WB reports on reforms in justice sector in Azerbaijan

The construction of Sumgayit Court Complex, Baku City Surakhani District Court and Masalli District Court have been completed as part of the World Bank (WB) Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project, Report informs referring to the bank’s report on the project status.

Hand-over is underway and all three buildings should be opened in spring 2021 (dates of opening to be confirmed by the Presidential Administration’s Office).

“The Main Data Center (Baku) and Reserve Data Center (Yevlakh) - core elements of the e-Court system - are nearing finalization. The Reserve Data Center has passed its "stress-test" to obtain international certification. The Main Data Center is scheduled to be operational by Spring 2021, including certification,” reads the report.

The roll-out of the e-Courts in the remaining two regions of Ganja and Shirvan is imminent, the WB said.

The WB-financed courts are very energy effective and have demonstrated low energy consumption per square meter. Audio-video court proceedings transcription system and equipment are operational in smart courts constructed under the WB project and in all courts in four out of Azerbaijan’s six court jurisdictions, i.e. a total of 66 courts.

“As for the SMEs, outreach is covered under the Additional Financing only and has yet to gain pace due to COVID-19 related restrictions in place and an overall decline in economic activity. The project, however, anticipates, an overall increase in cases, also in the area of contractual and commercial as well as insolvency disputes, over the next months as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the report.

The work is underweay as part of additional funding for $50 million, which was approved by the WB Board of Directors on March 26, 2020. Along with this, the bank extended the terms of the initial loan, approved in July 2014, until June 30, 2021.

The completion of the “Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project,” for the implementation of which the bank approved a loan for $100 million in 2014, was supposed to be completed on June 30, 2020. As part of this project, trainings for employees of the justice system, construction of administrative buildings for courts, and improvement of the system of services in the field of justice are provided.

Additional funding is provided for Judicial Service Delivery Improvements (the cost of these works is estimated at $43.84 million), Strengthening Institutional Capacity and Efficiency ($25.8 million), Expansion and Modernization of Justice Infrastructure ($59.71 million), Project Management and Coordination ($12.89 million), Piloting of Transformative Technology (TT) for Justice Sector Performance and Service Delivery Improvements ($4.83 million). For contingency, $2.67 million are provided.

The implementation of the work as part of additional financing is planned to be completed by the end of June 2024. At the moment, 14 percent ($7 million) of this loan has already been disbursed.