Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijan celebrates Constitution Day on November 12.

Adopted in 1995, Azerbaijan's Constitution was the first Constitution of an independent Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed in 1918-1920, did not have time to develop and adopt a basic law of the state. Thus, the history of Azerbaijan's constitutional development is concentrated in the period when the country was part of the Soviet Union.

After Azerbaijan gained independence in 1991, the need for a new Basic Law of the state was felt, so the Constitutional Commission was established under the leadership of President Heydar Aliyev, and the draft document was submitted for public discussion.

After approval by referendum, the first Constitution of an independent Azerbaijan was adopted on November 12, 1995, and Azerbaijan held its first parliamentary elections on the same day.

Ensuring the well-being of every citizen and protecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are the objectives pursued by the government in making the basic law of the country.

Azerbaijani people, continuing a long tradition of statehood, have declared their intention to defend their motherhood in order to guarantee the democratic system, achieve the establishment of a civil society, and live in friendship, peace, and security with other nations.

According to the Constitution, Azerbaijan is a democratic, legal, secular, and unitary republic in which state power is based on a principle of separation of powers. The head of the state is the President who holds the executive power in the country and is elected every 5 years.

Since the adoption of the Constitution and thanks to the successfully-conducted internal and external policies, Azerbaijan has a developing economy and has created favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship.

The decision to designate a Constitution Day was made on February 6, 1996. Until 2006, Constitution Day was a festive holiday. But in late 2006, the Azerbaijani parliament excluded it from the list of non-working days, although kept it among public holidays.