Baku, 12 November 2022 (TDI): Azerbaijan marks Constitution Day on 12th November. On 12th November 1995, the first constitution of the country’s independent state was adopted & it was the fourth constitution in general.
The day is marked as a state holiday in the whole country. The constitution of Azerbaijan proclaimed it to be a secular, democratic, and unitary state where everyone is treated equally under the law.
The right to form political parties and other freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights agreements had to be preserved.
The geographical integrity as well as the total sovereignty of the country were also proclaimed in the Act of Independence.
History of the Day
The history of the Constitutional establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan is mainly based on the period when the country was part of the USSR.
On May 19, 1921, the All-Azerbaijan Soviets Congress adopted the country’s first constitution. The 4th All-Azerbaijan Soviets Congress on March 14, 1925, accepted a revised version of the Azerbaijan SSR Constitution.
This Constitution was adapted to the USSR Constitution of 1921. On April 21, 1978, the Azerbaijan SSR adopted its definitive Constitution, which was modeled after the USSR Constitution.
After the country got independence, a new constitution seemed necessary. For this purpose, a commission was created led by a National leader, Heydar Aliyev.
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Therefore, a draft was presented for a referendum. Following this, after independence, the 1st Constitution of the country was adopted by referendum.
Thus, the foundation for the Republic of Azerbaijan’s state structure was laid forth in the country’s first independent constitution. The text of this constitution has 5 sections, 12 chapters, and 158 articles.
Since then, November 12 is celebrated as the Day of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan. A referendum was used to add annexes and revise the Constitution on August 24, 2002, March 18, 2009, and September 26, 2016.
