"If the lawyer's petition is not considered, the court's final decision will not be fair"

"The issue raised by Anar Bagirov caused a great deal of public discussion. Not only representatives of the legal community, but also people from various fields of activity joined the discussions.They got to the essence of the issue and correctly assessed the appeal of the leadership of the Bar Association. I think Anar Bagirov has shown a very courageous position with this appeal."

The statement was made by MP Zahid Oruj, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, commenting on the appeal of Anar Bagirov, chairman of the Bar Association, to reject the petitions filed by lawyers without any justification, e-huquq.az reports.

According to him, the steps taken by Anar Bagirov in recent years to turn advocacy, one of the most important institutions in building a legal society in Azerbaijan, into a systematic, professional and competent institution, formed the following statement: "That is, only a person with those ideas could take such a step. It is not a question of deep divisions between the judiciary and various institutions or branches of government, including non-governmental institutions, as some would like to describe. But every problem should be solved. If the petitions of lawyers are rejected by the judges and are not substantiated, it contradicts not only the basic principles of legal protection, but also the interests of the citizen as a whole and their freedom."

The chairman of the committee noted that not only lawyers are under attack here, but also the people they defend are dissatisfied with one branch of government in one form or another: "If we take into account that judges make decisions on behalf of the state, and this is exactly what is expressed in sentencing, this ultimately leads to a negative attitude towards the state itself. On the other hand, if the petitions filed by a lawyer are not considered or taken into account during or after the investigation, then the final decisions in each case will no longer be fair and will not be based on the rule of law. Even if it is based, it will already mean a violation of the balance of interests between different institutions, structures and professional activities.However, the judicial system has been accepted as a symbol of the word justice.

We very much wish that the reforms initiated by President Ilham Aliyev in 2017 and deepened in 2019 by the relevant Decree will continue successfully. There were also very important provisions for lawyers. Since Anar Bagirov became the head of the Bar Association, we have had close relations with various government institutions, civil society, open discussions with international organizations, meetings on important platforms, and important events. It should be noted that the number of lawyers in Azerbaijan has increased significantly since his leadership."

The MP said that ending the 30-year occupation of the Azerbaijani people, the victory over the enemy opens wide opportunities for new relations in the field of human rights and freedoms in the country: "It is characterized as a completely different era.The people of Azerbaijan will face certain changes in the system of mental and cultural views, as well as in state-citizen relations.For this reason, I think that this appeal of Anar Bagirov is fully consistent with his state ideals, the current status of Azerbaijan, the image of a victorious people. We say that in this country, any ethnic group, nation, people can live freely and under the highest guarantee of law. If we declare this, then if a judicial system weakens a lawyer and does not consider him, then how can a lawyer treat the people with whom he has a contract? This is a blow to the ties between them. What should citizens do ?! Should they apply to criminal circles in other countries ?! How can it be allowed ?! Azerbaijan experienced such difficult conditions in the 1990s. Someone has shown by force of arms that he is either right or wrong. And we say that the greatest goal of Azerbaijan, the will expressed by Mr. President, is a society in which the laws work. The judiciary, law enforcement agencies, advocacy institutions and its leadership should support this position and take steps to do so."

Z.Oruj believes that the relevant committees of the Milli Majlis, as well as officials of the Presidential Administration and judges can hold a meeting on a broad platform: "Issues can sometimes be discussed in private, and in other cases in front of the media, to show the public the problems and their solutions. I would like to emphasize once again that in any case, the leadership of the Bar Association would not have taken such a step if it had thought only of its corporate position. However, the current goal serves the ideals of protecting the Azerbaijani society and people as a whole, and is fully consistent with the goals of a just Azerbaijani society, which the country's leader wants to form. "

Khayala Bunyatova