BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 3. A Comparative Law Symposium titled “Constitution – Sovereignty – Territorial Integrity” was held in Türkiye's Istanbul to mark the Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty and May 28 - Azerbaijan’s Independence Day, Trend reports via the State Committee on Work with Diaspora.
The event was organized in partnership with Yeditepe University’s Faculty of Law and the Federation of Turkish-Azerbaijani Associations (TADEF), aiming to strengthen strategic legal cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
Held in Yeditepe University's conference hall, the event opened with a moment of silence for the martyrs of both nations, followed by the national anthems of Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
In his opening remarks, Yeditepe University's Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Yener Ünver, welcomed participants and outlined the goals of the symposium. TADEF President Adalet Turan spoke about the legal and ideological legacy of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), stressing its role in safeguarding national unity, sovereignty, and justice today.
Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Diaspora Support Fund (ADSF) Akram Abdullayev thanked the university for its role in organizing the event and emphasized that the country’s full sovereignty had been restored following the forty-four-day Patriotic War in 2020 and the twenty-three-hour anti-terror operation in 2023. He noted that the Azerbaijani Constitution now fully applies across the entire territory of the country.
The symposium continued with panel sessions. The first panel, moderated by Professor Oktay Uygun of Yeditepe University, featured Professor Toghrul Ismayil of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, who analyzed Azerbaijan’s constitutional system in the context of national statehood traditions. Associate Professor Bulent Alkan of Ankara University discussed the evolution of democratic legal principles in Türkiye’s constitution.
The second panel, moderated by Professor Mehmet Rifat Tınç, focused on State Sovereignty Rights. Member of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sabir Hajiyev addressed the international legal defense of Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights, while Professor Oktay Uygun explained the constitutional foundations of Türkiye’s legal sovereignty.
In the third panel, led by Professor Mesut Hakkı Caşın of Yeditepe University, the theme was Territorial Integrity and International Legal Protection Instruments. Professor Javid Abdullazade of Ankara University analyzed the new challenges facing international law following the Karabakh conflict, and Professor Ali Asgar of Karabuk University presented on the legal aspects of territorial integrity in the Turkic world.
All three sessions included lively Q&A segments, during which legal scholars, students, and members of the public emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral cooperation and legal knowledge exchange between Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
The symposium concluded with a national and classical music performance by Turan Manafzade, an honored artist of Azerbaijan, pianist, conductor, and composer.
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