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OSCE Office supports discussions to strengthen access to justice, legal profession

16 November 2011
Head of the Democratization Department at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Thomas Vennen (r) and Director of the Human Rights Institute Ayten Mustafayeva, at a workshop on strengthening the legal profession and improving access to justice, Baku, 16 November 2011. (OSCE/Mehman Huseynov) Photo details

BAKU, 16 November 2011 – A two-day OSCE-supported workshop on strengthening the legal profession and improved access to justice started today.

The OSCE Office in Baku, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Human Rights Institute of Azerbaijan’s National Academy of Science organized this event, which brings together representatives from the government, Bar Association, as well as national and international experts.

The participants will discuss the role of bar associations in promoting effective legal representation and ensuring equal opportunities for parties in court proceedings, as well as admission to the legal profession and legal education and training. They will also identify possible ways for strengthening the profession in Azerbaijan’s legal framework, and examine good practices in effective legal representation, education and the development of legal aid systems in other OSCE countries.

Ambassador Koray Targay, the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, said in his opening speech: “The main purpose of today’s event is to jointly identify effective ways of improving access of qualified lawyers to the Bar Association, as well as establishing a functional legal aid system able to fully ensure the delivery of defence services to low-income groups."

“The OSCE Office in Baku in co-operation with the Bar Association has been supporting the work of defence lawyers in Azerbaijan through training activities and facilitating exchanges of expertise and good practices within the OSCE region,” he said.

“Azerbaijani Constitution guarantees the right for obtaining legal aid and protection, and the role of legal professionals in this field is quite important. Today we will discuss the situation surrounding legal profession in Azerbaijan and look for optimal ways to address existing problems in this field,” said Ayten Mustafayeva, the Director of the Human Rights Institute. 

Justice Minister Fikret Mammadov, the Chairperson of the Bar Association Azer Taghiyev and Chingiz Askarov representing the Presidential Administration will attend the conference.