Azerbaijan, Baku, June 8 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
The World Bank's Board of Directors today approved a $ 9.2 million equivalent IDA credit and a $ 24.2 million IBRD loan for the Azerbaijan Judicial Modernization Project Additional Financing (JMP AF), the WB reported.
With the $ 28.3 million Government contribution, the total financing for the project is estimated at $ 61.7 million. The goal of the project is to develop the capacity of Azerbaijan's judicial system to make it more efficient and able to handle future demand as well as improve access of citizens to information and services.
This financing will cover additional costs of the original project approved by the World Bank in 2006 due to the inclusion of a number of new technical assistance activities in the project as well as from increases in construction costs.
Over the recent years, judicial institutions in Azerbaijan have achieved some important progress towards meeting market economy and civic needs for example, it put in place a more transparent and competitive system of selection of judges, improved the physical state and other infrastructure of courts. However, much more needs to be done, in particular, on strengthening institutional capabilities and improving the quality of services.
The project has four components, namely: strengthening management capacity; upgrading court facilities; improving quality of operations of judges, judiciary staff and other legal professionals; and improving citizen information and access to justice.
Since joining the World Bank in 1992, the commitments to Azerbaijan total approximately US $ 2.9 billion for 43 projects.