November 12 marks the Constitution Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Today also commemorates the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to AZERTAC, thirty years ago, under the leadership of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the Constitution of independent Azerbaijan was prepared and adopted through a nationwide referendum held on November 12, 1995. The document declared the country’s commitment to its centuries-old traditions of statehood and its intention to build a sovereign, democratic, secular, and legal state, as well as to establish a civil society. The Basic Law came into force on November 27, 1995. It defined the socio-political and legal framework of the newly independent Azerbaijani state and set the direction for its future development.

This document is the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan and the fourth in the country’s history. The history of Azerbaijan’s constitutional system dates back to the Soviet period. The first Constitution of Azerbaijan was adopted on May 19, 1921, followed by a revised version adapted to the USSR Constitution on March 14, 1925. The Constitution adopted on April 21, 1978, like its predecessors, was also aligned with the USSR Constitution.