The original copies of the Declaration of Independence, written in the Arabic script of the Azerbaijani language and French are kept in the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan in Baku.

[7] With no desire to follow the lead of the Bolsheviks, the Commissariat agreed to form their own legislative body so that the Transcaucasus could have a legitimate government and properly negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, which was invading the Caucasus at the time.

Three dominated, each representing one major ethnic group: the Georgian Mensheviks and the Azerbaijani Musavat party, both with 30 seats, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, with 27.

[12] In the face of Ottoman military superiority, the Georgian National Council determined that Transcaucasia's only option was to declare independence.

[13] On 22 April, the idea was debated in the Seim, with Georgians leading the way, noting that Ottoman representatives had agreed to resume peace talks if the Transcaucasus met them as an independent state.

[14] The decision to move forward was not unanimous at first: the mostly Armenian Dashnaks believed that stopping the Ottoman military's advance was the best option at the time, though they were hesitant to give up so much territory, while the Musavats, who represented Azerbaijani interests, were still hesitant to fight fellow Muslims, but conceded that independence was the only way to ensure the region was not divided by foreign states.

[22] A day later, on 28 May, the National Council convened a meeting chaired by Hasan bey Aghayev in the Great Hall on the second floor of the palace of the former Viceroy of the Russian Emperor in the Caucasus in Tiflis.

[4] The following were the members of Azerbaijan's National Council at the time of its declaration of independence:[25] Hasan bey Agayev, who had just returned from Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja), gave detailed information on the first issue about the situation in the city and governorate of Elisabethpol, as well as the arrival of a few Turkish officers there.

[22] Councilmember Khalil bey Khasmammadov gave a report justifying the importance and urgency of declaring Azerbaijan an independent republic.

Councilmember Fatali Khan Khoyski proposed to postpone the declaration of Azerbaijan's independence until a number of issues on the ground were resolved.

[26] After an hour-long break, Khoyski announced the composition of the interim government consisting of the following people: استقلال بیاننامه‌سیعقدنامه بویوک روسیّه انقلابنݣ جریاننده دولت وجودینݣ آیری-آیری حصّه‌لره آیریلماسی ایله زاقافقازیانݣ روس اردولری طرفندن ترکنی موجب بر وضعیّت سیاسیّه حاصل اولدی.

روسیّه ایله عثمانلی ایمپراطورلغی آراسنده ظهور ایدن محاربه‌نݣ تسویه‌سی یوزیندن حاصل اولان وضعیّت حاضرۀ سیاسیّه و مملکت داخلنده بولونان مثلسز آنارشی جنوب شرقی زاقافقازیادن عبارت بولونان آذربایجانه دخی بولوندیغی خارجی و داخلی مشکلاتدن چیقمق ایچون خصوصی بر دولت تشکیلاتی قورمق لزومنی تلقین ایدییور.بوݣا بناءً آراء عمومیّه ایله انتخاب اولونان آذربایجان شورای ملّیۀ اسلامیه‌سی بوتون جماعته اعلان ایدییور که: Therefore, the Muslim National Council of Azerbaijan elected by a popular vote now declares publicly: ۱.

آذربایجان خلق جمهوریّتی اراضی‌سی داخلنده یاشایان بالجمله ملتلره سربستانه انکشافلری ایچون گنیش میدان براقیر.

Headed by Alimardan bey Topchubashov, the delegation went to Paris with the purpose to gain de facto recognition of Azerbaijan as an independent state.

On 28 May 1919, on the first anniversary of the independence of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the Azerbaijani delegation met with the US President Woodrow Wilson, one of the key figures in the Peace Conference.

[31] The delegation was successful, and on 11 January 1920 the Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference recognized Azerbaijan as a de facto independent state.

[33] In 2014, the original copies in Azerbaijani and French were found in London,[33] and donated to the National History Museum of Azerbaijan on 13 May by the president Ilham Aliyev.

At a special session of the National Council, Hasan bey Aghayev and Mammad Amin Rasulzade made congratulatory speeches.

A 1926 article by Alimardan bey Topchubashov titled "Among the Caucasians" described the celebration of the 8th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Paris.

[45] Carved from granite and white marble, the monument is engraved with the text of the Declaration of Independence in both the old Arabic and modern Latin scripts.