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Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis adopts amendments to Nakhchivan Constitution

08 July 2025 11:46 (UTC +04:00)

At today’s session of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, the draft Constitutional Law “On the Approval of Amendments to the Constitution of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic” was put up for discussion, APA reports.

The draft law proposes adding two new articles (Articles 3-1 and 28-1), removing one article (Article 5), and amending several other articles and the preamble of the Constitution of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Based on the draft, the provision from Article 134(III) of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan — stating that the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is an inseparable part of Azerbaijan — will also be reflected in the preamble of the Nakhchivan Constitution.

According to Article 3-1 entitled "Authorized Representation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic", which is intended to be added to the Constitution, the authorized representation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is an executive body that performs the duties determined by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and is headed by the authorized representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, who is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and is directly subordinate to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Another proposed new article, Article 28-1, outlines the conditions under which the Parliament (Ali Majlis) of Nakhchivan can be dissolved — either at the request of 31 deputies or if it fails to fulfill its constitutional functions for reasons that cannot be resolved. In such cases, the President of Azerbaijan may dissolve the Assembly.

The draft law also proposes removing Article 5, titled "The Highest Official of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic."

Under the amendments, elections to the Parliament of Nakhchivan will be scheduled by the President of Azerbaijan based on the proposal of the Assembly's Speaker (Article 13, II).

Additionally, the draft allows for closed sessions of the Parliament of Nakhchivan to be held upon the proposal of the President of Azerbaijan or the Milli Majlis (Article 18.IV).

According to Article 24.II of the draft law, laws concerning elections to the Parliament and the status of its members will be adopted with a majority of 31 votes, while other laws will require 23 votes.

The requirement that candidates for the Speaker of the Parliament must have lived in Nakhchivan for at least five years will be abolished (Article 29.II).

Another amendment provides that heads of local executive authorities in Nakhchivan will be appointed by the President of Azerbaijan upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the Parliament of Nakhchivan (Article 32.4-1).

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic will no longer report to the Parliament and will determine its rules of procedure in agreement with the President of Azerbaijan.

The draft also proposes that acts issued by the Speaker of the Parliament will be referred to as “orders” rather than “decisions,” in line with the Constitutional Law of Azerbaijan “On Normative Legal Acts” (Article 33).

Changes and amendments to the Constitution of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic will henceforth be adopted through laws, not constitutional laws (Article 50).

The draft includes various technical, clarifying, and alignment changes to ensure consistency with the Constitution of Azerbaijan.

Following discussions, the draft Constitutional Law was put to a vote and adopted in the third reading.