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Well-known Azerbaijani legal expert and lawyer Fuad Agayev believes that if approved, the Project of Referendum Act will have a negative impact on providing rights and freedoms and the principle of the separation of powers. It will also limit the popular rule, Turan news agency informs. 
Reportedly, the plenum of the Azerbaijani Constitutional Court will discuss the project on introducing amendments in the Constitution on July 25.

It is reminded that the amendments provide for the expansion of the presidential powers granting him the right to appoint the first vice president and vice presidents without anyone’s approval, to dissolve the Parliament, and to declare snap presidential elections. Besides, the presidential term will be increased from five to seven years.

According to Fuad Agayev, in case of its approval, the document will have a negative impact on providing rights and freedoms in the country. At the same time, the procedure of declaring the amendments’ project raises questions.

According to the law on regulatory legal acts, the drafting of referendum act projects should have a systematic character. The project should be included in the yearly plan of the legislative work approved by the president and the parliament. After drafting, the referendum act project should be published with an appendix of expert conclusions and introduced for public discussions. In addition, theprojectshouldgetlegalappraisal.

The lawyer draws attention to the amendment proposed in the Article 9, which has really only been edited. According to the current Constitution, Azerbaijan creates the Armed Forces and other military formations for its own safety, and the president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

According to the proposed amendments, the Armed Forces consist of the army and other military formations. Now, the president becomes the commander-in-chief of all the military formations including the army, the Internal Troops, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and others.

Agayev says that the elimination of the minimum age limit for an MP is also strange, as the age limit is applied for having people of suitable education and life experience in the elected body.
The expert also criticizes the amendments proposed in part 1 of the Article 89 of the Constitution, which expand the scope of cases of depriving the MPs of their powers. MP’s violation of the Code of Ethics is among them, and it can be used against the opposition members of the parliament.
As noted in the article, Agayev also considers regressive the amendments about the dissolution of the parliament by the president, in case the Milli Majlis passes a vote of no confidence to the Cabinet twice or does not approve candidates into the Constitutional and Supreme Court and the Central Bank.

In the future, if opposition representatives get into the parliament, pro-governmental MPs can artificially create a situation enabling the president to dissolve the parliament.

The elimination of the minimum age limit for a presidential candidate set to 35 years also causes the expert’s bewilderment. It means that even an 18-year-old person can become a president. Agayev says that the expansion of the presidential powers from 5 to 7 years in conditions when there are no restrictions on electing one person president already draws the country to totalitarianism. 

In addition, the president is granted the right to declare snap presidential elections, which, at a favorable time, allows him to declare elections for his own re-election or the election of the candidate he supports.

In Agayev’s opinion, the most controversial amendments are the establishment of the positions of the first vice president and vice presidents also appointed and dismissed by the head of the country. It means that people not approved (unlike the Prime Minister or members of the Constitutional Court) even by the parliament are appointed on the leading positions in the state.
Agayev considers regressive the norm allowing to expropriate lands for social justice and non-effective usage. Besides, the expert stresses the anti-democratic nature of the conditions of depriving of the Azerbaijani citizenship. He thinks that the above-mentioned returns the country to the traditions of the Soviet totalitarianism.

On July 18, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to send a Project of Referendum Act on Introducing Amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan to the Constitutional Court of the country for consideration. The suggested amendments propose to introduce the institutes of the first vice-president and vice-presidents, who will be appointed and dismissed by the president of the country.

In addition, the minimum age limit for a presidential candidate, which is now set to 35 years, will be eliminated. It is also planned to increase the presidential term from five to seven years. It is proposed to introduce an amendment in the Constitution providing for the dissolution of the parliament, a provision, which is not provided in the current Constitution.
The constitutional provision on the Parliament of Azerbaijan is also proposed to be amended to remove the parliamentary candidates' age restrictions. Therefore, if people under 25 could not enter the parliament earlier, now the amendments give them the right to participate in elections from 18.

Azerbaijani oppositionists and experts called the Constitutional amendments retrogressive considering them directed towards the strengthening of the authoritarianism in the country, which will lead to serious human rights violations.