The Constitution of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan konstitusiyası) was adopted on 12 November 1995 by

popular referendum A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...

. This Constitution was the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan. The first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan consists of 5 chapters, 12 sections and 147 articles. It was amended on 24 August 2002 and again on 18 March 2009. It carries the "highest legal force" in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

as per article 147. The most recent amendments to the Constitution were approved after the Constitutional referendum held on 26 September 2016. In 2002, 31 amendments were made to 22 articles; in 2009, 41 amendments were made to 29 articles; and in 2016, 23 articles were amended and new 6 new articles were added.

History

The

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian A ...

founded in 1918 and existed 23 months until 1920 was not able to adopt its constitution. Therefore, the history of Constitution building in Azerbaijan generally starts from the period of Azerbaijan being part of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. The first Constitution of Azerbaijan SSR was adopted in 1921 and was in accordance with the Constitution of USSR. The last Constitution of Azerbaijan SSR was adopted on 21 April 1978 and also was in line and form of USSR Constitution. Azerbaijan declared its independence in 1991, and the preparation of a new constitution to replace the 1978 document began in 1992. Adoption of a new constitution was repeatedly delayed by civil and political turmoil. Pending the adoption of a new constitution, the fundamental document in the early 1990s was the October 18, 1991, Act of Independence, which government authorities described as the basis for a new constitution. During this interim period, the provisions of the 1978 constitution were valid if they did not violate or contradict the Act of Independence. The act declared that Azerbaijan is a secular, democratic, and unitary state, with equality of all citizens before the law. Freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents were to be upheld, and the right to form political parties was stipulated. The Act of Independence also proclaimed Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and its sovereignty over all its territory.

Preamble

The Preamble to the Constitution specifies, in order to "provide prosperity and welfare of the whole society and each individual", that the following objectives be declared: *protection of

national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...

and

territorial integrity Territorial integrity is the principle under international law that gives the right to sovereign states to defend their borders and all territory in them of another state. It is enshrined in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and has been recognized ...

constitutional democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into di ...

*establish a

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

state based upon the rule of law *a "worthy life level" for citizens and "just" economic and social order *observance of "universal human values",

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and

international cooperation In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage u ...

Chapter 1, General Provisions

Section 1, People's Power

Section 1 establishes the source of state power being the Azerbaijani people and their unity, and states that most political issues are to be solved by referendum, defining as en exception taxation, state budget, amnesty and pardon. It defines that only authorized representatives elected by people have the right to represent the people, speak on behalf of people and to make statements on behalf of people. It also bans the

usurpation A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

of power.

Section 2, Fundamentals of the State

Section 2 establishes the basic principles, aims and role of the state of Azerbaijan, defines the head of a state and concepts in regard to military forces, property, natural resources, social, economic and development issues as well as state symbols, principles of

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...

and the official language. It also establishes basis for religion and state, montery unit, restrictions concerning state depts and capital.

Chapter 2, Major Freedoms, Rights and Responsibilities

Section 3, Principal Human and Civil Rights and Freedoms

Generally, there are 48 Articles regarding principal human and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution of Azerbaijan. Section 3 establishes the major rights and freedoms of citizens of Azerbaijan, including

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...

equality rights Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and ...

and

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

, the rights of the accused, the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the In ...

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

, the

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and freedom of speech, conscience and thought.

Section 4, Principal Obligations of Citizens

Section 4 obliges citizens to obey laws, pay

taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

, observe loyalty to and respect for the state of Azerbaijan and its symbols and states that it is the "duty of every Person" to participate in national defense, protection of national and historical monuments and protection of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. According to the Opinion of the Venice Commission, the latest modifications to the Constitution made in September 2016 Referendum are evaluated as positive steps in the direction of strengthening of constitutional protection of human rights. Introduction of the concept of “human dignity”, the right to “conscientious treatment excluding arbitrariness”, constitutionalisation of the principle of proportionality in human rights protection has been welcomed by the commission.

Chapter 3, State Power

Section 5, Legislative Power

Section 5 establishes the

National Assembly of Azerbaijan The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...

(Milli Majlis), its powers and its capacities. It defines number of deputies, Procedure of elections of deputies, Term of authority of a calling of Milli Majlis, Requirements to candidates to the posts of deputies, End of the term of authority of deputies, sessions of National Assembly, deprivation of deputies of their mandates and loss of powers by the deputy, Immunity of deputies, etc.

Section 6, Executive Power

Section 6 establishes the post of

President of Azerbaijan The president of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of state of Azerbaijan. The Constitution states that the president is the embodiment of executive power, commander-in-chief, "representative of Azerbaijan in home and foreign policies", ...

and the President's requirements, duties, capacities and powers, as well as those of his Cabinet. The 18 March 2009 amendment lifted the previous term limit of two five-year terms for the office of President, allowing President Ilham Aliyev to run for a third term after his second term ends in 2013.Azerbaijan lifts term limits
ResetDOC, 19 April 2009

Section 7, Judicial Power

Section 7 establishes the Azerbaijani judicial system and Constitutional and Supreme Courts.

Section 8, Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic

Section 8 establishes the

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

government of the Nakhichivan region and its legislature (Ali Majlis).

Chapter 4, Local Self-Government

Section 9, Municipalities

Section 9 establishes the basic structure of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Azerbaijan.

Chapter 5, Justice and Law

Section 10, Legislative System

Section 10 upholds the Constitution as having the "highest legal force" and that no laws or decrees may contradict it; it also establishes the legislative system of the country, based upon the Constitution, referendums, laws, presidential decrees, resolutions of the Cabinet and Acts of executive bodies.

Section 11, Changes in the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Section 11 establishes the process of amending the Constitution through referendum, and stipulates what sections of the Constitution cannot be cancelled.

Section 12, Additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Section 12 establishes the process of adding provisions to the Constitution through referendum.

Transitional Clauses

Transitional clauses provide conditions for taking power of the Constitution and its application in regard to different branches of power defined by it.

Holiday

Constitution Day is celebrated on 12 November as a national holiday.

References

External links

English translation of the Constitution on Presidential website

Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan (as last amended on August 24, 2002)
at

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...

{{Constitutions of Asia

Government of Azerbaijan