World Bank to finance judicial reforms in Azerbaijan
By Rasana Gasimova
The World Bank plans to provide an additional loan of up to $50 million to continue reforms in Azerbaijan’s judicial system.
Legal negotiations may take place before the end of the first quarter of 2020. A loan is expected to be approved in 2020. Credit funds are planned to be directed to the development of the e-court system, particularly, the purchase of appropriate IT equipment, local media reported referring to the bank.
This loan is provided under Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project approved in July 2014 that envisages providing a loan of $100 million to Azerbaijan. The project envisages the trainings for employees of the justice system, construction of administrative buildings for courts, and improvement of the service system in the field of justice. The other $50 million are expected to be provided until the completion of the project in June 30, 2020.
The development objective of the Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project for Azerbaijan is to improve the access, transparency, and efficiency of delivery of selected justice services. The project comprises of four components.
Currently, substantive negotiations are held between the WB and the Azerbaijani government on financing two projects, for the implementation of which the bank can allocate credit funds in the amount of up to $150 million. Approval of financing is planned for 2020.
Earlier this month, the bank informed that it plans to provide a $100 million loan to support the self-employment program conducted in the country. It was noted that legal negotiations on a loan for this project are scheduled for January 2020, and the loan is expected to be approved in the first half of 2020.
The project includes three components: increasing the scope and effectiveness of the self-employment program; strengthening the capacity of the State Employment Service; project management, monitoring and evaluation.
Note that Azerbaijan joined The World Bank Group in 1992. Since then, the bank has allocated loans in the amount of over three billion dollars for the implementation of over 50 projects in the country. Currently, seven more projects worth about 1.5 billion dollars are being implemented. In addition to loans, the World Bank allocated 45 grants to Azerbaijan for a total of $ 41.586 million in 1995-2014.
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