24.01.2023

On January 24, under the chairmanship of Farhad Abdullayev, a reporting meeting of the Administrative Office of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan dedicated to the results of 2022 was held.

Opening the meeting, the Chairman stressed that the Plenum of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted a number of important decisions on the requests, applications and complaints received last year.

It was reported that in 2022 the Constitutional Court received 12 requests, 28 applications, 1792 complaints (625 of which were filed online). It was also noted that there is an increase in the number of appeals and letters received through the official website of the Constitutional Court. 551 of the received complaints were submitted to the chambers of the Constitutional Court for examination, while the others were sent to the relevant bodies for consideration.

It was noted that last year, 45 decisions and 15 rulings of wide legal importance were adopted in connection with the constitutional cases examined by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court. 13 decisions were adopted on the basis of requests, 18 decisions were made on the basis of court appeals, and 14 decisions were made on the basis of complaints.

The decisions and definitions of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court on legal conflicts arising in the civil, criminal, labor, tax and other spheres of law are given a legal assessment in terms of the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Constitutional Court delivered its recommendations to all courts of the country on the results of the Plenum decisions adopted in 2022.

The Chairman stressed that one of the most memorable events of the past year was the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan of January 5, 2022 on the declaration of 2022 in the Republic of Azerbaijan as a "Year of Shusha." In this regard, on July 14, a delegation consisting of the chairman, judges and responsible employees of the Constitutional Court visited the city of Shusha to announce decisions in three cases examined by the Plenum of the Court. These decisions were based on the inquiry of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan - on interpretation of Articles 73-1, 178 and Article 312 of the Note part of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan in their interrelation, based on the appeal of the Yasamal District Court of Baku city - on interpretation of Articles 66.5 and 67 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan in their interrelation and on the complaint of N. Guseynbekov on verification of conformity of the decision of the Administrative Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan of November 24, 2020 with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

It was brought to the attention that the Court had prepared an Action Plan in connection with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan of September 29, 2022 declaring 2023 in the Republic of Azerbaijan as a "Year of Heydar Aliyev."

The Chairman noted that after the return of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev to the leadership of the country in 1993, there was a turning point in the legal, socio-political, socio-economic, scientific and cultural life of the country, as well as in international relations of the state, and the foundation of the process of independent state building was laid. After the adoption of the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan under the direct supervision of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the process of adoption of laws defining the system of public administration, including the creation of law enforcement agencies, the activities of courts formed on a democratic basis, was launched.

Last November, the Constitutional Court held in Shamakhi, Ismaili, Gabala and Oguz districts a legal Olympiad on the topic "Fundamentals of the Rule of Law," dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of National Leader Heydar Aliyev and November 12, Constitution Day. In total, 800 students from 40 schools took part in the Olympics, following which the winners were determined.

At the meeting, the speech of the Secretary General, the reports of the heads of the respective departments and sectors of the Administrative Office were heard. The legal aspects reflected in the requests, appeals and complaints submitted to the Constitutional Court were also touched upon, reports on the execution of decisions adopted by the court were heard, analytical reports and conclusions were given, as well as other organizational issues.

It was noted that last year international judicial and legal cooperation of the Constitutional Court also traditionally developed. All decisions adopted by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court, in addition to domestic legislation, pay attention to international legal agreements to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, as well as the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

In conclusion, the Chairman noted that the important aspects reflected in the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan of April 3, 2019 "On deepening of the reforms in the judicial and legal system" on improving the effectiveness of justice have identified important areas of activity of the Constitutional Court.

It is noted that the updated official website of the Constitutional Court and the search system created on it during 2022 meet modern requirements, online reception of applications and complaints of citizens, their prompt consideration, also makes it possible to further expand the population's access to the Court. One of the priority activities of the Constitutional Court is to further expand the access of citizens to the Court.

Guided by the thesis of the head of state that "citizens of Azerbaijan are the main link in the state policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and therefore citizens' appeals should be considered very carefully by all state bodies," in this regard, the importance of careful consideration of citizens' applications and complaints in the relevant structural units of the Administrative Office is emphasized.

The Chairman stressed that the legal reforms carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, covering the development of the entire society, contribute to the improvement and modernization of the judicial system. This, in turn, creates the conditions for a more effective implementation of the protection of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, allowing the decisions of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court to have a positive impact on law enforcement practice.

It was noted that the Constitutional Court attaches great importance to cooperation with young lawyers. In this sense, the continuation of the Volunteer Program, carried out in the Constitutional Court, is especially important. Volunteers of the Constitutional Court were trained in various departments and sectors of the Administrative Office, took a direct part in the process of organizing meetings of the Plenums, as well as in the reception of citizens, they also got acquainted with the mechanism for protecting rights and freedoms established by the Constitution through requests from authorized subjects, applications from courts and studying citizens' complaints.

An opportunity has been created for every lawyer who is confident in his/her knowledge of the field of law, including for students studying jurisprudence, to submit to the Constitutional Court written conclusions regarding requests and applications accepted for the proceedings of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court.

It was noted that today large-scale restoration and construction work is underway, important projects are being implemented in the territories liberated thanks to the brilliant Victory won in the Patriotic War. In these territories, the Head of State lays the foundations for strategic facilities and enterprises, pays attention to the progress of construction work and the use of high technologies. These construction and restoration works demonstrate to the whole world the strength of Azerbaijan, the firm will of our President, high managerial abilities, determination to build and build.

The staff of the Constitutional Court having visited the city of Shusha, with great pleasure got acquainted with these large-scale works and successfully implemented projects.

It was also noted that this July marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Constitutional Court. In 1998, on the initiative of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, the Court began its activities. In connection with this significant anniversary, an international judicial and legal conference is planned to be held in July this year.

Chairman of the Constitutional Court, positively evaluating the work done in 2022, in order to increase the efficiency of the court's activities, gave relevant recommendations on cases under consideration by judges and gave a number of instructions related to the tasks facing the Administrative Office.