Every year the 12th November is celebrated as the Constitution Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

On November 12th, the staff of the Constitutional Court visited Alley of Honor and commemorated the memory of our national leader, author of first national constitution, founder of our modern independent state, Heydar Aliyev, and left flowers and wreaths to his grave to mark the 23rd year of the adoption of Basic Law.

The memory of well-known ophthalmologist-academician, Zarifa Aliyeva was also commemorated and flowers were laid on her grave.

Subsequently, memories of prominent statesman Aziz Aliyev and well-known doctor-scientist Tamerlan Aliyev were also commemorated during the visit.

Thereby the Constitutional Court assembled its meeting.

Speaking at the event Farhad Abdullayev, Chairman of the Constitutional Court, first congratulated the judges of the Constitutional Court as well as the Staff, saying that the Constitution Day is a very significant day for the people of Azerbaijan.

The adoption of the Constitution drafted under supervision of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, created a comprehensive framework for the establishment of civil society in Azerbaijan, formed the basis of population’s decent living, protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, determined the future directions of our country"s development in legal, political, economic as well as in other spheres. The adoption of the new Constitution on November 12, 1995 marked significant event in our history regarding to the establishment of a democratic, legal and secular state that corresponds to the traditions of our nation"s historic statehood and at the same time meets the requirements of the modern world in our country, creating a solid foundation for the development of the political system and the legal system on the basis of pluralism.

It was noted that the Constitution declares people as the sole source of state authority in the Republic of Azerbaijan, identifies their right to freely and independently form government as the sovereign right of Azerbaijani nation. Significant amendments and additions were made to the text of the Constitution as the results of referendums held on August 24, 2002, on March 18, 2009 as well as on September 26, 2016.

Chairman emphasized that a substantial part of the amendments and additions made to the Constitution by means of referendum serves to expand the content of human rights and freedoms. Legal reforms in this area have provided conditions for the protection of human rights and freedoms by more effective means, ensuring not only all types of human rights are guaranteed, but also practically realized in everyday life. The constitutional reforms served to harmonize Azerbaijan"s legal system with the legal system of the developed nations and international legal norms, and further expand the processes of democratization in our country. The results obtained during the last referendum demonstrated that the policy which pursued by President Ilham Aliyev aimed promoting sustainable development and social wellbeing, was unequivocally supported by the Azerbaijani people.

Farhad Abdullayev said that in many decisions adopted by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court during its activity are formed the important legal provisions based on the foundations of Constitution, its supremacy and direct power as well as the provisions of the international treaties to which our republic is a party. The Constitutional Court also continually observes and applies modern tendencies in judiciary. The international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and the advanced judicial practice of the foreign constitutional control bodies are studied and referred in the decisions of the Constitutional Court. This is due to the necessity of applying relevant international treaties as an integral part of the legislative system, and serves to further enrich and justify the position of the Court.

The Chairman noted that the activity of the Constitutional Court was feasible due to the processes of democratization and development, which was founded by national leader Heydar Aliyev and successfully continued under the leadership of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Farhad Abdullayev said with confidence that the Constitutional Court will continue to make a contribution to the progress of Azerbaijan, the development of democratic, legal state establishment and legal system in our country as well as the rule of law and the effective protection of human rights and freedoms and continue its activity on expanding line meeting modern requirements.