Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova chaired a scheduled plenary sitting of the Parliament on 4 May.

The agenda of the sitting was adopted and a discussion of the current issues followed.

The parliamentary committee chairmen Zahid Oruj and Siyavush Novruzov as well as the MPs Konul Nurullayeva, Fazil Mustafa, Bahrouz Maharramov, Ali Masimli, Razi Nurullayev, Tural Ganjaliyev, Azer Badamov and Mushfig Jafarov touched on various questions of present interest. They talked about the commendable border service of the National Security Service and Border Troops officers and the restoration work afoot in the liberated territories including the Smart Village and Smart Town projects. The rate of exchange of the manat, the condition of the banks, the situation with the compulsory medical insurance, unseemly statements in social networks, suicides of people belonging to different age groups but, especially, of children, their causes and the need to avert them, the state of affairs with division of the municipal lands and, last but not least, the current situation in the education field were talked of, too. Besides, the MPs brought up electors’ concerns and accompanied their speeches with remarks and motions.

Then, Sahiba Gafarova announced the agenda of the sitting consisting of 11 items of which, she said, the first 4 were the Bills lined up for consideration in the third reading.

Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Public Associations and Religious Entities Fazail Ibrahimli tabled the draft amendments to the Freedom of Faith Law and said that the document was wholly compliant with the third reading requirements. The amendments are intended to regulate both existing and novel relations in the concerned field in accordance with the national legislation, to ensure legal compliance and to bring about efficient arrangement of enlightenment work, according to Mr Ibrahimli.

The parliamentary committee chairman Siyavush Novruzov and the MPs Malahat Ibrahimghizi, Hikmat Mammadov, Sabir Rustamkhanli and Aydin Mirzazade shared their views of the Bill in the course of the deliberations that followed.

Vice-Speaker Ibrahimli commented on their statements before the Bill was voted upon and approved in the third reading.

First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Law Policy and State-Building Ali Huseynli then tabled the third reading of the draft amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences. Mr Huseynli told the House that the draft had been composed in connection of enactment and subsequent enforcement of the Bill containing amendments to the Freedom of Faith Law.

That Bill, too, was approved in the third reading.

Next, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Health Committee Ahliman Amiraslanov presented in the third reading the draft amendments to the laws ‘On the State Care of Diabetes Mellitus Patients’, ‘On Blood and Blood Component Donation, and the Blood Service’, ‘On the Prevention of Neglect of Adolescents and of Juvenile Offences’, ‘On the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society’, ‘On the Apiary Sector’, ‘On the Social Adaptation of Persons Relieved of Penitentiary Sentence Service’, ‘On Education’, ‘On Physical Education and Sports’, ‘On Cession of Lands for State Needs’, ‘On Countering the Diseases Caused by the HIV’ and ‘On the Prevention of Household Violence’ and the draft amendments to the laws ‘On the State Care of Multiple Sclerosis Patients’, ‘On the Protection of the Rights and Liberties of Persons Held in Detention Facilities’, ‘On the Protection of Green Spaces’, ‘On the Compulsory Clinical Examination of Children’, ‘On Limiting the Consumption of Tobacco Goods’, ‘On Vocational Education’, ‘On the Rights of Disabled Persons’, ‘On the Psychological Aid’ and ‘On General Education’.

Besides, Mr Amiraslanov spoke of the progress of the coronavirus vaccination and cited the relevant statistical data.

Both Bills were voted through the third reading after MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev’s commentary.

Chair Sahiba Gafarova let it be known afterwards that the next three items of the agenda were the Bills closely interconnected substantively. Those were tabled by Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Ali Masimli, and were as follows:

Approval of the 2016 amendments to the (modified) Annexes to the Convention No 185 dated 2003 ‘On the Identity Papers of the Seamen’;

The draft amendments (in the first reading) to the Azerbaijan Republic Law No 541-IIIQ dated 1 February 2008 on the adoption of ‘The Seaman’s Identity Paper Provisions’ and of ‘The Specifications, Description and Specimen of the Seaman’s Identity Paper’;  and

The draft amendments (in the first reading) to the State Duty Law.

It was said that all the three documents had been drawn up with the purpose of aligning seafarers’ IDs with the international convention requirements both in form and content pursuant to the 2016 amendments to the Annexes to the Convention No 185 dated 2003 ‘On the Identity Papers of the Seamen’.

What is envisaged in the amendments is that the seamen’s ID issue, replacement, revocation and termination will be streamlined and, second, a mechanism will be set up to regulate those transactions in a more systematic way. At the same time, the Bill suggests attachment of electronic chips to the IDs in keeping with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements and standards with certain personal data to be born on those chips specifically rather than written down in the documents. Last but not least, the draft contains a new seaman’s ID issue (replacement) application form/questionnaire template and a new edition of the ID specimen.

Ali Masimli commented on the relevant considerations voiced by MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev. Then, each of the three Bills was voted in separately.

The following item on the agenda consisted in the draft amendments to the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic ‘On the “Alat” Free Economic Zone’.

Expanding on it, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Tahir Mirkishili talked about the efficient economic policy being implemented in Azerbaijan. He emphasised the significance of free economic areas and pointed at the importance of having exacting legal frameworks for attraction of investments to the free economic zone. Mr Mirkishili said that there had been many changes and developments including Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day Patriotic War having given birth to new economic opportunities in the region since the adoption of the ‘“Alat” Free Economic Zone’ Law back in 2018. Besides, Mr Mirkishili pointed out that the Bill in question mattered in light of the realistic outlook of having the Zanghezur Transport Corridor be opened eventually.

Going further, Mr Mirkishili remarked that the Bill was rooted in the start-up experience of the “Alat” FEZ and the relevant law enforcement process, and had been put together to improve the workings of the “Alat” FEZ as well as to streamline the relevant legislation in accordance with the relevant international experience. The document envisages terminology adjustment, expansion of the FEZ Authority’s powers and concretisation of the relevant tax, customs and financial matters. There also the provisions that are concerned with attraction of investments, cancelation of the zoning of disputes and adding the International Arbitration Institution to the list of dispute adjudicators. According to Mr Mirkishili, the Bill put before the House matters for making the work of the FEZ effective.

The MPs Razi Nurullayev, Etibar Aliyev, Tahir Karimli, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Mahir Abbaszade, Fazil Mustafa, Iltizam Yusifov and Tural Ganjaliyev commented on the Bill before it was approved in the first reading.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova told the Parliament that the next two items on the agenda had been composed in the Milli Majlis to a relevant recommendation of the Constitution Court and had been accommodated with the concerned authorities. There is a substantive proximity between the draft amendments to the Tax Code of the Azerbaijan Republic and those to the laws ‘On the State Real Estate Register’ and ‘On Mortgage’.

Mr Mirkishili informed the participants of the plenum of the two Bills tabled in the first reading, saying that they had been written by the Milli Majlis committees and recommended for presentation to the House after thorough discussions. Their purpose is to clarify what documents must be submitted when mortgaged property is transferred to the ownership of a creditor organisation in case of an abortive auction for that property and what party is to pay the applicable tax. The Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee had looked into the matter as instructed by Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova; a special working group had been formed.

The proposed amendments envisage exacting legislative regulation of the simplified tax payment procedures applicant to acquisition of property to be mortgaged by a holder of mortgage and to the latter having the title to such property registered after its acquisition; and exempting from taxation the turnovers that equal the principal debt amount in a given case upon selling the acquired property in the event that a re-auction appointed at the judicially endorsed request of a holder of mortgage is declared void.

In Mr Mirkishili’s opinion, the amendments in hand are important as they would serve the cause of the market’s continued turnaround whilst also providing for fairer market regulation, supporting the current reforms aimed at rehabilitating the banking sector, having a bearish effect on interest rates and facilitating borrowers’ creditworthiness assessments.

First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Law Policy and State-Building Ali Huseynli mentioned that his Committee had issued a favourable conclusion about the matter.

The committee chairman Tahir Rzayev as well as the MPs Ali Masimli, Aydin Huseynov and Etibar Aliyev commented on the documents and made a number of proposals. Then, the Bills were put on vote and approved in the first reading one by one.

Deliberations upon the first reading of the draft amendments to the Veterinary Law followed. Chairman of the Milli Majlis Agrarian Policy Committee Tahir Rzayev who tabled the draft noted that it had been composed on the force of the Azerbaijan Republic President’s Decree No 998 ‘On Certain Measures to Improve Veterinary Services’ dated 22 April 2020 and would provide a legal basis for determining service fees for planned prophylactic and compulsory veterinary vaccination to state orders. It is required to set such vaccination service fees for private veterinary operators so that the latter can be contracted and then paid for their services. Once enacted, the amendments will provide for protection of animals’ health and prevention of veterinary diseases in parallel to propping the private veterinary’s advancement and helping it set higher standards of quality for its services.

The Bill was approved in the first meeting.

The sitting of the Milli Majlis concluded with that.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis