Constitutional Court recommends that the Milli Majlis clarify the Criminal Code article on evasion of service

The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan has recommended that the parliament clarify the provisions of the Criminal Code related to evasion of military service.

The decision was adopted at a Plenum session of the Constitutional Court chaired by Judge Farhad Abdullayev.

At the session, a constitutional case was examined following a request from the Prosecutor’s Office of Azerbaijan regarding the interpretation of several legislative provisions in the context of Part I of Article 76 of the Constitution. In particular, Articles 321 and 321.1 of the Criminal Code, Articles 606 and 606.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, as well as Article 45 of the Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” were analyzed.

The Plenum heard reports and positions of interested parties, including the Prosecutor’s Office and the apparatus of the Milli Majlis, as well as opinions from the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Baku Court of Appeal, the Center for Legal Expertise and Legislative Initiatives, the Bar Association, and an expert – Professor Sh. Samedova, Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Baku State University.

Following the discussions, the court adopted a decision indicating the need to improve Article 321 of the Criminal Code. The Constitutional Court sent the corresponding recommendation to the Milli Majlis.