Thanks to the wise, effective, purposeful policy of the Azerbaijani leadership, headed by President I. Aliyev, the Azerbaijani people in a relatively short historical time managed to radically change the situation in the country, which most positively affected many aspects of the life of society and the state.
In addition to stabilizing the economic situation in the country, the Azerbaijani state managed to increase its international authority, strengthen state sovereignty by restoring territorial integrity and territorial integrity, as a result of liberation from the long-term occupation of its territories.
With regard to all areas of modern society without exception, the development and creation of an effective model of state structure is based on innovative processes. In the current situation, innovation and innovative activities are increasingly considered at the center of the development of a wide variety of social sciences, exploring the diverse aspects of society. In view of this, the study of the innovative activities of the state acquires particular importance and significance, which makes it possible to stimulate the processes of invention and implementation of progressive innovations in various areas of society's life.
Scientific and technological progress influences the system of activities of state bodies, makes it possible to single out the innovative function of the state as one of the main directions taking place in the modern period of the development of society of economic and political processes. 
For the Republic of Azerbaijan, the creation and implementation of a system of practical proposals for determining the means and methods of innovative development in regulatory legal acts is of great importance at the present stage of development. These approaches make it possible to lead to a completely new qualitative level of development of the function of intensifying advanced activities in Azerbaijani society, to improve the main directions of Azerbaijan's development on an innovative basis and its becoming one of the most developed world powers. 
 The theoretical basis of research work is the work of mainly foreign authors devoted to the study of the problem under consideration. Despite the fact that this topic in Azerbaijani criminal law science was not subjected to special consideration, nevertheless, some of its aspects were reflected in the works of prominent Azerbaijani scientists.
The scientific novelty of the planned work consists in the development and argumentation of the author's opinion regarding the innovative activities of the state in the field of criminal law as an important means of state regulation of public life, as well as the development of proposals and practical recommendations for improving the mechanism for its implementation in modern conditions of the Republic of Azerbaijan. As a result of the study, the author formulated and argued the author's definition of criminal law ways to ensure the innovative development of the Republic of Azerbaijan.           
Since in any society there are two heterogeneous tendencies: the first - to keep the social and political system unchanged and the second - to constant change and improvement, development and improvement are inherent in the right. [5, p. 181]. The use of structural elements of the legal system of one state by another state helps different states to obtain high results in various fields of activity. However, the distinction between the mentality of people and a legal organization created mechanically can grow, and with an insufficient level of legal culture, it turns out to be the basis for legal regression. This phenomenon is also typical of the state of law of various modern states. There is a growing discrepancy between the various rules of conduct (corporate norms, religion, custom, morality) and the law itself - that is, the rules of conduct guaranteed by the state are generally binding and formally defined.
Due to the disappearance of public opinion condemning the negative trends and phenomena that have arisen in everyday life and activity, the inability of religion to restore positive social relations and influence the restoration of positive traditions in society, the only way to regulate social relations and social regulation remains the right.
The law of different states, each legal system located at a certain level, once has a different method, composition, and scope of renewal not only for its development, but also for social progress in general.
It should be borne in mind that each society has its own path of development, depending on the inherent properties of solving the problems of the ratio of traditions and innovations in society, the peculiarities of transforming life rules in accordance with new conditions.
It can be assumed that from the perspective of updating the law, we are currently in a state of separate legal innovations designed to improve the existing and used elements of the legal system.
Often, various types of borrowing are used to update and improve the legal system and update legal norms. Along with this, innovation is currently needed to improve the effectiveness of the law as a form of its renewal.    
The term "innovation," which is translated from English into Russian as "innovation," "innovation" has a fairly significant number of semantic concepts. For the first time, the term innovation itself began to be used in the theoretical works of scientists in the 19th century. At the same time, it seems very strange that this term was initially interpreted by Western cultural scholars, as well as in some Asian and African countries, as cases of the application of some elements of culture of one country in another.
Innovative problems in studies of the socio-humanitarian direction found their application in the scientific works of the French sociologist and lawyer Gabriel Tard, namely in the work: "Social Logic," published in 1901 and a study entitled "Social Laws. Personal creativity among the laws of nature and society, "published in 1906. Without directly applying the term innovation, Tard investigated the logic of social development and discovered a system of main features that make up the essence of the concept of innovation: the importance of recognizing it as a social consciousness; the dual nature of the manifestation of innovation (internal, or caused by the need of the individual; external, caused by the need for social development), continuity, important socio-progressive significance; purposefulness. 
Currently, the problem of innovation is being investigated in various spheres of society's life - education, politics, law, economics and others. Innovation can be expressed not only in the technical "shell," but also in other forms, in particular in the form of an idea, which can practically be confirmed by individual examples, so in particular. Practically innovation in the form of an idea, with its mandatory implementation, is clearly represented by individual examples. So, in particular, the innovative idea of   a "social state," which appeared at the end of the 19th century in the works of German economists and statesmen A. Wagner, L. Stein and others, was subsequently constitutionally enshrined in countries such as Japan, Sweden, Italy, Germany, and in the modern period of development manifests itself as a socially oriented variety of the state with the affirmation of the principle of social justice, a highly developed level of social protection of citizens, the presence of a multi-layered economy, the achievement of a high level of social protection of the population.
From a different position, the innovative idea of   transforming Marxism in the Chinese state, the desire to combine Marxist ideas with the theory of Confucianism, an appeal to the ideas of social harmony of the state, society, family, as well as ethical principles, is of interest. The result of the innovative search carried out in the modern period in China was its significant economic development, improving the living standards of the population, increasing the role of China in the modern international economy and politics.
Historical development itself will demonstrate whether the implementation of the innovative idea of   creating socialism with Chinese characteristics, manifested in an attempt to combine social justice with a market economy, will become utopian and predictive. 
In theoretical literature, legal innovation is defined as an innovation introduced into the legal system that improves the quality of its constituent components and elements with the intention of making the existing law more harmonious. Unlike other related categories and concepts, in particular "invention," "improvement," "discovery," "innovation" and others, the peculiarity of innovations is that they make it possible not only to create, but also to obtain additional value by introducing into the social environment. 
Distinctive features that make it possible to distinguish legal innovation from other, similar phenomena and concepts are recognized: 1. Introducing a new one into the legal system, into the legal environment; 2. Existence of appropriate innovation cycles or stages; 3. Final innovation result directly linked to the implementation. Implementation is the main distinguishing feature of innovation from other seemingly similar concepts and, in particular, to such a concept as "innovation."
Implementation is the practical implementation of the results obtained during any experiments or research. The following factors can be recognized as conditions for the successful implementation of innovation in practice: 1) the creation of pre-prepared suitable social foundations; 2) preparation of necessary demonstration support; 3) effective application of examples of successful use of the innovation, taking into account the intellectual abilities of future users. 
By determining the level of activity and sustainability of innovators, the amount of resources and other features at the last stage is revealed whether the innovation will be local or conceptual. The Local innovation is a fundamental update that significantly complicates the system. Local innovation is a system with limited application that does not change the parameters of the established order in it. Local or conceptual innovation, being implemented gradually becomes a working tradition. After implementing innovation in the corresponding transformations, it is gradually formalized in certain functions, structures, norms and rules of the system. The state of diffusion of innovation within the social system is referred to as diffusion of innovation. Diffusion of innovation can be defined as a theory trying to figure out how fast, how and why new ideas and technologies spread through different cultures. It has been established that one of the patterns of diffusion of innovations is the tendency to compact and accelerate the time of its implementation. So, if earlier, in ancient historical times, the activity of introducing any innovation dragged on for several centuries, then historical development led to the end of the 20th century to the disappearance of information obstacles, the development of communication means, which allowed a sharp increase in diffusion processes. 
The reason for the emergence and existence of innovations is the need to adapt society and the constantly changing conditions of its development as a result of the emergence of new products, technologies and means of production (socialization mechanisms, communications, symbols, knowledge, things, etc.).
The unacceptable state of awareness of the phenomenon of innovation in law is largely due to the fact that scientists who study innovation in law often use the same terms that are adjacent in nature and nature in completely different ways. Despite the presence of a significant number of literary sources devoted to the study of innovation, it is not possible to find its conceptual study in the legal environment (normative acts, subjective rights, law and order, legality, legal awareness, legal relations, law), both at the theoretical and methodological levels. 
At the same time, in the current period of state development and law, the discovery of new definitions of the meaning of innovation in law is becoming increasingly important.
In particular, E. Blankenburg, being a professor at the Free University in Amsterdam, characterizes legal innovation with the structural properties of the legal profession in different states. Paying attention to the fact that legal innovation appears outside the legal system, he connects the properties of codified and case law with various possibilities of legal innovation.
The profession of energetic lawyers inherent in the legal culture, firstly, is very sensitive to needs and problems that can be satisfied by legal means; secondly, it provides services that ensure the enjoyment of people's right; thirdly, it assists in the practical change of legislation. Being very inventive, lawyers, however, do not have the necessary capabilities to diffuse their inventions. This problem can only be solved by codified law as a result of the formulation of the relevant norms. It is in this case that innovation has much greater opportunities to become effective. 
Some examples of practical legal innovation have taken place in the legal system of the past, in particular expressed in the following:... " This was not the abolition of the old act and the creation of a completely new, abstractly invented, but the gradual extinction of the ancient source, the layering of the modern interpretation on it, the preservation of the old (usually ordinary) legal soil, due to which the reception of the content of existing monuments, both local and foreign, becomes the leading method of lawmaking ". 
In the process of change, depending on the stage of its development, the right goes through several stages associated with a different number of borrowings from other legal systems or its own legal system, which operated at different stages of the existence of the state and law.
Innovation is required to systematize and harmonize domestic law after significant changes in the law have been made, which have found expression either in the full reception or the reception of certain institutions or some branches of law.
First of all, the effectiveness of innovation is determined by the rudeness of the changes made. Apparently, innovation should be considered only an increase in the number of legal norms, the discovery of alternative sources of law should be recognized as a kind of "truncated" form within the scope of a change in law. The implementation of legal innovations may well be carried out in law enforcement, legal culture, legal ideology. Therefore, legal innovation should be regarded as one of the ways to increase the effectiveness of legal regulation. It should be taken into account that, on the one hand, law cannot lag behind the regulation of ever-growing and re-emerging, as well as changing human rights and interests, and on the other hand, it is necessary to concentrate and develop national values   and spiritual achievements, or, in other words, to carry out one of the main social tasks - cultural and historical. An innovation introduced into the law should not in all cases be regarded as a legal innovation that can significantly change and improve the quality of the current law. Only then will an innovation in law work effectively if a legal system is implemented and operates effectively, in which only to a small extent, in rare cases, there are errors, legal gaps, contradictions, repetitions and other shortcomings. In our opinion, in order to achieve this goal, any innovation manifested in objective law, to consolidate as a rule of law, it is imperative to go through the law-making stage. 
Thus, summing up, we can define innovation as the basis for the strategy of the existence and development of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the scientific and economic directions. The innovation sphere serves as the basis for the further development of not only Azerbaijani, but also other countries of the world, which is confirmed by the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on ensuring coordination in the field of innovative development of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Criminal policy is one of the main elements of state legal policy, the effectiveness of which is increased as a result of criminal procedure and penal law closely related to criminal law and interacting with it, as well as the use of the results of law enforcement activities.
Examining the existing provision of criminal law, it can be concluded that, in general, its progressive movement has been achieved. The Criminal Code of Azerbaijan adopted and currently in force is a completely effective means of protecting the interests of the state and society, criminal law protection of human and civil rights and freedoms in the fight against crime.
As before, the subsequent improvement of criminal law should be carried out, taking into account the so-called two-vector criminal policy. The first vector in the form of humanization should be carried out mainly in relation to persons who have committed crimes for the first time that do not pose a great public danger, as well as groups of offenders recognized as socially vulnerable part of the population, which include minors, elderly people, single and pregnant women, persons who have dependent family members and minor children. At the same time, one should take into account the second vector of the development of criminal policy, which includes the conduct of a harsh criminal policy in the presence of a relapse of crimes, as well as persons hiding from criminal liability and punishment or found guilty of committing grave and especially grave crimes.
Speaking about the concept of criminal law policy, it should be borne in mind that it is a subsystem that is an integral part of the state policy in general and the policy of combating crime (criminal policy), in particular. The concept of "politics" that arose initially did not need to be indicated on its state character. Even ancient Greek philosophers believed that politics is the art and skill (science) of public administration. The main goal of state policy, as they believed, should be recognized as the education of members of society of high moral qualities, a sense of justice, as well as the achievement of the common good. 
Criminal policy is a policy of combating crime, aimed at combating the negative social phenomenon of the state's activity, using measures of various types - technical, organizational, educational, moral, economic, legal and other. The core, concentrated expression of criminal policy in general, is criminal law policy, the main purpose of which is to ensure humanism and justice in deciding on the definition of criminal and punishable in criminal law.
Thus, one should not set before the criminal law policy the tasks of solving various social and legal problems that are not characteristic of it. At the same time, in the activities of the criminal law policy of various states, there is a lot of evidence of violation of this rule. The main reason for this situation is that the practice of creating and implementing criminal law policies is essentially carried out by social groups that dominate in this society. It should also be noted that the historical blanket nature of the prescriptions specified in the criminal law norms causes difficulties in achieving the main task of the criminal law policy. If the state and society need to exclude, replace or consolidate in any legal acts the provisions that form the blanket content of criminal law norms, it must exclude these types of activities from the criminal law norm, thus changing its content without making any changes to this article. 
Thus, criminal law policy should be defined as state activity consisting in the necessary, appropriate design in criminal legislation and other regulatory legal acts or the removal from these acts, instructions describing socially dangerous acts as crimes, the use or other measures of a criminal nature for their commission, as well as the final result of this activity. 
As follows from our research in the existing conditions in the field of innovation, the need is the adoption of a law on the development of innovation in the Republic of Azerbaijan. 
 
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Summary. The article explores the conceptual foundations and practical significance of innovation policy in criminal law, emphasizing its role in modernizing legal systems and enhancing their capacity to respond to new forms of criminality. It examines innovation policy as a multidimensional phenomenon that integrates legislative reform, technological advancement, criminological forecasting, and institutional transformation. Particular attention is given to how innovative approaches—such as digitalization of criminal justice, data-driven risk assessment, and the use of artificial intelligence—reshape traditional doctrines of criminal responsibility, evidentiary standards, and preventive mechanisms. The study argues that innovation policy serves as both a theoretical framework and a practical instrument for ensuring the adaptability, efficiency, and legitimacy of criminal law in conditions of rapid social and technological change. Ultimately, the article demonstrates that a coherent innovation policy is indispensable for maintaining the balance between public security, individual rights, and the evolving challenges of contemporary crime.
  
Резюме. В статье рассматриваются концептуальные основы и практическое значение инновационной политики в уголовном праве, подчеркивается её роль в модернизации правовых систем и повышении их способности реагировать на новые формы преступности. Инновационная политика раскрывается как многомерное явление, включающее законодательные реформы, технологические изменения, криминологическое прогнозирование и институциональную трансформацию. Особое внимание уделяется тому, каким образом внедрение инноваций — цифровизация уголовного судопроизводства, аналитические методы оценки рисков, использование искусственного интеллекта — влияет на традиционные доктрины уголовной ответственности, стандарты доказывания и механизмы предупреждения преступности. В работе обосновывается, что инновационная политика выступает одновременно теоретической моделью и практическим инструментом, обеспечивающим адаптивность, эффективность и легитимность уголовного права в условиях стремительных социальных и технологических изменений. В заключение показывается, что последовательная инновационная политика становится ключевым условием поддержания баланса между общественной безопасностью, правами личности и новыми вызовами современной преступности.