On 16 July 2021 President Aliyev signed 72-pages of changes to the Civil Procedure Code (see https://president.az/articles/52492), which will enter into force since October 2021. The most disputed change related to Article 174.5 (introduction of penalty for misuse of the right to appeal) which was criticized by CSOs and lawyer community for potential restrictions to the right to court.
As a result of this criticism, the final text of the article has been modified and the risk, to a certain extent, has been mitigated.
The article now reads:
“The court may impose a fine of up to 500 manat on persons, their representatives or lawyers who clearly obstruct the proper and prompt consideration of the case and its resolution, as well as those who repeatedly participate in the case, who have repeatedly filed unfounded motions or complaints. The amount of the fine is determined by the court in a reasonable amount, taking into account the specific circumstances”.
Another novelty of the changes is that at the Supreme Court there will be only written proceedings and no oral hearings.
The Ministry of Justice is also working on introducing a new e-window system for CSOs (called FED, see at https://justice.gov.az/news/2472). The testing of the online system has just started. CSOs can use this system to apply online for grant registration and make changes to the registry data (i.e. change of board, change of legal address, etc).