Azerbaijan: Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project, Sector Expenditure and Efficiency Review (SEER)

The project aims to assist the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Azerbaijan to prepare a Sector Expenditure and Efficiency Review (SEER) for its justice sector, which is intended to inform dialogue between justice entities and other relevant entities such as the Ministry of Finance, as well as other stakeholders such as representatives of academia, civil society and the country’s development partners.

The overall objective is to improve the access to, and delivery of, justice services through enhanced management of sector resources by preparing a high-quality and timely SEER to provide an evidence base to the country’s justice sector leadership and other stakeholders.

PMCG applies a methodology that has been used by the World Bank in justice expenditure reviews in Bulgaria (2008), Serbia (2010), Croatia (2014) and Ukraine (2017).

In order to achieve its objectives, PMCG is conducting the following activities:

• Institutional and functional review of the justice sector in Azerbaijan;
• Assess justice sector’s reform strategy and action plan for implementation;
• Review of justice sector institutions, their operations, and connections;
• Organize discussion panel engaging policymakers, executive agencies, international development partner institutions, academia and civil society organizations with the close coordination and consultation of the MoJ;
• Analyze international experiences for comparative analysis, mainly in countries of the Council of Europe and/or EU Member States;
• Analysis of expenditure levels and composition in the justice sector;
• Performance measurement and management of the justice sector in Azerbaijan;
• Budgeting, procurement and financial management review of the justice sector in Azerbaijan:
• Analyze existing practices, procedures and policies;
• Identify areas where resources are currently allocated and/or used inefficiently and recommend options for improvement;
• Assess capital spending requests, procurement process and recommend improvements; monitor performance and make recommendations for improvements;
• Assess current IT system and identify future needs;
• Assess current HR position and identify future needs;
• Review of physical, human and IT resources management in the justice sector in Azerbaijan;
• Analyze existing practices, procedures and human resources management policies and recommend options for improvement;
• Conduct staffing and compensation analysis compared to relevant comparators (EU Member States);
• Examine cost-saving measures implemented by MoJ and courts and recommend further measures to be implemented.

Based on the analysis, PMCG will develop short- and medium-term recommendations to strengthen the management of Azerbaijan’s financial, human, physical and IT resources in the justice sector, in terms of improved transparency, efficiency and accountability.

The Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan will also gain an update Justice at a Glance Scorecard, and the Sector Expenditure and Efficiency Review Report.