Procedures
District courts, appellate courts and a Supreme Court on points of law
Civil proceedings begin in district courts, appeals go to regional courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court exercises cassation review confined to questions of law. Commercial disputes are heard by specialised administrative-economic courts.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, including separate administrative-economic courts for commercial and tax matters.
- Deadline — Appeal against a first-instance judgment: one month from service of the reasoned decision
- Deadline — Cassation appeal to the Supreme Court: two months from the appellate judgment
Governing law
- Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan1999
- Law on Courts and Judges (1997) — court organisation
In practice
Cassation review by the Supreme Court is limited to the correct application of substantive and procedural law; it does not reopen findings of fact. Azerbaijan is a Council of Europe member, so applicants can proceed to the European Court of Human Rights after exhausting domestic remedies, and Azerbaijan has a substantial adverse Strasbourg caseload. Enforcement of judgments is handled by the Enforcement Service under the Ministry of Justice. Electronic filing through the e-court system is now available for most civil filings.