1. Conventions to which Azerbaijan is a member:

• Bern Convention – ratified in Azerbaijan since 2002
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants – Azerbaijan joined in 2004
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), 1973 – including the 1978 Protocol of Amendment - Azerbaijan acceded in 2004
• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer – Azerbaijan joined in 1996
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1987 – Azerbaijan joined in 1996
• UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 – Azerbaijan joined in 1992
• Kyoto Protocol, 1997 – Azerbaijan joined in 2000
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992 – Azerbaijan joined in 2000
• International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation, 1990 – Azerbaijan acceded in 2004
• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal – Azerbaijan ratified in 2001
• Aarhus Convention – Azerbaijan joined in 2000
• Espoo Convention – Azerbaijan joined in 1999
• Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Helsinki Convention)  – Azerbaijan joined in 2002
• Protocol on Water and Health – Azerbaijan joined in 2003
• UNECE - Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution – Azerbaijan joined in 2002
• Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents – Azerbaijan joined in 2004
• Tehran Framework Convention on the Caspian Sea – The convention was ratified in 2006
• The Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP21) – The Agreement was ratified in 2016
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands – Azerbaijan joined in 2000

2. International Legislation on Environmental Protection

• EU Environmental Action Programmes
  Environmental Action Programs are a series of strategic programmes that set the general framework for EU environmental policy. The 8th Environmental Action Programme (2021–2030) is currently in force.
• REACH Regulations (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals)
  Regulates the processes of registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances. REACH regulations aim to minimize the negative impacts of chemical substances on the environment and human health.
• EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030
  The EU's strategic plan for the protection and restoration of biodiversity to 2030 was adopted with the aim of protecting biodiversity and ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems in EU member states.
• North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC)
  North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC): This agreement, signed within the framework of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), regulates cooperation issues related to environmental protection.
• Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean
  Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean was signed in 1976 to protect the environment of the Mediterranean Sea. This convention unites the coastal countries of the Mediterranean Sea and applies environmental standards.

3. National Environmental Legislation of Azerbaijan

• Law No. 1175-VQ “On Environmental Impact Assessment”
  establishes the legal basis for the environmental impact assessment process in Azerbaijan and defines the objectives and principles of EIA. The Law also provides a list of activities for which an environmental impact assessment is required, and defines the rights and obligations of all parties involved in its preparation, approval and notification.
• Law No. 678-IQ “On Environmental Protection”
  establishes the basic principles of environmental protection, as well as the rights and obligations of Azerbaijan, public associations, and citizens related to environmental protection.
• Law No. 677-IQ “On Ecological Safety”
  is one of the two main laws of Azerbaijan’s environmental protection legislation (together with the Law “On Environmental Protection”). The purpose of the Law is to establish a legal framework for the protection of life and health, society, the environment, including atmospheric air, space, water bodies, mineral resources, natural landscapes, plants and animals from natural and anthropogenic hazards. The Law defines the rights and obligations of the State, citizens and public associations in terms of ecological safety, including information and obligations. The Law also deals with the regulation of economic activity, territorial zoning and mitigation of the consequences of environmental disasters.
• Law No. 840-IQ “On Specially Protected Natural Areas and Objects”
  Establishes the framework for protected natural  areas and objects in Azerbaijan.
• Law No. 675-IQ “On the Animal World”
  defines the property rights over the animal world, fauna, and legal relations between the parties. The Law also describes issues related to inventory and monitoring by the State, as well as economic norms and punishment norms.
• Water Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  regulates the use of water bodies, determines property rights, and also covers issues of inventory and monitoring. The Code regulates the use of water bodies for drinking and technical water, as well as for medical treatment, mineral spring resorts, recreation and sports, agricultural needs, production needs and hydropower, transport, fishing and hunting, wastewater discharge, fire protection purposes, and specially protected water bodies. It provides information on zoning, maximum permissible concentration limits of harmful substances, and basic rules of conduct in industry/production.
• Resolution No. 77 – Rules for Assigning Specially Protected Water Bodies to separate categories
  The Caspian Sea is a specially protected water body. According to the resolution, special permits are required for the placement of wastewater if there are no other options for its discharge. The resolution provides for restrictions on the use of specially protected water bodies, as well as the development of regulatory acts related to these water bodies in the future. According to the resolution, the consent of the MENR is required for activities that change the natural conditions of specially protected water bodies. Provisions are provided for issuing permits for any discharges into water that cannot be prevented. Also, special requirements for the protection of water bodies intended for recreational and sports purposes (which also include the Caspian Sea) are included.
• Law No. 109-IIQ “On the Protection of Atmospheric Air”
  Establishes the legal framework for the protection of air, and thus the implementation of the constitutional right of the population to live in a healthy environment. The Law stipulates the rights and obligations of authorities, legal and physical entities and NGOs in this regard, establishes general requirements for air protection during economic activity, establishes norms for reducing physical and chemical impacts on the atmosphere, establishes rules for the state inventory of harmful atmospheric emissions and their sources, and presents general categories of violations of the law that will lead to the imposition of punitive measures.
• Law No. 514-IQ “On Production and Domestic Waste”
  describes the state policy on environmental protection from production and domestic waste, including harmful gases, wastewater and radioactive waste. It defines the rights and obligations of the state and other entities, establishes requirements for the design and construction of waste treatment facilities, licensing of activities that cause waste generation, as well as storage and transportation of waste (including transboundary transportation). The law also supports the application of technologies to minimize waste generation by industrial enterprises. A general description of the response measures to violations of the law is provided. This law is enshrined in the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers on the rules for certification of hazardous waste in Azerbaijan, the state strategy for hazardous waste management, as well as in the “Rules for inventorying waste generated as a result of production processes and in service areas and instructions on the classification system” approved by the MENR.
• Law No. 439-IQ “On Subsoil”
  Regulates the development, efficient use, safety and protection of subsoil resources, including the subsoil of the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The Law expresses the basic property rights and obligations of users. Certain restrictions are imposed on the use of mineral resources based on considerations of environmental protection, public health and economic interests.
• Law No. 270-IIQ “On Access to Environmental Information”
  defines the classification of environmental information. The public may use the information unless it is clearly classified as “for restricted use”. The procedures for applying restrictions are described. The purpose of the law is to reflect the provisions of the Aarhus Convention (ratified by Azerbaijan in 1999) in Azerbaijani law.
• Law “On Sanitary and Epidemiological Services”
  establishes sanitary and epidemiological requirements to be met at the design, construction and operation stages of industrial facilities, as well as other economic activities. Its purpose is to protect the health of the population. It speaks about the rights of citizens to live in a safe environment, as well as to receive full and free information about sanitary and epidemiological conditions, the environment and public health.
• Law No. 360-IQ “On Protection of Public Health”
  establishes the basic principles of public health protection and the healthcare system. The Law establishes liability for harmful effects on public health and stipulates that damage to health as a result of environmental pollution must be compensated by the legal or physical entity that caused the damage.
• Law No. 423-IQ “On Radiation Safety of the Population”
  reflects the requirements for ensuring radiation safety at industrial facilities. The Law establishes the main principles of the government's radiation safety policy, as well as environmental standards for protecting the safety of workers and the population in areas potentially affected by the use of radioactive sources.
• Law No. 733-IQ “On Technical Safety”
  determines the legal, economic and social foundations of the safe operation of potentially hazardous objects (TPO).
• Law “On Compulsory Insurance”
  determines the requirements for compulsory insurance of civil liability for damage to human life, health, property and the environment as a result of an accident.
• Forest Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  establishes the legal basis for the regulation of forest relations, the use of forests, their protection, preservation, restoration, and the enhancement of their ecological and reserve potential in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The regulation of forest relations is carried out taking into account the concept of forest, which is the unity of forest plants, soil, fauna and other components of the environment of significant ecological, economic and social importance. 
• Law “On the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in Electricity Generation”
  determines the legal, economic and organizational foundations of the use of renewable energy sources in electricity generation, as well as support mechanisms for promoting electricity generation from renewable energy sources, and regulates the relations arising in this area.
• Law “On the Efficient Use of Energy Resources and Energy Efficiency”
  determines the legal, organizational and economic foundations of state policy in the field of efficient use of energy resources and energy efficiency, regulates the activities of state bodies (institutions), individuals and legal entities in this field and the relations arising between them.

4. Penalties for Violation of Environmental Protection Legislation

• Reflected in the Code of Administrative Offenses:
  • Chapter 23: Administrative offenses against sanitary-hygienic and epidemiological rules of the population
  • Chapter 25: Administrative offenses against environmental protection, nature use, and ecological safety rules