Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova followed her opening of the scheduled plenary sitting of the Milli Majlis on 13 May up by recounting the official visit of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the Swiss Confederation on 9-11 May.

Mrs Gafarova pointed out that the Azerbaijan Republic gave good gravity to furthering relations with Switzerland and that the current high-standard political dialogue was kept up through invariable encounters of the leaders of the two states at the annual gatherings of the World Economic Forums as much as it was in the parliamentary dimension and by virtue of interaction amongst various Azerbaijani and Swiss ministries.

The delegation of the Milli Majlis had called at the embassy of Azerbaijan in Switzerland, put flowers at the bust of our National Leader Heydar Aliyev there and paid tribute to his precious memory on 10 May. The same day was the 99^th birthday of that great politician and statesman, the maker of the modern Azerbaijani State, the man whose invaluable services to the state and the nation constitute the brightest pages in the scrolls of our statehood. The National Leader’s political successor, the venerable president of the country Ilham Aliyev is continuing with success his strategy of development, according to Sahiba Gafarova.

On that day also, the speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament had conversations with the president of the National Council and the Federal Assembly Irène Kälin and the chairman of the Council of States Thomas Hefti, and on 11 May Sahiba Gafarova met the vice president of Switzerland Alain Berset.

The bilateral political, economic, cultural, humanitarian and other relations had been talked about at those meetings, where the parties had voiced the shared satisfaction with the progress of the relations. The Swiss leaders had emphasised their perception of Azerbaijan as a reliable partner and had particularly noted their adamant support for the territorial integrity of our country.

Also during the conversations in Switzerland, Sahiba Gafarova had informed her interlocutors of the global energy and transport projects initiated and participated by Azerbaijan, of our country’s input in the maintenance of the European energy security and Azerbaijan’s having been transformed into a key transport hub. Besides, Mrs Gafarova had broached the subject of the similarities between our countries and had given an account about the multiculturalism and the tolerant ambience in Azerbaijan. She had said to the top Swiss officials that Azerbaijan, which had declared multiculturalism a state policy, actually, advocated dialogues between cultures and co-operation all over the world.

They had also been discussing various aspects of the co-operation between the legislative assemblies of Azerbaijan and Switzerland, and had mentioned the efficient interaction built already as well as that the exchange of experience between the two sides’ parliamentary committees could generate further opportunities to deepen the bilateral connexions further.

Just like she had done on all her abroad trips, that time, too, the Chair of the Milli Majlis had shared information about Azerbaijan’s prominent victory in the 44-day Patriotic War, the mass destruction that the occupiers had caused in the formerly-captured Azerbaijani lands, the current sweeping projects to restore those, now-liberated, territories, the new realia and opportunities in our region following the settlement of the conflict, Azerbaijan’s bids for permanent peace, security and co-operation in this corner of the world and Armenia having to honour its part of the relevant obligations so that a peace accord could be inked eventually.

Furthermore, other matters of shared interest had been talked over during the visit to Switzerland as well, Mrs Gafarova added, concluding her account with the statement of the visit’s success and her thanks to all the members of the visiting delegation.

The committee chairmen Tahir Rzayev and Zahid Oruj and the MPs Javid Osmanov, Aghil Mammadov, Aghil Abbas, Shahin Ismayilov, Elman Nasirov, Vahid Ahmadov, Jala Aliyeva and Fazil Mustafa covered various points as the issues du jour were discussed next. Amongst those were the concerns of their electors and, notably, the eventing and contesting of increasing remarkability going on in Shusha and the other de-occupied parts of the country ahead of the commemoration of the luminous legacy of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. The talkers shared their pride and joy at the realisation of the dreams of both the Great Leader and the shahids who had laid their lives down for the freedom of the Motherland.

With that, the House moved on to the items put on the agenda of the plenum.

Sahiba Gafarova let them know that there were going to be 20 items all in all, with the first and second items being close substantively and lined up to be looked at together for this reason.

First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and the head of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee Ali Huseynli brought to the attention of the House the third-reading amendments to the Law ‘On the Town of Shusha, the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan’, saying that the amendments had been discussed in every detail at the previous two readings, that all the relevant questions had been answered and that the Committee had received no further suggestions or remarks in its regard.

Ali Huseynli also tabled the third-reading set of amendments to the City-Planning and Construction Code as well as to the laws ‘On Business Enterprising’, ‘On Protection of the Historical and Cultural Heritage’, ‘On Physical Education and Sports’, ‘On Culture’ and ‘On Advertising’. Those were all intended to harmonise the concerned legal acts with the already-mentioned Law ‘On the Town of Shusha, the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan’ and Mr Huseynli’s Committee had passed a favourable opinion statement about them, he told the House.

The chairman of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee Tahir Mirkishili, the deputy chairman of the Culture Committee Fazil Mustafa and the deputy chairman of the Youth and Sports Committee Shahin Ismayilov put forth the relevant favourable conclusions about the amendments.

Both Bills were voted through the third reading one by one.

Vugar Bayramov of the Labour and Social Policy Committee came up with the third-reading amendments to the Labour Code, specifying that they had been described comprehensively at the first and the second readings and that the questions then raised had been resolved during those readings. The Committee had not received remarks or critical comments thereafter, MP Bayramov pointed out.

MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev had voiced his considerations about conclusion of labour agreements for seasonal works up country before the Assembly voted in favour of passing the tabled document in the third reading.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova described the following four agenda items as having arrived in one parcel from the President of the country and, again, being interconnected topically.

The chairman of the Labour and Social Policy Committee Musa Guliyev presented the third-reading amendments to the Retirement Pensions Law. The ideas that the MPs had voiced at the previous readings had been duly noted and incorporated in this version of the document. All the comments had been communicated to the originator, which means they were being considered as they should currently – those that would be deemed acceptable were going to be incorporated in subsequent amendments to the relevant laws and could also be put in the 2022-2030 Pension Reforms Concept, Musa Guliyev said. No objections had been made to the modification of the law in question, he added.

Talking about the third-reading amendments to the Social Benefits Law then, Musa Guliyev told the colleagues that they pursued the goal of aligning the law with the amendments to the Retirement Pensions Law. No objections or critical remarks had been made at the previous readings, Mr Guliyev pointed out before calling on the House to endorse the Bill in the third reading as well.

The deputy chairman of the Health Committee Rashad Mahmudov gave an overview of the third-reading amendments to the Oncological Aid Law and the Law ‘On the State Care of Multiple Sclerosis Patients’. Those, too, had been prepared to adjust the said laws to the amendments to the Retirement Pensions Law and the Social Benefits Law, Mr Mahmudov explained.

Furthermore, Ali Huseynli covered the third reading of the amendments to the Law ‘On Serving in the Justice Authorities’ and said that that draft was connected to the amendments to the Retirement Pensions Law with which the justice service law had to be aligned. Mr Huseynli mentioned the positive conclusion to that end made by his Committee.

Comments came from Vahid Ahmadov, Asim Mollazade, Javid Osmanov and Fazail Agamali, who also asked several questions, answered promptly by the chairman of the Labour and Social Policy Committee Musa Guliyev.

Each of the four Bills was voted through the third reading subsequently.

Mahir Abbaszade of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee Mahir Abbaszade tabled the third reading of the amendments of the Tax Code which he suggested should be voted upon given there were no remarks in their regard. That was done duly; the Bill was approved in the third reading.

Sahiba Gafarova said then that the 9^th and the 10^th items were concerned with modification of the legislation on education and, again, were interlinked thematically.

Those Bills were tabled by the chairman of the Sciences and Education Committee Bakhtiyar Aliyev: the amendments to the Laws ‘On Education’ and ‘On the (Special) Education for Disabled Persons’.

Mr Aliyev touched on the backing the House had given both Bills at the previous two readings and clarified several issues raised by the colleagues, saying then that President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan had a special focus on education matters in general and in it encompassing children with health limitations in particular, and that the State was taking fundamental steps in this relation. On the whole, all the presented amendments pursued the goal of enabling persons with disabilities to study on a par with all the others.

The Bills were put on vote and approved in the third reading one after another.

That was all about the third-reading Bills; the Milli Majlis was now turning to the following seven agenda items, which were Bills in the second reading, Sahiba Gafarova announced thereafter.

Item 11 was about amending the Law ‘On the Institution of the Orders and Medals of the Azerbaijan Republic’ because of the institution of the new Distinction in Environmental Protection Medal. The overview was given by Bahrouz Maharramov, a member of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee. The Bill had been described in detail at the previous reading and there had been no suggestions regarding it, Mr Maharramov remarked, going further to propose a vote.

The chairman of the Regional Affairs Committee Siyavush Novruzov as well as the MPs Aydin Mirzazade and Sabir Rustamkhanli had offered their comments before the Bill was voted through the second reading.

Going further, Ali Huseynli brought up the amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure on such situations as allow a suspension of lawsuit expiration in administrative acts (refusals to take administrative cases in proceedings) cases.

The Milli Majlis voted for approval of the Bill.

The next agenda item was about amending the Information, Informatisation and Information Protection Law and had been discussed in an enlarged format as instructed by the Chair of the Parliament and had been supported by the MPs, said Mr Oruj who was introducing the Bill. He also addressed the pertaining resumes and remarks of the colleagues.

The opinion statement of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee according to which the document was useful in terms of economic security provisions was announced by the chairman of the committee Tahir Mirkishili. Also, comments were made by Musa Gasimli, Sahib Aliyev, Etibar Aliyev and Bahrouz Maharramov who underscored the relevance of the document to security of information communication networks and to cybersecurity as a whole. They also put across a number of considerations that Tahir Mirkishili responded to.

The Bill was voted in ultimately.

First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and the head of the Law Policy and State-Building Committee Ali Huseynli moved to Item 14, which was a set of amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences introducing liability for breaching the Information, Informatisation and Information Protection Law.

Zahid Oruj and Tahir Mirkishili said their respective Human Rights Committee and the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee were in favour of the Bill, which was put on vote and approved in the second reading then.

Item 15 consisted in amendments to the Laws ‘On Protection of the Population Health’, ‘On the Private Medical Practice’, ‘On Lotteries’ and ‘On ‘On Physical Education and Sports’, all designed to unify the laws with the Cashless Settlements Law, said the deputy chairman of the Health Committee Rashad Mahmudov who tabled the Bill. The Health Committee had supported the Bill during the second reading, it was said.

The favourable statements regarding the agenda item in hand and passed by the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee as well as the Youth and Sports Committee were presented by the former’s chairman Tahir Mirkishili and the latter’s deputy chair Shahin Ismayilov.

The chairman of the Regional Affairs Committee Siyavush Novruzov and MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev felt it necessary to let the House hear their opinions while Rashad Mahmudov and Tahir Mirkishili gave explanations in response. The Bill was voted on and passed after that.

Fatma Yildirim of the Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology Committee tabled the amendments to the Law ‘On the Rational Exploitation of Energy Resources and the Energy Efficiency’, which, she made clear, were to optimise the law in question and add specificity to its several articles. The Bill was voted pro after the House had heard the remarks made by Vugar Bayramov.

Introduced by Ali Huseynli, Item 17 was about amendments to the to the City-Planning & Building Code and the laws ‘On Electricity’, ‘On Gas Supplies’, ‘On Energy’, ‘On the Security of Hydraulic Engineering Installations’ and ‘On the Unity of Measurements’, harmonising and concretising in nature and drawn up in connexion with the enforcement of the above-mentioned Law ‘On the Rational Exploitation of Energy Resources and the Energy Efficiency’, passed enacted on 9 July 2021.

The House listened to the favourable conclusions of the Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology Committee and the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee, and voted pro then.

Chair of the Milli Majlis announced the next three interlinked agenda items, saying the relevant matters had been submitted in one parcel by the President of the country. Mrs Gafarova suggested that they should be heard separately but deliberated upon together.

Iltizam Yusifov of the Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology Committee talked about the first-reading amendments to the Electrical Energy Law, mainly, he said, meant to optimise the law and to regulate the intended streamlining of the regulatory frameworks for heat supplies including generation, transmission and distribution of heat energy as well as its consumption. This is to be done in line with the Utilities Development Roadmap signed by the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.

In addition, the Bill will ensure emergence of consumer and production relations in this sector – those that will be based on the legal plane. It is also going to bring about higher-quality services and make it possible to resolve disputes related to consumption of heat energy judicially.

Item 19 was about the first-reading amendments on the Laws ‘On Regulation of Business Enterprise Checks and Protection of Enterprisers’ Interests’ and ‘On the Suspension of Business Enterprise Checks’. The chairman of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee Tahir Mirkishili said mentioned the presidential decree, signed off on 29 April 2022, on acceleration of reforms in heat supplies and making them more efficient; now, that decree also contained an instruction to draw up a Heat Supplies Law.

The Bill will introduce clarity to many aspects of heating and heat supplies as a sector, in the opinion of Mr Mirkishili who underlined the importance of the amendments.

The Bill will apply to the heat energy the same legal inspection regime that appertains to the other energy and utility services currently. Besides, legal grounds will be introduced for the inspections where, identically to the cases within the other said services, interferences with gas meters at an economic operator or illegal cut-ins to heating grids are discovered, as the case may be.

The relevant favourable opinion statement by the Natural Resources, Energy and Ecology Committee was brought before the House by the committee member Iltizam Yusifov.

Going forth, the first-reading amendment to the Code of Administrative Offences, overviewed by Ali Huseynli, consisted in introducing the wording ‘heat energy’ in the relevant articles of the Code so as to define administrative penalties for violations within the sector.

Ideas were put forth by Razi Nurullayev and Sadagat Valiyeva. Then, all the three Bills were put on vote and approved in the first reading one after another.

With that, the scheduled meeting in plenary of the 2022 spring session of the Milli Majlis was over.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis