Mahammad Guluzade - Chairman of the Board

Mahammad Guluzade graduated from Baku State University in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in International Law, and in 2002 graduated from Essex University of Great Britain with a master's degree in International Human Rights Law. He received his postgraduate education at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences in 2003-2006. He is a Doctor of Philosophy in Law.

In 2002-2014, M. Guluzade worked as an expert in various international organizations, including the Monitoring Department of the Council of Europe, in 2005-2008 as a lawyer in the OSCE Office in Baku, in 2008-2014 worked as a lawyer in the US International Center for Non-Profit Law, worked as chief legal adviser and regional director for the CIS countries.

Since 2014, while working as the director of “MG Consulting” LLC, he has led a number of international projects in the field of human rights and civil society. During this period, he participated in the preparation of various country condition reports and curricular materials, proposals for a number of legislative acts and conducting trainings in the field of human rights and non-governmental organizations. At the same time, he led the creation and operation of the Online Public Oversight Platform (www.enezaret.az), which gives an opportunity to the citizens to participate in the activities of various state institutions.

At different times he worked as a teacher at Baku State University and ADA University.

 

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Natavan Rustamova - Deputy chairman of the Board

Natavan Rustamova  was born in November, 1971.

 

In 1994 she gradueted from the Faculty of Law of Baku State University.

 

She worked in the judiciary and for the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan. She is a Member of the Bar Association since 1997, and she has been teaching since 1995 as well. From January 16, 2023, she holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Law and Human Rights.

 

The main part of her career work was related with protection of the rights of legal entities and individuals in the judicial process at a professional level. In addition, she was the Head of the legal department and a member of the Credit Committee of the non-bank credit organization "Agrarian Credit Fund" under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

Mrs. Rustamova participated in the implementation of various projects conducted by international organizations in Azerbaijan as a leading expert and head of the legal department. In the project “Support for Small and Medium Enterprises through the Development of the Financial Sector”, funded by USAID and implemented by ACDI / VOCA (USA), she was the Head of the legal department and jointly with the state bodies of Azerbaijan, was engaged in rulemaking activities. She served as an expert in a number of projects of international organizations such as “Application of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and the provision of legal services to the population” and “Alternative dispute resolution in Azerbaijan and additional support in the development of specialized courts” funded by the European Union, “Strengthening the capacity of lawyers and human rights defenders in order to apply the European Convention on Human Rights and the Revised European Social Charter within the country” and “Application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Azerbaijan” funded by the Council of Europe.

 

N. Rustamova pays special attention to the field of Human Rights, application of the ECHR, issues of discrimination and international migration. Her academic teaching experience is mainly related to civil procedure law and advocacy. Currently she teaches the subjects “Family and Inheritance Law” and “Civil Law Clinic” at ADA University. Moreover, she is a professional trainer on a number of legal topics; during her career she was a trainer in more than 1100 trainings and seminars aimed at professional development of lawyers.

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Vafaddin Ibayev - Deputy chairman of the Board

Vafaddin Ibayev graduated from the Faculty of Law of Azerbaijan State University with a distinction diploma in 1983. He is Ph.D. in Law.

Later from 1983 to 1998, he served in the capacities of investigator and chief investigator within the district police departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Between 1998 and 2000, he held the position of Head of the Department of International Law Issues at the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and until January 2022, he served as a Judge at both the Baku Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

He is the author of 25 books and more than 100 scientific articles on international law and human rights, including such books as “International Humanitarian Law”, “International Civil Procedure”, and “Torture is prohibited”. He was also a member of the Expert Council operating under the Institute of Law and Human Rights.