There are territorial claims against Armenia in Constitution of Azerbaijan: Pashinyan

We look at the Constitution of Azerbaijan, we see that there are territorial claims against Armenia. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during the Global Armenian Summit, referring to the discussion about the territorial claims in the Constitutions of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

According to Pashinyan, the Constitution of Azerbaijan refers to the Act of State Independence of 1991, State Independence refers to the Declaration of the First Republic of Azerbaijan, 1918-2022 and the First Republic of Azerbaijan.

“In that declaration it is written that Azerbaijan is founded on the territory of the southern and eastern Transcaucasia. In addition, in 1919, Azerbaijan presented a map of its territory to the Entente states and the League of Nations, which includes the entire Syunik and Vayots Dzor provinces, part of Ararat province, part of Tavush province, part of Lori province, part of Shirak province. This is an obvious territorial claim against Armenia.

However, we do not raise this issue, we do not say: let Azerbaijan change the Constitution so that we can sign a peace treaty. Why, because there is an article in the agreed part of the peace treaty that says neither party can invoke its domestic law to fail to fulfill its obligations under this treaty. We consider that the article solves the issue.

What does Azerbaijan say now? It says that no agreement can contradict the Constitution. We say, we are right, very well, when that treaty is signed, we will send that treaty to the Constitutional Court to check its constitutionality. If the CC decides that the treaty contradicts the Constitution, we will say, so be it. But if the CC decides that it does not contradict the Constitution, it will go to the National Assembly and be ratified. Once ratified, according to clause 3 of Article 5 of the current Constitution of Armenia, international treaties ratified in the Republic of Armenia take precedence over the laws of Armenia. In other words, the ratified international agreement is higher than the law of the Republic of Armenia. And if the treaty is ratified, then it does not contradict the Constitution, and the assumed obligation, in particular, the obligation that the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan do not have territorial claims against each other and commit to such in the future not to raise territorial claims, then it becomes de jure a provision with the highest legal force,” Pashinyan said.