To the participants of the international conference dedicated to the centennial of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan

Dear participants of the conference,

I welcome you all to the international conference dedicated to the centennial of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan on "The role of the Supreme Courts in the administration of justice: best practices and contemporary challenges", and wish you efficient discussions at the conference.

In the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the legal predecessor of the modern Republic of Azerbaijan, fundamental measures were taken in the field of state building, including the adoption of historic decisions on the establishment of a new judicial and legal system, judicial bodies of first and appellate instances began to function. The creation of a court of cassation in Azerbaijan became possible only at the subsequent stage of the country's history due to the fall of the People’s Republic in April 1920.

The supreme judicial body established in 1923 passed all the difficult trials of the Soviet period, participated in the improvement of the judicial system, the development of law and the practice of its application, and in the formation of professional national lawyers.

The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, developed under the leadership of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev and adopted in 1995, defined the principle of separation of powers and established an independent three-tier judicial system headed by the Supreme Court. It was as a result of the political will of the Great Leader, that fundamental reforms were carried out in creating a modern judicial system in Azerbaijan, with due account of the progressive legal approaches and models.

The continuous development of the judicial and legal system has always been among the priorities of our State policies. Strengthening the independence of the judiciary, ensuring the Rule of Law, expanding access to court, improving the efficiency and quality of justice, creating a judiciary with high professional standards, improving judicial activities through the introduction of new information technologies are important areas of this development process. The Supreme Court plays a special role in achieving substantial progress in these areas. The Supreme Court should continue dedicated efforts to further develop judicial institutions with a high reputation in the society, contribute to the identification of new legal mechanisms aimed at protecting human rights, and ensure a uniform practice of resolving legal issues in courts.

New challenges that modern societies face also affect the functioning of judicial institutions. These challenges include ensuring the access to courts for people in various crisis situations, including pandemics, and, therefore, safeguarding the flexibility and fairness of the judicial process; employment of advanced information and communication technologies and elements of artificial intelligence in the functioning of judiciary, while using  these technological innovations in compliance with human rights and ethical principles; securing an effective balance between the evolution of law and maintaining its stability having regard to rapidly changing social relations.

I do believe that today’s discussions at the international conference of the contemporary challenges will help achieve the objectives of the justice system and thus make a valuable contribution to the progress of our societies.

I congratulate the judges and the staff of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary, and wish them success in their professional endeavors!

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 13.02.2023