Photoart from pixabay created via Canva.

According to existing legal requirements, the license permit to use drones in Azerbaijan is the same as that for using certain weapons, explosive devices, and money-printing equipment. Drones are included in the list of items restricted to individual use by Article 18 of Law no. 564, “On the list of items now allowed for civilian use.” Similarly, the law has identified six government agencies responsible for authorizing each unique piece of equipment as well as its permit, which means that obtaining permission to own a drone is a cumbersome and painstakingly bureaucratic process.

The same rules apply when importing a drone. Would-be drone owners must submit an electronic application to the State Civil Aviation Administration and obtain approval from the six government agencies outlined in the law. 

In practice, this means that a student wanting to fly a drone in the yard of their school or home, a school or university wanting to implement innovative educational solutions with the help of drones, a tourist wanting to photograph a city site, and a media organization wanting to use a drone to prepare a news article all must obtain permission from these government agencies.

A special permit can be obtained in cases of legal and natural persons (only those who are sole proprietors). The special permit is given by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, taking into account the opinions of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service, the State Border Service, and the Security Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (this authority is exercised by the State Civil Aviation Agency operating under the Ministry).

Article 156 of the Criminal Code indicates that those who use drones to violate others’ privacy can face strict consequences.

Permissions to operate a drone have been particularly strict for journalists and activists. In 2018, civic activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev had his drone confiscated after ordering it from the United States and not obtaining the necessary permission for its operation. In 2021, blogger Mehman Husynov was detained by the police, and his drone was also confiscated. Huseynov was taking pictures of properties illegally acquired by government officials. 

When Huseynov tried bringing in a second drone, the State Customs Committee did not grant him the permission on the grounds that Huseynov did not have official approval from the aforementioned six government agencies. Huseynov, never formally applied to obtain a permit.

In the case of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, the activist did appeal to the relevant agencies only to receive a rejection months later on various grounds including claims that Hajiyev’s indicated purpose of use was not suitable. 

At the time of writing this story, no shipping company in Azerbaijan accepts drone shipments.

These strict policies indicate that one reason for this excessive red tape is that the government and its officials fear drone footage might be used to expose their corruption, for instance, taking videos of their private property.

Independent experts in Azerbaijan think that these rules are fairly harsh and unnecessary in an age when global resources and satellite services can track any object. 

Any hopes for changing this system lie with the draft bill on aviation, which was first mentioned in 2022 by the Minister of Communications and High Technologies Rashad Nabiyev. The bill promised to create more streamlined policies and procedures on the use and registration of drones. Yet, two years since the Minister first spoke of the bill, nothing has changed.

The same legislation allows remote-controlled drones with a special permit granted to just a handful of civil society representatives.