The Republic of Azerbaijan is a democratic, law-based, secular, unitary republic. The only source of state power in the Republic of Azerbaijan is the people of Azerbaijan. The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, approved by a general referendum on November 12, 1995, establishes the principle of division of powers: the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Parliament) exercises legislative power, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan exercises executive power, and the Constitutional, Supreme and other law courts exercise judicial power.
The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the head of the state. He represents the state of Azerbaijan both within the country and in its foreign relations, embodies the unity of the Azerbaijani people, and ensures the continuity of Azerbaijani statehood. The President guarantees the independence and territorial integrity of the Azerbaijani state, as well as compliance with international treaties to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, and ensures the independence of the judiciary. The President is elected for a 7-year term through general, direct, and equal elections, with a free, personal, and secret ballot. When establishing general rules, the President issues decrees and, on other matters, orders. The President appoints the Prime Minister with the consent of the Milli Majlis and establishes the Cabinet of Ministers to implement executive powers.
The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a one-chamber body comprising 125 deputies, elected through direct elections for a five-year term. The Culture Committee of the Milli Majlis is responsible for providing legislative support for the state’s cultural policy by drafting laws concerning culture, including language, literature, the arts, museums, theatres, cinema, design, architecture, urban planning and development, library services, archival activities, and the protection of cultural heritage. The Committee also provides opinions on relevant draft laws that have already been submitted.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the courts of appeal, general courts and other specialised courts of the Republic of Azerbaijan implement judicial power. Judicial power is exercised through constitutional, civil and criminal proceedings and other means prescribed by law.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan prepares the draft state budget and submits it to the President; ensures the implementation of the state budget, financial credit and monetary policy, state economic programs and state social security programs; manages ministries and other central executive bodies; resolves other issues attributed to its powers by the President. The Cabinet of Ministers adopts decisions when establishing general rules and orders in other matters.
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the central executive body responsible for implementing state policy and regulations in the fields of culture, art, history, and the protection of cultural monuments, as well as publishing and cinematography. The Ministry of Culture manages the cultural sphere at a centralised and local level. The management of enterprises located in the regions (except for theatres and cinemas) is under the direct control of the regional cultural departments and indirectly under the relevant structural units of the ministry. Cultural institutions and organisations located in Baku that are of national importance and non-duplicated (for example, the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum and the Azerbaijan National Library) are under the direct control and management of the relevant structural units of the ministry.
The State Service for Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (No.409 of December 18, 2014). The State Service is the executive authority exercising state control in the field of protection of cultural heritage, use of immovable historical and cultural objects (monuments and reserves) under state protection, and their restoration, reconstruction, conservation and reconstruction, except for those under the jurisdiction of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Administration of State Historical-Architectural Reserve “Icherisheher”, and the Shusha City State Reserve Department.
“The Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan” (ARKA) was established under the authority of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan by Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (No.1667 of April 20, 2022). The Cinema Agency is a public legal entity engaged in local and joint film production, promoting cinematographic culture, encouraging the activities of cinematographic enterprises and film industry participants, applying new information and communication technologies and innovations in cinematography, and integrating Azerbaijani cinematography into the global film industry.
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