Azerbaijani Parliament votes to abolish jury trials

The National Assembly of Azerbaijan has adopted the amendments to the legislation to abolish the institution of the jury, which, however, had never been introduced to the country's judicial system.

The amendments were presented as a joint initiative of the Supreme Court (SC) and the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan. This was stated at the meeting of the National Assembly by Ali Guseinli, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and State Construction.

According to Ali Guseinli, the General Prosecutor's Office has analyzed the experience of a number of countries and come to the conclusion that "activity of jurors produces no desired effect", since a jury "often consists of people who are not specialists in legal sphere."

The Parliament's decision is an undemocratic step. This opinion was expressed by lawyer Namizad Safarov, a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF).

Namizad Safarov stated that in the late 1990s-early 2000s, based on the recommendations of international organizations, a number of progressive norms, including the institution of the jury, had been introduced to the Azerbaijan's legislation. The lawyer believes that practice would help prevent prosecution of citizens for political reasons on the basis of fabricated charges and corruption in the country's judicial system.

Erkin Gadirli, an expert in the sphere of criminal and constitutional law, Chairman of the Majlis of the movement "ReAl", has noted that at present, Azerbaijan is not ready to introduce the institution of the jury.

See earlier reports: "In Azerbaijan, Court deprives lawyer Aslan Ismailov of his advocate status", "Gadzily: in Azerbaijani courts protocols are often contrary to what defendants say", "CoE's Commissioner calls on Azerbaijani authorities to stop prosecuting citizens for their statements".