AZERBAIJANI NATIONALITY LAW AND THE CURRENT STATUS OF KARABAKH ARMENIANS IN AZERBAIJAN

Abstract

In September 2023, Armenians left Nagorno-Karabakh in the wake of Azerbaijan’s reconquest of the region. Armenians stated that they did not trust that they would be done right by Azerbaijan’s laws or administrators. The Azerbaijani government stated that Karabakh Armenians were citizens of Azerbaijan and would enjoy the same rights and protections as any other citizen of Azerbaijan. The future status of Armenians and their property in Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the key questions in the ongoing negotiations. The question then is: Are Karabakh Armenians citizens under Azerbaijani law and what are the legal and political implications of this? To answer this question, the article first provides a history of Azerbaijan’s nationality law, with reference to the Karabakh question. This history, which is contextualized in the political and legal circumstances of the time, also illustrates something of the prevailing attitudes and approach in Azerbaijan as well as Azerbaijan’s legislative and constitutional character. The article then proceeds to consider the present legal and political implications, in terms of individuals, interstate relations, and international law. This exercise being complete, the article concludes that Azerbaijani nationality law formally accommodates Karabakh Armenians, but that the law allows the government great implementational discretion. The article observes that this creates uncertainty – and that if one is asking what might or is likely to happen next, the political motives of the Azerbaijani government must be considered. The article proceeds to consider those motives and posits some scenarios of what a future settlement might be like and the implications, be it for individuals, Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, and international law.