Azerbaijan Bar Advocate Qualification study materials
Azerbaijan Bar Advocate Qualification study resources

Azerbaijan Bar Advocate Qualification key terms

Azerbaijan Bar Advocate Qualification · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.

Constitutional Supremacy

The principle that the constitution ranks above all other legal acts, so statutes and subordinate rules that contradict it are invalid and courts must apply the constitution directly.

Related: Direct Effect of Constitutional Norms, Constitutional Review
Constitutional Review

The procedure by which a designated body, such as a constitutional court, examines whether laws and other normative acts conform to the constitution and annuls those that do not.

Related: Constitutional Supremacy, Normative Act
Direct Effect of Constitutional Norms

The quality of constitutional provisions that allows them to be applied by ordinary courts and invoked by individuals without needing an implementing statute.

Related: Constitutional Supremacy, Fundamental Rights
Fundamental Rights

Rights guaranteed to every person by the constitution, such as liberty, equality, property and fair trial, which public authorities must respect and may restrict only under lawful conditions.

Related: Proportionality, Direct Effect of Constitutional Norms
Proportionality

A test requiring that any restriction of a right serve a legitimate aim, be suitable and necessary for it, and not impose a burden exceeding the benefit pursued.

Related: Fundamental Rights, Margin of Appreciation
Normative Act

A written legal instrument adopted by a competent authority that establishes, amends or repeals generally binding rules of conduct, as distinct from decisions applying law to one case.

Related: Constitutional Review, Subordinate Legislation
Subordinate Legislation

Rules issued by the executive or administrative bodies under authority granted by a statute, valid only within the limits and purposes set by that enabling law.

Related: Normative Act, Ultra Vires
Ultra Vires

Describing an administrative act or rule adopted beyond the powers conferred by law, which is therefore unlawful and liable to annulment on review.

Related: Subordinate Legislation, Annulment of Administrative Act
Annulment of Administrative Act

The judicial or administrative remedy by which an unlawful administrative decision is declared void with effect from the outset, restoring the position before it was taken.

Related: Ultra Vires, Legitimate Expectation
Legitimate Expectation

A principle protecting a person who reasonably relied on a clear assurance or settled practice of an authority, so that the authority cannot frustrate that reliance without good reason.

Related: Annulment of Administrative Act, Proportionality
Right to a Fair Trial

The guarantee that a person's case be heard by an independent and impartial tribunal within a reasonable time, in public, with equality of arms and adequate opportunity to present arguments.

Related: Adversarial Principle, Presumption of Innocence
Margin of Appreciation

The latitude international courts allow national authorities in applying convention rights, recognising that states may balance competing interests differently while remaining subject to supervision.

Related: Proportionality, Right to a Fair Trial
Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies

The requirement that a person complaining of a rights violation first use the available and effective remedies in national courts before turning to an international body.

Related: Right to a Fair Trial, Constitutional Review
Adversarial Principle

The rule that each party must be informed of and able to respond to the evidence and arguments of the other side before a decision is made.

Related: Right to a Fair Trial, Burden of Proof
Burden of Proof

The obligation of a party to persuade the court that the facts it asserts are true, failing which the disputed issue is decided against that party.

Related: Adversarial Principle, Presumption of Innocence
Limitation Period

A period fixed by law within which a claim must be brought or a procedural step taken, after which the right to act is generally lost or the opposing party may raise a defence.

Related: Res Judicata, Claim
Res Judicata

The finality of a judgment that has become binding, barring the same parties from litigating the same claim and subject matter again before the courts.

Related: Limitation Period, Appeal
Appeal

A request to a higher court to review and reverse or amend a lower court's decision on grounds of error of law or fact, within the time and form prescribed by procedure.

Related: Res Judicata, Cassation
Cassation

Review by a supreme court limited to questions of law, typically examining whether lower courts correctly applied legal norms rather than reassessing evidence.

Related: Appeal, Res Judicata
Presumption of Innocence

The guarantee that a person accused of a crime is treated as innocent until guilt is proved by the prosecution to the required standard in a final conviction.

Related: Burden of Proof, In Dubio Pro Reo
In Dubio Pro Reo

The rule that where the evidence leaves a reasonable doubt about guilt, the doubt must be resolved in favour of the accused and the charge rejected.

Related: Presumption of Innocence, Burden of Proof
Preventive Measure

A procedural restraint imposed on an accused person, such as detention or bail, to secure participation in proceedings and prevent obstruction, justified only when lawful grounds exist.

Related: Presumption of Innocence, Proportionality
Exclusion of Evidence

The removal from the case file of material obtained through a serious procedural violation, so that it cannot be used to establish guilt.

Related: Adversarial Principle, Presumption of Innocence
Good Faith

The standard requiring parties to exercise rights honestly, consider each other's legitimate interests and refrain from abusive or deceptive conduct in performing obligations.

Related: Abuse of Right, Invalidity of Transaction
Abuse of Right

Exercise of a lawful entitlement solely to harm another or for a purpose unrelated to its social function, which the law refuses to protect.

Related: Good Faith, Invalidity of Transaction
Invalidity of Transaction

The condition of a transaction that fails to produce legal effects because it violates mandatory rules, was concluded without genuine consent, or lacks a required form.

Related: Good Faith, Representation
Representation

Acting on another person's behalf so that legal effects arise directly for the represented person, within the authority conferred by law, contract or a power of attorney.

Related: Invalidity of Transaction, Fiduciary Duty
Fiduciary Duty

A heightened obligation of loyalty and care owed by a director or agent to the principal, requiring avoidance of conflicts of interest and disclosure of relevant information.

Related: Representation, Piercing the Corporate Veil
Piercing the Corporate Veil

Disregarding a company's separate legal personality to hold shareholders personally liable where the company was used to evade obligations or commit fraud.

Related: Fiduciary Duty, Legal Personality
Legal Personality

The capacity of an entity such as a company to hold rights and duties, own property, conclude contracts and sue or be sued in its own name.

Related: Piercing the Corporate Veil, Shareholder
Shareholder

A person holding a participation interest in a company, entitled to vote, receive dividends and share in residual assets according to the law and the charter.

Related: Legal Personality, Fiduciary Duty
Tax Residence

The status determined by criteria such as domicile, habitual abode or days present, which decides a person's liability to tax on worldwide rather than limited income.

Related: Double Taxation Relief, Tax Avoidance
Double Taxation Relief

Mechanisms such as credit or exemption applied under domestic law or a treaty to prevent the same income being taxed twice by two states.

Related: Tax Residence, Tax Avoidance
Tax Avoidance

Arranging affairs to reduce tax within the letter of the law but contrary to its purpose, which may be countered by anti-abuse rules and recharacterisation.

Related: Tax Residence, Double Taxation Relief
Employment Contract

An agreement under which a person performs work personally under the direction of an employer in return for remuneration, creating rights to leave, notice and social protection.

Related: Unfair Dismissal, Collective Agreement
Unfair Dismissal

Termination of employment lacking lawful grounds or proper procedure, entitling the employee to reinstatement, compensation or both under labour legislation.

Related: Employment Contract, Burden of Proof
Collective Agreement

A negotiated instrument between employers and employee representatives regulating working conditions, pay and mutual obligations for a defined group of workers.

Related: Employment Contract, Social Partnership
Social Partnership

Cooperation among government, employers and trade unions in shaping labour and social policy through consultation and collective bargaining.

Related: Collective Agreement, Employment Contract
Best Interests of the Child

The guiding standard requiring that decisions on custody, residence and contact give primary consideration to the child's wellbeing, safety and development.

Related: Parental Authority, Child Maintenance
Parental Authority

The set of rights and duties of parents to care for, represent and manage the property of a minor child, exercised jointly and subject to the child's welfare.

Related: Best Interests of the Child, Child Maintenance
Child Maintenance

The obligation of parents, usually quantified as a share of income or a fixed sum, to contribute to the upbringing and support of their minor or dependent children.

Related: Parental Authority, Best Interests of the Child
Conflict of Interest

A situation where an advocate's personal, financial or other interest could improperly influence the representation, requiring disclosure, consent or withdrawal from the matter.

Related: Confidentiality, Fiduciary Duty
Confidentiality

The advocate's duty to keep secret all information learned in the course of the professional relationship, surviving the end of the engagement and subject to narrow legal exceptions.

Related: Conflict of Interest, Legal Privilege
Legal Privilege

The protection that shields communications between advocate and client from disclosure or seizure, enabling candid advice and effective defence.

Related: Confidentiality, Exclusion of Evidence
Environmental Impact Assessment

A pre-decision procedure evaluating the likely significant effects of a proposed activity on the environment and public health, subject to public participation and reasoned conclusions.

Related: Public Participation, Polluter Pays Principle
Polluter Pays Principle

The rule that the costs of preventing, controlling and remediating pollution should be borne by the party responsible for causing it, rather than by society.

Related: Environmental Impact Assessment, Public Participation
Public Participation

The right of affected individuals and organisations to be informed of and comment on environmental and planning decisions before they are finalised.

Related: Environmental Impact Assessment, Legitimate Expectation
Legal Writing

Drafting pleadings, contracts and opinions with precise structure, accurate citations and reasoning that connects facts to applicable norms for the intended reader.

Related: Advocacy, Burden of Proof
Advocacy

The skill of presenting a client's case persuasively and ethically before a tribunal, combining clear argument, evidence management and responsive answers to the bench.

Related: Legal Writing, Adversarial Principle