The Milli Majlis (National Assembly) has approved in the first reading draft amendments to two codes concerning court jurisdiction.
“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that the draft amendments to the Civil Procedure and Administrative Procedure codes were discussed at today’s plenary session of parliament.
The document states that if a judge determines that a dispute does not fall within the court’s jurisdiction, the judge will take one of the following steps:
- if the issue is identified when the statement of claim is being accepted for court proceedings, the judge refuses to accept the statement of claim (application) or returns it;
- if it is identified before preparations for the court hearing are complete, the judge refers the case to the court with jurisdiction or terminates proceedings in cases that are not to be considered under civil procedure.
The draft stipulates that during a court hearing, a judge may not, on their own initiative, refer a case to the court with jurisdiction or terminate proceedings on the grounds of a breach of court jurisdiction.
During a court hearing, an application concerning jurisdiction may be submitted only if a party to the proceedings substantiates that, for reasons beyond their control, it was unable to submit the application before preparations for the hearing were complete. In simplified proceedings for small claims, the deadline set out in Article 284-5.2 of the Code applies.
Under the document, if a party submits an application concerning jurisdiction or the issue is raised by the judge on their own initiative, the judge issues a reasoned ruling refusing to accept the statement of claim (application), returning it, terminating proceedings, referring the case to the court with jurisdiction, or dismissing the application concerning jurisdiction (or termination of proceedings on jurisdictional grounds).
Following discussion, the draft was put to a vote and adopted in the first reading.
