The legal system of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

is based on civil law. As the country was a

republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

until 1991, its legal history has also been influenced heavily by socialist law. However, after the collapse of the

, Azerbaijan became independent by enactment of the constitutional act of national independence on October 18, 1991. http://www.judicialcouncil.gov.az/Meqaleler/Fikrat_Mammadov_e11.pdf Azerbaijan started reformation of the legal system by the establishing of democratic reforms. This was followed by the adoption of the first

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

in 1995 which is the foundation of the legislative system of the modern country. The

creates the system of presidential republic with a

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typi ...

among the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of the government in order to prevent abuse of power.

Civil law

The term civil law in Azerbaijan refers to

private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the '' jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ...

, which is opposed to the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

system of

Criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law ...

and Civil law. The major body of statutes and laws governing civil law and procedure are set out in the Civil Code of Azerbaijan, established in December 1999.

Criminal law

The current Criminal Code of Azerbaijan came into force in September 2000, replacing the older Criminal Code of 1960 which had been based on the principles of

Soviet law The Law of the Soviet Union was the law as it developed in the Soviet Union (USSR) following the October Revolution of 1917. Modified versions of the Soviet legal system operated in many Communist states following the Second World War—includin ...

. Article 1 of the Criminal Code states that "the Criminal legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of this Code. New laws defining criminal responsibility are subject to inclusion in this Code"; this is characteristic of civil law legal systems such as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1998 Azerbaijan was the first country in the Orient to abolish the

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

Sources of law

Unlike

systems such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, Azerbaijani courts do not rely extensively on

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

and judicial

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great v ...

. Except for decisions of the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

of Azerbaijan, decisions of the courts are not usually counted as a source of law. The sources of law in the Azerbaijani legal system are: *The

Constitution of Azerbaijan The Constitution of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan konstitusiyası) was adopted on 12 November 1995 by popular referendum. This Constitution was the first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan. The first Constitution of independent Azerbaijan cons ...

. *Acts adopted via

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

. *

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

passed by the

National Assembly of Azerbaijan The National Assembly ( az, Milli Məclis), also transliterated as Milli Mejlis, is the legislative branch of government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100 members were elected for five-year terms ...

, Azerbaijan's

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

. *

Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

s. *Resolutions of the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

. *International

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

to which Azerbaijan is a party.

Judicial system

The

Supreme Court of Azerbaijan Supreme Court of Azerbaijan is the highest court instance and final court of appeal of three-staged judicial system in Azerbaijan. Established in pursuant Article 131 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Article 77 of the Law "on C ...

is a supreme judicial body on civil, criminal and other cases related to the execution of general and specialized courts. The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan is the supreme body of constitutional justice on the matters attributed to its jurisdiction by the Constitution, with authority to interpret and apply the

Legal Reforms

After gaining of independence Azerbaijani legal system has undergone fundamental reforms. An important part of the legal reforms in the country is related to adoption of a new Constitution in Azerbaijan in 1995. Since that Constitution was amended three times in 2002, 2009 and 2016. Adoption of the Constitution has been followed by reforms related to progressive legislative acts such as, "The Law on Constitutional court", "The Law on Courts and Judges", "The Law on Police", "The Law on Operational-investigational activity", Law Judicial Legal Council, Criminal and Civil Procedure Codes, etc. Moreover, there have been made a number of amendments to the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, etc. Legal reforms introduced new three stage - first instance, appellate and supreme court system in Azerbaijan and ensured its independence from other branches of power. At present, there are district (city) courts acts as the first degree of jurisdictional courts, military courts and local administrative-economic courts as territorial jurisdictional courts, also Court of Azerbaijan Republic on Felonies and Court of Azerbaijan on Grave Military Crimes. The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan Republic is cassation degree of jurisdiction and consists of 4 chambers - Civil Chamber, Criminal Chamber, Military Chamber and Administrative-Economic Chamber. Court hearings are public, and defendants are free to choose their own attorney and have the right to appeal the verdict. In cases involving national security or other defined by law a judge may decide to hold a closed trial. Azerbaijan as a member of the Council of Europe ratificated

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...

. Further, Azerbaijani ''individuals, group of individuals and non-governmental organisations'' can refer cases to the ECHR.

References

External links

Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan
{{Law of Europe , Legal systems Legal systems