Baku, January 25, AZERTAC
On January 25, the Ministry of Justice organized an online briefing on the theme of "CEPEJ and judicial-legal reforms: Achievements of Azerbaijan".
AZERTAJ informs that, Aynur Sabitova, the Chief of the Human Rights and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice, noted that Azerbaijan had achieved successes in other areas in 2020, marked by the Great Victory of our people in the Patriotic War under the leadership of the President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev.
She said that, elections were held to the leadership of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice of the Council of Europe (CEPEJ), which contributes to the implementation of judicial-legal reforms in Europe and makes a significant contribution to improving the efficiency of justice. Taking into account the progressive achievements of Azerbaijan in the field of justice and law, as well as the valuable contribution of our country to the work of the commission, the representative of Azerbaijan, Judge Ramin Gurbanov was re-elected a President of CEPEJ.
This is a clear demonstration of the growing prestige of our state in the international arena. At the same time, it was noted that today marks twenty years since Azerbaijan became a full member of the Council of Europe. An official ceremony was held in Strasbourg on January 25, 2001 with the participation of the national leader Heydar Aliyev on the occasion of Azerbaijan's membership in this organization.
Judge Ramin Gurbanov, President of CEPEJ, spoke about the essence of the organization, its activities, realized works and held elections: “At the plenary session in Strasbourg on December 8 last year, which was attended by the representatives of 47 European countries, my re-election as the head of CEPEJ – an important legal organization of the Council of Europe is an indicator of international confidence in the progressive judicial and legal reforms in our country, the success of our republic”.
It was stressed that independent Azerbaijan is internationally recognized for its modern judicial and legal reforms and is always in the spotlight of the world community. These reforms are positively assessed in the international arena, and give a substantial impetus to the rise of our country's rating and prestige in the international arena. These achievements are a clear example of President Ilham Aliyev's consistent, systematic reform strategy in the judicial system since 2004. There are other grounds for electing an Azerbaijani representative to such an influential international body of the Council of Europe in the field of justice. Large-scale measures are being taken to introduce the cultural heritage of our country to the world. First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has made an exceptional contribution to the formation of the right opinion about every Azerbaijani in the European society. As a result of her efforts, the European society has already got an impression of the ancient history and culture of Azerbaijan.
It was noted that CEPEJ, as a leading regional organization protecting human rights in Europe, is a specialized body of the Council of Europe in the field of justice, prosecution and advocacy. Representatives of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe are represented in this body. The principle of equality is observed in the formation of this institution. At least one highly qualified representative from each country represents his country there, participates directly in the discussion of any document that will constitute European standards, and expresses his will. This will is presented there as the position of the country.
The main purpose of the establishment of this body is to increase the quality and efficiency of the judicial system in Europe, determining the level of European standards in the judiciary, conducting assessments, identifying positive practices and recommending them to other states, rendering support to judicial-legal reforms in 47 member states.
One of the main reasons for the establishment of this body was the excessive number of complaints received by the European Court of Human Rights and the need to reduce the workload of this court. The main goal is to reduce the number of complaints by improving the judicial and justice systems at the national level in 47 countries.
It is especially important that the Azerbaijani representative was elected during the victory in the Patriotic War and against the background of the biased and unfair attitude of a number of Western European countries to our country. This is also a proof of the historic victory of our republic in the international legal field and the success of judicial and legal reforms implemented by the President Mr. Ilham Aliyev. The leadership of the Judicial-Legal Council and the Ministry of Justice also played an important role in the implementation of these reforms.
The online briefing also touched upon other issues and answered questions from social network users and journalists.
