ILLI MAJLIS AND CIVIL SOCIETY DISCUSS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEGAL BASIS FOR COMBATING CORRUPTION IN AZERBAIJAN

Posted by: admin | Posted on: Апрель 23, 2013

Transparency Azerbaijan, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a roundtable to discuss Further development of the legal basis for combating corruption in Azerbaijan. The roundtable was the last in a series organized by Transparency Azerbaijan to facilitate dialogue between the state institutions and NGOs on increasing transparency and accountability. Representatives of the Apparatus of Milli Majlis (Parliament), Members of Parliament (MP) as well as local and international NGO representatives participated in the roundtable.
Since 2000, the Azerbaijani Parliament have taken legal initiatives, such as changes to Criminal and Administrative Codes and Codes of Criminal and Administrative Procedures aimed at strengthening liability and expanding applicability of legal norms for corruption-related offenses, as well as adoption of a number of laws (including the Law on Criminal Liability of Legal Persons) and on-going law-making initiatives (including draft Code of Urban Building and Construction). Participants agreed that, despite Parliament’s efforts to create anti-corruption normative-legal basis, challenges remain, including absense of legal protection for whistle blowers. Despite adoption of the Law on Submission of Tax Returns for public officials, the law is not applied in practice due to a lack of supporting legal acts, namely a declaration form and receiving entity for MPs. Roundtable participants identified and discussed current deficiencies in efforts aimed at minimizing opportunities for corrupt practices in all sectors of public adminstration system and proposed legal initatives to increase transparency and accountability in this area.
After introduction from Ali Huseynli, Chairman of Parliament’s Legal Policy and State Building Committee, Eldar Askerov, Senior Advisor of the Administrative and Military Law Department of Parliament’s Apparatus spoke on Parliament’s recent and planned legal initiatives. Alimamed Nuriyev, President of the Constitutional Research Fund and Coordinator of the Information and Cooperation Network of Anti-corruption NGOs, discussed further development of anti-corruption normative-legal basis in Azerbaijan. Rena Safaralieva, Executive Director, Transparency Azerbaijan, presented targeted recommendations on amendments to Azerbaijan legal framework based on eleven roundtables with respective public agencies.
Participants praised the exchange of views between MPs and civil society that took place at the roundtable. They also decided to deliver to the Parliament written recommendations from civil society organizations on further improving the legal basis to combat corruption in Azerbaijan.