regard: “It is difficult to say how much the amount can be increased. This is an issue related to the general public budget, economic development, gross domestic product, average monthly salary and other issues. Therefore, economists need to make comparisons on this issue and express their opinions. The report of the European Commission on the Efficiency of Justice of the Council of Europe also provides the legal fee rate by other countries to legal fee to GDP. According to it, if a certain analysis is carried out, it is very easy to determine how much we should have. We also mentioned the neighboring countries statistics in the report. Georgia allocates more money for legal fee than we do. In general, it is necessary to compare in this field with the Post-Soviet countries, the Baltic countries. It is true that now they are members of the European Union, but they have passed the same way of independence. In the report, we compared the gross domestic product. Today, the countries that allocate the most funds for legal fee are Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. But by comparison, countries with low GDP spend more money on prosecutor’s power. They can't solve the problem in any other way, so they are strengthening the law enforcement agencies. "

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, MP Zahid Oruj also expressed support for increasing the funds allocated for legal fee at public expense. The deputy believes that this amount can be increased several times.

“As the Human Rights Committee, we have appeals in this regard. In fact, the Presidential Decree on judicial-legal reform, signed in April 2017, addresses these issues in general. The Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On deepening reforms in the judicial system" also contains these provisions. At the beginning of this session of the parliament, as the chairman of the Human Rights Committee, I again included a meeting with lawyers in the work plan. We support to keep this issue on the agenda. We are ready to discuss it with government agencies and participate in finding solutions. In fact, there are bills in this regard. Only a number of regulations can be changed. In particular, changes in the internal structure of budget-related funds can solve all these issues. I think that there is a background for increasing for legal fee at the expense of the state several times. If we cite examples from Western countries, then we must understand that the provision there is a completely different figure. In this case, we must take into account that these figures must change. An integral part of building a state governed by the rule of law is a guaranteed participation in the above-mentioned field, especially in the implementation of the justice process. We annulled the institution of representation and said that the number of lawyers should be increased instead. A number of important measures in this field require the expansion of the financial base. Therefore, it is real to increase legal fee several times within the state. Otherwise, the situation will not change with a small number,"- he said.

Z. Oruj also noted that after Anar Bagirov headed the Bar Association, communication in this field has increased, problems have been identified and admission to lawyers has been provided in a transparent manner: "At the same time, positive trends have been observed in increasing the number of lawyers in our country. Appropriate steps have been taken to address the shortage of lawyers and legal aid in the regions. External interference in the advocacy system was prevented. All this are a great progress. Besides, the return of a significant part of the funds allocated to the Bar Association proves that there is a high degree of economy and efficiency in the management of the financial system. "

Chairman of the Bar Association, Mr. Anar Bagirov told e-huquq.az that it is unacceptable that the legal fee is many times lower than in other fields of the judicial system. According to him, this sharp difference must be eliminated: At present, the legal fee per capita in Azerbaijan is much lower than European standards. It would be good to increase this amount in the near future and eliminate this difference or at least reduce it. These funds are also low compared to other fields of the judicial system. If we compare with other countries, the difference in the judicial sector is 3-8 times. There is a difference of more than 10 times in the legal fee. I think it would be better to have a difference of 3-8 times, at least as in other sectors. That is, there should be no such sharp difference. Otherwise, the existence of such a difference creates the impression that the costs are not evenly distributed in the judicial system. This is also unacceptable in any case. We have raised this issue. This issue should be discussed and relevant decisions should be made by the relevant agencies. Of course, first of all, the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet of Ministers must work to solve this problem. "

Khayala Bunyatova