On February 28, 2025, the Forum of Judges of Azerbaijan was held in Baku. More than 400 judges and members of the Judicial-Legal Council took part in it. The purpose of the forum was to discuss the possibilities of increasing the efficiency of justice, ongoing judicial and legal reforms, problems and challenges facing the country's judicial system.

Opening the Forum, the President of the Azerbaijan Union of Judges (AUJ) Ramiz Rzayev stated that assistance to strengthening and developing the judicial power, modernizing the courts and improving the social protection of judges have always been on a special focus of Union. The consistent reforms carried out in a country’s judicial-legal system have resulted in great achievements in protecting human rights, aligning justice with modern standards and increasing the independence and efficiency of the judiciary.

The President of the Supreme Court and the Judicial-Legal Council Inam Karimov has informed about latest significant judicial-legal reforms carried out in a country. During the last two years period, efforts continued to align the judicial system of the Republic of Azerbaijan with international standards. The legislative framework regulating activities in this area was improved and significant steps were taken to increase the independence and prestige of the judiciary.

Through the updated selection procedure of judge candidates nearly 140 judge candidates in a short period of time have been selected and appointed to various first-instance courts, which for the first time has brought the number of judges to its highest level — 628.

The recent amendments to the "Law on Courts and Judges" have streamlined the process of judge selection and the long-term training of candidates for vacant judicial positions before their appointment will significantly accelerate the staffing process in the coming years. It was an effective measure in reducing the workload of judges.

With the recent amendments to the law the number of judge members of self-governing body - Judicial-Legal Council was increased by reducing the number of representatives of executive. The establishment of the Judges' Conference and the election of this judge members by the Judges' Conference was a big step in strengthening the independence of judiciary.

In a short time, to enhance the protection of rights the judges during the disciplinary proceedings new mechanisms including an appointment of opposing rapporteur from the members of Judicial-Legal Council was introduced.

Based on the changes made to the "Law on Courts and Judges," a number of competences, including the conducting of court statistics, initiating the disciplinary proceedings against the judges, secondment of judges, management of the "Electronic Court" information system and more, have been transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Judicial-Legal Council.

Among the important innovations, it is noteworthy that new evoluation rules of judges, based on objective criteria, will ensure a transparent procedure for the promotion of judges and the establishment of the Judges’ Evaluation Committee will be implemented to carry out this process.

The Chief Justice emphasized that improving the independence the working conditions of judges also remains a priority.

One of the key issues discussed at the forum was the upcoming 67th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Judges (IAJ), which will be held in Baku in 2025. As part of this meeting, the topic of the international conference was officially confirmed. The conference will focus on the theme: "Relations between the Judiciary and the Other Two Powers of the State". This topic is expected to lead to important discussions on the balance of powers and the independence of the judiciary.

The forum continued with panel discussions. The discussions focused on the work carried out in the judicial and legal field, the reforms being implemented, modern challenges and future tasks. There were also discussions on the implementation status of justice in a different specific areas.

As part of the forum, the award ceremony for the "JUDGE OF THE YEAR" established by the Azerbaijan Union of Judges in various nominations, was held. In this regard, Hafiz Nasibov - Chairman of the Criminal Board of the Supreme Court, was awarded for "Long-Term Effective Work in the Administration of Justice"; Elshana Valiyeva - Judge of the Supreme Court, was awarded for "Effective Work in the Training of Judge Candidates and Judges"; Zaur Aliyev - Judge of the Supreme Court, Orkhan Ismayilov- Judge of the ShirvanCourt of Appeal and Nail Abbasov - Judge of the NasimiDistrict Court, were awarded for "Contributions to the Development of Legal Science in the Field of Justice"; Sayyad Karimov - Judge of the Supreme Court and Rafael Eyvazov - Chairman of the Civil Board of the Baku Court of Appeal, was awarded for "Contributions to the Formation of Uniform Judicial Practice" and TuralGojayev - Judge of the Baku Court of Appeal, was awarded for "Contributions to the Development of the 'Electronic Court' Information System."

Additionally, Asad Mirzaliyev – retired judge, a member of the Board of Azerbaijan Union of Judges was awarded for "Effective Public Activity of Judges," and four volunteers from the "Femida Volunteers" Organization were awarded for "Effective Organization of Volunteer Activities in the Judicial-Legal System."

As part of the forum elections to the Judicial-Legal Council were held. Ilkin Abdullayev - Chairman of the Khankendi City Court, was elected as the judge representing first-instance courts member and AzerJafarov as the representative of the legal communitytothe Judicial-Legal Council.

At the same time in frame of Forum, the annual report of the Azerbaijan Union of Judges was presented and Bahram Mammadli - judge of the Commercial Board of the Supreme Court was elected as a new member of the Unions Board.