The Plenum of the Constitutional Court, chaired by Farhad Abdullayev, has held its regular meeting.

The press service of the Constitutional Court told Operativ Media that the meeting reviewed a constitutional case based on an inquiry by the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan to verify the compliance of Article 133.1 of the Criminal Code with Part I of Article 24, Article 26, Part I of Article 28, Part I of Article 32, Article 60, and Parts I and II of Article 71 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The Plenum of the Constitutional Court adopted a decision after reviewing and discussing the report of Judge R. Guliyev on the case, the inquiry of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the opinion of the Milli Majlis Staff, expert opinions submitted by the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the Center for Legal Analysis and Legislative Initiatives, and the Bar Association, as well as the opinions of experts—the Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Law Faculty of Baku State University, Doctor of Law, Professor Sh. Samadova, and a lecturer at the same department, V. Gadimov—and the case materials.

The decision states that from the perspective of the requirements of the principle of legality enshrined in the Criminal Code, as well as the legal positions formulated by the Plenum of the Constitutional Court regarding this principle, Article 133.1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan does not contradict Part I of Article 24, Article 26, Part I of Article 28, Part I of Article 32, Article 60, and Parts I and II of Article 71 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The concept of "systematicity," which is a necessary element of the objective side of the act of beating reflected in the disposition of Article 133.1 of the Criminal Code, in accordance with the legal positions expressed in the descriptive-justifying part of this Decision of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court, implies the existence of an internal correlation between actions covered by a single intent of the perpetrator, committed three or more times within a certain period of time, and resulting in severe physical pain.

The decision enters into force from the day of its publication, is final, and cannot be canceled, amended, or officially interpreted by any body or person.