Born on 9 September 1956 in Ganja, Azerbaijan

• Law studies at the State University of Baku, 1973-78
• Post-graduate course, State University of Moscow, 1978-83
• Judge and Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan, 1990-1992
• President of the Supreme Court, Azerbaijan, 1993-1998
• Doctor of Law, 2001
• President of the Constitutional Court, Azerbaijan, 1998-2003
• Judge of the European Court of Human Rights from 28 May 2003 to 3 January 2017