BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. The Azerbaijani government has fully utilized the WB loan for the Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project, Trend reports.
According to the World Bank's report on the status and results of the project implementation, the bank allocated $100 million for its implementation in 2014 and provided additional funding of $50 million in 2020.
Overall, the progress in achieving the project's goals is assessed as satisfactory.
"The implementation of the electronic court system, the electronic enforcement system, and the installation of audio-video equipment in all courtrooms of six courts in Azerbaijan were completed by the project's closing date on June 30, 2024. Contracts for system maintenance have been signed to facilitate the transition over the next 12 months.
Significant progress was made in the component of developing prototypes for using business analytics and artificial intelligence tools to improve service delivery, measurement, and performance management," the report pointed out.
Within the project, $43.84 million was directed towards improving justice services; $25.8 million - strengthening institutional capacity, efficiency, monitoring, and evaluation; $59.71 million - expanding and modernizing justice infrastructure; $12.89 million - project management and coordination; and $4.83 million - the pilot implementation of transformational technologies for the justice system and improving provided services. An amount of $2.67 million was allocated for contingencies.
According to the report, the number of project beneficiaries amounted to over 4.97 million people, among whom the share of women beneficiaries reached 36.27 percent. In total, assistance was provided to 53,497 internally displaced persons within the project, which is 1.08 percent of the total number of project beneficiaries.
To note, the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Azerbaijan is about 650,000. Thus, the project supported about 8.2 percent of IDPs in the country.