Azerbaijan celebrates Constitution Day

Baku, The Gulf Observer: Today Azerbaijan celebrates Constitution Day, media reports. The Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic, adopted on November 12, 1995, was the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan and in general the fourth Constitution of the republic.

The Constitution adopted in 1995 is the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan and the fourth Constitution of the republic. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed from 1918 to 1920, was unable to adopt its basic law. The history of the creation of the Constitution of Azerbaijan dates back to the Soviet period. The first constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted on May 19, 1921, at the First All-Azerbaijan Congress of Soviets. The new edition of the Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR, corresponding to the Constitution of the USSR of 1921, was adopted on March 14, 1925, at the IV All-Azerbaijan Congress. Adopted on April 21, 1978, the last Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR, like the previous ones, corresponded to the Constitution of the USSR.

After Azerbaijan gained independence, the need arose to prepare a new Constitution. For this purpose, a special commission was created under the leadership of President Heydar Aliyev, and the draft Constitution was submitted for public discussion. On November 12, 1995, the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan was adopted by a popular referendum.

The first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan consists of 5 sections, 12 chapters, and 158 articles. Three referendums on constitutional amendments were held in Azerbaijan in August 2002, March 2009, and September 2016, respectively. The Constitution Court of the Azerbaijani Republic was established on July 14, 1998.

Although Constitution Day is celebrated as a holiday, November 12 is a working day.