Cinayət prosessual hüquqda müdafiə aktı - tərəflərin hüquq bərabərliyinin və çəkişmənin təmin edilməsinin vacib elementi kimi

The article substantiates the necessity of introducing a new legal institution — the “Defence Act” — into criminal procedural law as a means of ensuring the principles of equality of arms and adversarial proceedings. The rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan — such as the right to judicial protection, the right to qualified legal assistance, and the presumption of innocence — must be guaranteed not only at the normative level but also in practice. To achieve this, the procedural opportunities of the defence must be balanced with those of the prosecution. Although the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan provides detailed regulation of the drafting and submission of the indictment, it does not grant the defence the opportunity to submit a unified, structured response document. The defence’s position is instead expressed in a fragmented manner through motions, objections, explanations, and oral statements, which leads to the initial perception in court being formed mainly on the basis of the indictment. This weakens the adversarial principle, reduces the effectiveness of the defence, and renders the equality of the parties largely formal. The article employs comparative legal analysis, showing that in countries such as England, Scotland, and the United States, the defence position is presented in the form of a systematized document. It proposes the inclusion of a new Article 289-1 in the Criminal Procedure Code of Azerbaijan under the title “Defence Act”. This document would consist of an introduction outlining general information, a section addressing the charges, a reasoning part containing the defence’s arguments, as well as conclusions and annexes. The proposed model strengthens procedural balance and enables the defence to present its position in a unified written form. It is emphasized that the inclusion of the “Defence Act” into legislation would enhance the realisation of equality of arms and the adversarial principle, ensure the systematic presentation of the defence’s position, contribute to the professionalism and prestige of the bar, and promote the right to a fair trial, transparency in the judicial system, and alignment with international standards. Ultimately, this institution would hold significant importance for the modernisation of the state’s legal system. Keywords: Defence Act, bill of indictment, equality of arms, adversarial principle, presumption of innocence, legal assistance, criminal procedure law.