The Political status of the Azores (in Portuguese, Estatuto Político-Administrativo dos Açores or EPARAA) is the standard paralegal constitutional framework for the autonomy of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It defines the scope of the autonomous regional government and the structure and functioning of organs of government in the region. The statute is, in its essence, a regional constitution, which embodies the system of autonomy envisaged, in 1976, by the constitution of the Portuguese Republic. The autonomous region of Madeira has a similar status.