2023-06-06 15:40:21
Neither in criminal cases nor in civil cases, a lawyer is separated
The grounds of the courts’ refusal to assign a lawyer to Karabakh disabled people only on the basis that the participation of a lawyer in the cassation instance is mandatory are considered unfounded by Article 127 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the highest legal force in the country: “Everyone’s right to defense is guaranteed at any stage of court proceedings.” According to Article 61 of the Main Law, everyone has the right to receive high-quality legal assistance. In the cases stipulated by the law, legal assistance is provided free of charge at the expense of the state. According to Article 20 of the Law “On Lawyers and Advocacy”, the fee for the lawyer’s service provided to those who do not have enough funds to pay for the lawyer’s service in court is paid at the state expense without any restrictions. This is the case provided for in the law, this is the Constitution, this is the prohibition of the legal right.
Although the leadership of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, legal policy and state-building committee have repeatedly appealed to the Bar Association to provide Karabakh disabled people with a lawyer free of charge, there has been no result. They just agree, promises are made, but not followed. It is true that the Legal Aid Center (director Shahmar Mammadov) provides all kinds of assistance, but individual law offices refuse free assistance. It is suggested that the provision of a lawyer at the expense of the state is not provided for in the law as a basis for refusal. Then why was Article 20 of the Law “On Lawyers and Advocacy” adopted?
On 24.05.2023, the deputy director of the mentioned center, Ms. Afat Gaziyeva, sent a letter to lawyer office No. 5 to allocate a lawyer to a Karabakh veteran who needs protection in court. The departing lawyer did not take any procedural actions for more than 10 days. The Karabakh veteran who met with the lawyer on 05.06.2023 was told that the law does not allow providing legal assistance, the warrant was not even signed, but it was emphasized that the lawyer will provide services at his own expense. Imagine, the disabled person wrote both the claim and the complaint, what kind of lawyer’s fees and bills can be discussed here? At the same time, if the lawyer does not take any procedural action for 12 days, or even does not want to go to the court and familiarize himself with the case, is it worth expecting something from his free service?
Fathers said, there is no cheap meat soup. Free legal aid does nothing but harm. The lawyer who left after 2 years with the act of the Baku Court of Appeals dated 26.04.2023 for the Karabakh veteran, who took two-thirds of his lung from an enemy bullet, half of the pension of “friendly” officials, and who needs treatment abroad, has not yet filed a complaint. Although the execution of the decision was entrusted to the Bar Association… Probably the decision did not reach the Supreme Court. What can be done, the veteran of Karabakh, who has been waiting for a court decision for 2 years, will wait for the lawyer to file a cassation appeal for 2 months. We are a tolerant people. We are so patient that for 5 years, the Baku Court of Appeals has refused to assign a lawyer to the third-party Karabakh veteran in the case in which Khaliq Abbaszade is the plaintiff, while lawyer office No. 9 advocates the arbitrariness of the court staff…
Proud Badalsoy
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