ILN, EHRAC and the Law Society submit a communication to the Committee of Ministers concerning the independence of lawyers in the Namazov group of cases

The Independent Lawyers Network e.V. (ILN), the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), and the Law Society of England and Wales (the “Law Society”)  have submitted a Rule 9.2 communication to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe concerning the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the Namazov v. Azerbaijan group of cases, which is to be examined at the Committee of Ministers’ Human Rights (CM-DH) meeting on 9–11 June 2026.

The submission was lodged within the framework of the Committee of Ministers’ supervision of the execution of judgments and concerns the following cases:

• Namazov v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 74354/13)
• Bagirov v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 81024/12)
• Afgan Mammadov v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 43327/14)
• Farhad Mehdiyev v. Azerbaijan (Application no. 36057/18)

The present submission addresses the following issues relating to general measures in the Namazov group of cases: 

• Most recent amendments to the Law “On Advocates and Advocacy Activity” and its compliance with the Convention standards; 
• Safeguards to prevent undue disciplinary action against lawyers in the exercise of their professional duties and to ensure that disciplinary proceedings are carried out in line with the Convention and the respective Council of Europe standards; 
• Measures aimed at improving judicial practice in cases of disciplinary proceedings against lawyers to ensure that such proceedings respect the principles of fairness and adversarial procedure, that the judicial decisions are duly reasoned and provide an effective safeguard to ensure the proportionality of imposed sanctions. 

The Namazov v. Azerbaijan group of cases concerns the disbarment of lawyers in connection with their professional activities and their criticism of State authorities. In these cases, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and noted that disciplinary proceedings against practising defence lawyers could have a chilling effect on the exercise of their professional duties.

In its Interim Resolution CM/ResDH(2025)139 adopted in June 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe expressed concern over the lack of progress in the Namazov and Bagirov cases for more than five years and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to resolve these cases without further delay. Despite this, the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Elchin Namazov and Khalid Bagirov remain unimplemented, and the lawyers have not been reinstated to the Bar Association. The Azerbaijani Government has not submitted any new action plan or action report concerning the Namazov group of cases in 2025 or 2026.

The submission calls for the following key measures:

• the immediate and effective reinstatement of Elchin Namazov and Khalid Bagirov to the Bar Association, the quashing of the domestic court decisions concerning their disbarment, and the provision by the Government of detailed information on the measures taken;
• regulating monitoring and disciplinary powers under the Law on Advocates and Advocacy Activity in a clear and limited manner and with adequate legal safeguards, clearly defining the grounds for disbarment, and removing vague provisions capable of affecting lawyers’ freedom of expression;
• strengthening the institutional independence of the Azerbaijani Bar Association, ensuring democratic and transparent governance, and guaranteeing broad and equal participation of all lawyers in its administration.

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