Comparative Analyses of The Transformation of Legal Status of Higher Educational Institutions in Azerbaijan

This study examines the transformation of higher educational institutions into public legal entities in Azerbaijan, contextualizing this reform through comparative case studies from Finland, Japan, and Portugal.Relying on literature review, as well as document analysis of lawsand policy papers, the research explores how converting universities into public legal entities affect governance, funding, and institutional autonomy.In Azerbaijan, recent legal reforms -including the 2015 Law on Public Legal Entities and subsequent decrees -have gradually restructured universities as autonomous public legal entities under government oversight.Internationally, similar reforms (e.g., Finland's Universities Act 2009, Japan's National University Corporations 2004) have aimed to increase university autonomy, introduce corporate-style governance such as independent boards of trustees, and diversify funding opportunities.