Parliamentarians want experts’ opinion on constitutional changes in Azerbaijan

The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting on 29 January 2009 in Strasbourg, examined recent developments in Azerbaijan and decided to request the opinion of the Venice Commission – the Council of Europe’s group of experts on constitutional law – on the package of constitutional amendments to be submitted to a nation-wide referendum on 18 March 2009.

These amendments, adopted by the Azerbaijani Parliament on 25 December 2008, would abolish the limit on the number of consecutive terms of office for the President of the Republic, extend the term of office of the President and the Parliament in a time of war, as well as grant the right to introduce a legislative initiative if it has the support of 40,000 voters.

The committee will consider the opinion of the Venice Commission during a meeting in March.