World Bank injects $21m into Azerbaijan judiciary

The World Bank is pumping $21.6m (£11.67m) into Azerbaijan's judicial system after it emerged that petroleum multinationals and other international companies have little faith in the local judges.

Indeed, the bank has noted that only 5 per cent of businesses in the oil-rich country use its courts, compared with 30 per cent in Western and Central Europe. The bank blamed a shortage of trained judges and "dilapidated facilities".

The proposed reforms, which have been welcomed by the bank, include "constitutional provisions to support judicial independence" and "improvements in judicial personnel management", along with the "selection of new judges through a transparent and competitive new examination process".

The World Bank's money will help to fund computerised judicial management systems and IT training, the renovation of court buildings, judge and other court staff training and improving access to registries and notaries.