Constitutional Courts in the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)

The functioning of the constitutional courts is a European standard, widely accepted also in post-Soviet countries. The following paper looks at the basic legal provisions of the constitutional courts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia from a comparative perspective. While Armenia and Georgia undertake some democratic reforms, Azerbaijan remains a consolidated autocracy, what justifies such comparisons. It argues that despite being in line with European practice, there is no one model of a South Caucasus of the constitutional judiciary. The most important differences affect the nomination of judges, the scope of competencies, and the subjects eligible to submit the complaints. The study did not confirm the hypothesis that the model of the constitutional judiciary in Azerbaijan, as an authoritarian state, differs significantly from the more democratic models of Armenia and Georgia.